Title of Unit: Drama, Drama, Drama!

Grade: 4Content Area: Language Arts/Reading

Time Frame: 3 – 4 weeks

STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS

Established Goals:

Information Literacy Standard:The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and participates effectively in groups to pursue and generate information.

Georgia Performance Standard:ELA4LSV1 The student participates in student-to-teacher, student-to-student, and group verbal interactions. a. Initiates new topics in addition to responding to adult-initiated topics. b. Asks relevant questions. c. Responds to questions with appropriate information. d. Uses language cues to indicate different levels of certainty or hypothesizing (e.g., “What if. . .”; “Very likely. . .”; “I’m unsure whether. . .”). e. Confirms understanding by paraphrasing the adult’s directions or suggestions. f. Displays appropriate turn-taking behaviors. g. Actively solicits another person’s comments or opinions. h. Offers own opinion forcefully without domineering. i. Responds appropriately to comments and questions. j. Volunteers contributions and responds when directly solicited by teacher or discussion leader. k. Gives reasons in support of opinions expressed. l. Clarifies, illustrates, or expands on a response when asked to do so; asks classmates for similar expansions.

ELA4LSV2 The student listens to and views various forms of text and media in order to gather and share information, persuade others, and express and understand ideas. When delivering or responding to presentations, the student: a. Shapes information to achieve a particular purpose and to appeal to the interests and background knowledge of audience members. b. Uses notes, multimedia, or other memory aids to structure the presentation. c. Engages the audience with appropriate verbal cues and eye contact. d. Projects a sense of individuality and personality in selecting and organizing content and in delivery. e. Shapes content and organization according to criteria

ELA4R1 The student demonstrates comprehension and shows evidence of a warranted and responsible explanation of a variety of literary and

informational texts. For literary texts, the student identifies the characteristics of various genres and produces evidence of reading that: a. Relates theme in works of fiction to personal experience. b. Identifies and analyzes the elements of plot, character, and setting in stories read, written, viewed, or performed. c. Identifies the speaker of a poem or story. d. Identifies sensory details and figurative language. e. Identifies and shows the relevance of foreshadowing clues. f. Makes judgments and inferences about setting, characters, and events and supports them with elaborating and convincing evidence from the text. g. Identifies similarities and differences between the characters or events and theme in a literary work and the actual experiences in an author’s life. h. Identifies themes and lessons in folktales, tall tales, and fables. i. Identifies rhyme and rhythm, repetition, similes, and sensory images in poems. For informational texts, the student reads and comprehends in order to develop understanding and expertise and produces evidence of reading that: a. Locates facts that answer the reader’s questions. b. Identifies and uses knowledge of common textual features (e.g., paragraphs, topic sentences, concluding sentences, glossary). c. Identifies and uses knowledge of common graphic features (e.g., charts, maps, diagrams, illustrations). d. Identifies and uses knowledge of common organizational structures (e.g., chronological order, cause and effect). e. Distinguishes cause from effect in context. f. Summarizes main ideas and supporting details. g. Makes perceptive and well-developed connections. h. Distinguishes fact from opinion or fiction.

STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE

Performance Tasks:

TASK 1 – Students will work as a group to perform an “adaptation” of a selected text for the enjoyment of a selected audience. Students will select a scene from their novel, or create a paraphrased version of the entire piece. As a group, students must decide how best to present their selection in a dramatic form. (Facet 2, 3, 5, and 6)

TASK 2 – As a class read, students will

Other Evidence:

Writing scripts – students will be assessed as a group on their ability to successfully write a meaningful, flowing script, which demonstrates their knowledge of their assigned novel

Assigning characters amongst group, creating props, and creativity – groups will be assessed on their ability to distribute work equally among group members

Vocabulary – plot, climax,

read a selected text then watch the movie production of the same text – identifying the differences (Facet 1, 3 and 4)

characters, drama, etc. – students will be assessed by a multiple choice/short answer quiz focused on the vocabulary words from this unit

TASK 1

Goal Your task is to work as a group to perform an “adaptation” of a selected

text for the enjoyment of a selected audience.Role

You and your group are playwrights/movie producers.Audience

Your target audience is your classmates and I. (If you chose, we will also have a parent’s night, where your parents can be the audience!)

Situation The challenge involves you and your group taking a whole book and

summarizing it into a production in which you will present in a dramatic form.

Product, Performance, and Purpose You will use the novel that you have been reading in your small groups as

your selected text for this production. You need to develop a clear and summarized version of your novel so that the audience can determine the storyline of your text based on your production. The purpose of this is to work as a group to successfully express different novels to your audience.

Standards and Criteria for Success Your work will be judged by a rubric which will be completed by myself, as

well as a peer-evaluation, in which your group members will evaluate your effort.

Within this task, students will address the following facets: 2. Interpret: by using assigned novels, students will interpret important parts

of the text in order to decide which parts should be included in their production

3. Application: by enacting or creating, rehearsing, and presenting drama productions based on novels; extending understanding of text based on their own knowledge

5. Empathy: by relating to the characters in students’ assigned novels, and by “becoming” those characters in their roles

6. Self-Knowledge: by completing a self assessment and receiving feedback from other group member’s evaluations

TASK 1 RUBRIC

LEVEL ONE LEVEL TWO LEVEL THREE LEVEL FOURORAL COMMUNICATION: Use a variety of appropriate visual aids to support or enhance oral presentations, with limited effectiveness.

Use a variety of appropriate visual aids to support or enhance oral presentations, with some effectiveness.

Use a variety of appropriate visual aids to support or enhance oral presentations, with considerable effectiveness.

Use a variety of appropriate visual aids to support or enhance oral presentations, with a high degree of effectiveness.

APPLICATIONEnact or create, rehearse, and present drama works based on novels, with limited effectiveness. (Effectiveness of group as a whole throughout process)

Enact or create, rehearse, and present drama based on novels, with some effectiveness.

Enact or create, rehearse, and present drama based on novels, with considerable effectiveness.

Enact or create, rehearse, and present drama based on novels, with a high degree of effectiveness.

COMMUNICATION/THINKING Describe and reflect, orally and in writing, on their response to their own and others’ work in drama with limited effectiveness (Self-evaluation)

Describe and reflect, orally and in writing, on their response to their own and others’ work in drama with some effectiveness.

Describe and reflect, orally and in writing, on their response to their own and others’ work in drama with considerable effectiveness.

Describe and reflect, orally and in writing, on their response to their own and others’ work in drama with a high degree of effectiveness.

KNOWLEDGEDemonstrate awareness of audience when writing in role, and use the appropriate language, tone of voice, gestures, and body movements when speaking as a character in a drama, with limited effectiveness. (Use of voice, gestures, body movements, etc. as character)

Demonstrate awareness of audience when writing in role, and use the appropriate language, tone of voice, gestures, and body movements when speaking as a character in a drama, with some effectiveness.

Demonstrate awareness of audience when writing in role, and use the appropriate language, tone of voice, gestures, and body movements when speaking as a character in a drama, with considerable effectiveness.

Demonstrate awareness of audience when writing in role, and use the appropriate language, tone of voice, gestures, and body movements when speaking as a character in a drama, with a high degree of effectiveness.

READINGExtend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them, with limited effectiveness. (Connectedness to original text)

Extend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them, with some effectiveness.

Extend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them, with considerable effectiveness.

Extend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them, with a high degree of effectiveness.

WRITINGWrite longer and more complex texts using a variety of forms with limited effectiveness. (Script writing)

Write longer and more complex texts using a variety of forms with some effectiveness.

Write longer and more complex texts using a variety of forms with considerable effectiveness.

Write longer and more complex texts using a variety of forms with a high degree of effectiveness.

TASK 2

For this task, students will read Where the Red Fern Grows as a class read. After we have finished with the book, we will discuss the major parts, review the story line, and then watch the movie version of the book. After the movie, the students will be assessed on the differences that they found between the book and the movie. The assessment will be short answer/essay, and can be done on notebook paper. The instructions will be for the students to identify five major differences between the book and the movie. Each answer should be 5-7 sentences long. The assessment will be graded using the following rubric:

TASK 2 RUBRIC

*Each, individual answer will be graded using this rubric, meaning that each question is worth 20 points – overall points available on assessment is 100 points.

x 5 = ____

Within this task, students will address the following facets:1. Explanation: by explaining differences between text and movies using

their own words2. Perspective: by comparing and contrasting the author’s text and the

movie’s production

SELF-ASSESSMENT

NAME: _______________________

In the space below, write your personal observations about the following:

1. What I learned about myself while doing this assignment: 2. What I learned about others in my group: 3. What I learned about creating and performing a drama presentation like this (strengths, weaknesses): 4. What I’d do differently next time:

5. What I was most proud of: 

6. What I was most embarrassed by:

 SELF-EVALUATION

0 1 2 3 4

The student provided no

answer to the question.

Difference stated is not

found in book or movie, no connection made, 1-2

sentences, >6 grammatical

errors

Difference is stated, but is a

very minor difference, little

connection made, 3

sentences, 4-5 grammatical

errors

Difference is stated, mild connection

made between book and movie, 4

sentences, 3 grammatical

errors

Difference is clearly stated, evidence that

student sees a connection,

5-7 sentences, very little

grammatical errors

Rate yourself and your group members CONFIDENTIALLY here, giving each person level that you feel they deserve. No one will see your scoring but me.

SCALE: 1 – Never worked or helped with the group.2 – Did some work, but not very much work with the group. Did not help much.3 – Sometimes worked with the group and helped.4 – Almost always worked with the group and helped.5 – Always worked with the group and was always helping.

List group members’ names, and rate them:

NAME RATE

___________________ ______

___________________ ______

___________________ ______

___________________ ______

___________________ ______

Now, rate yourself: ______

Stage 3 – Learning Plan

Where is it going?

To have students understand WHERE this unit is headed and WHY we are focusing on this topic, they will begin by thinking about what is important about literature, theater, and dramatic productions.

Some of the essential questions are as follows: Where have I seen drama? What do we get from seeing a production? How do literature and drama relate? Why is drama important in literature? What are the different aspects in drama? What are strategies that actors use to reach their audience? What parts do you include in a dramatic production? How do you determine character parts?

What is drama? How can you turn text into a performance? How do you determine the setting of a story? The plot? The characters?

The climax? How do you use personality to enhance your audience’s ability to get the

full idea of your presentation? How do you assign characters from a text to individuals within the group?

Expectations – In order for students to fully understand the concepts that will be taught,

they will engage in several activities over the course of the unit. These will include but will not be limited to: working in groups to plan a dramatic presentation based on a book of their choice (experimental window), participating in a class read of Where the Red Fern Grows, watching the theatrical version and making comparisons and contrasts between the book and the movie (narrative window), learning vocabulary associated with literary/theatrical productions, completing a K-W-L chart to demonstrate what they know, want to know, and have learned, and students will also have practice writing scripts based on their book choices.

Relevance and Value – Students will have a better respect for literature and its connection to

dramatic performances Drama supports creativity in students – especially when working in groups

to plan a performance, as each student draws ideas off of another Helps to promote and develop speaking skills, collaboration skills, social

skills, helps to develop personality Helps to develop strategies for memorization Comprehension of literature works are influenced due to dramatic

performance Promotes tolerance, empathy, ability to see from different perspectives

Diagnosis – Students will be given an opportunity to complete a K-W-L chart to present

information that they may know, want to know, and eventually, students will complete information that they learn during the unit.

The students will be given a pre-test with some open ended questions about connecting literature and drama. This will help me to see which students have a better grasp on the overall concept.

Students will have ample amounts of time to work together in groups to complete planning for their dramatic productions.

Hooking and Holding

To hook the students onto the concepts and topics that will be presented in the

unit, we will take a field trip to a professional theatrical production of a book that we will be reading as a class. By having a “real-life” performance in front of their eyes, students will be quick to make connections to the literature that we have read, finding similarities and differences (aesthetic window). They will also be likely to gather ideas and have a desire to do something similar to this in our very own classroom.

To keep the students holding on to the topic, I will make sure that the students know that they are free to do what ever they may want to do in order to make their group dramatic presentations spectacular. With the students having open range of their ideas and creativity, they are likely to go on, and on, and on.

Explore, Experience, and Equip

In order for students to make these connections and to grasp the goals of the unit, they will have to make the connections within themselves. Therefore, there is lots of room for exploration and experience in this unit. Students will be given opportunities to find literature works that they have read and will be asked to compare them to the theatrical productions that accompany the text. With lots of opportunities for this, students are more likely to make the connections and meet the goals for this unit.

In addition to the student’s independent work and exploration, I will also teach them with some direct instruction. The main topics that I will cover through direct instruction would be vocabulary terms, providing examples of role-playing characters from text, and offering help and suggestions for how to write and format a dramatic script. Students will be using word processors, such as Microsoft Word to produce a script for their group production. I will also offer any help that the students need during the planning and rehearsing stages of their dramatic group productions.

To help portray this direct instruction, I will present the students with a video podcast which will not only explain the main assignment, but it will also provide students with the dos and don’ts of creating a dramatic production. This video podcast will be the primary method for presenting the information to my students.

Students will also be able to access the internet to find suggestions or gain assistance for ideas to help develop their group performances. With this, students may find informative text, articles, or even video clips of professional or novice group productions. Students may use www.google.com, www.youtube.com, www.teachertube.com, or any other specific links that relate to the formation of the students’ dramatic production.

To successfully perform, the students will have to know how to and be able to do the following:

Successfully present the meaning of a selected text to an audience.

Identify different types of genres in literature. Identify the plot, characters, setting, and other story elements of literature. Speak/perform clearly in front of an audience. The importance of using personality when presenting text to an audience. How to “become the character” when presenting information to an

audience. How to effectively work in group settings. How to create a well developed script.

Rethink, Rehearse, Revise and Refine

The overall lesson that will encompass this unit will require much time for the students to rethink, rehearse, and revise and refine their work. Due to the primary assignment in this unit being a dramatic production, most of the time will be spent on reflecting, rethinking, and revising students’ work.

Students will rethink on: The assignment of characters within their groups The procedure of writing a script How closely the literature relates to the text What ways theatrical productions match up to and don’t match up to its

literature version The vocabulary that is presented throughout this unit

Students will rehearse: Their scripts – for homework and during group work time As the practice for their group production During a final dress rehearsal The similarities and differences found between literature and dramatic

productions

Students will revise or refine: Their scripts as they practice and rehearse Their ideas about connections between literature and performances Their answers to their pretest, after the unit has been completed PEER PRODUCTIONS: Based on the reviews that they get from the other

members of the class on days that performances are presented for feedback from peers

Exhibit and Evaluate

This unit requires a large amount of exhibiting performances and evaluating groups’ work. There will be many situations in which students will have peer review sessions or individual, self-assessments. (logical window)

During the peer assessments, groups will take turns presenting a “rough draft” of their presentation, while the remainder of the class judges and offers advice to the presenting group. Here is an example of some questions on a peer review form:

1. What were some of the things that you liked about the group’s performance?

2. What are some specific things that this group can change to better the production?

3. Give an overall score for the group’s performance on a scale from one to ten. (One being terrible and ten being excellent.)

Students will also use this self-evaluation to evaluate their performance and their groups’ performance:

SELF-ASSESSMENT

NAME: _______________________

In the space below, write your personal observations about the following:

1. What I learned about myself while doing this assignment: 2. What I learned about others in my group 3. What I learned about creating and performing a drama presentation like this (strengths, weaknesses):

4. What I’d do differently next time:

5. What I was most proud of: 6. What I was most embarrassed by: 

SELF-EVALUATION

Rate yourself and your group members CONFIDENTIALLY here, giving each person level that you feel they deserve. No one will see your scoring but me.

SCALE: 1 – Never worked or helped with the group.2 – Did some work, but not very much work with the group. Did not help much.3 – Sometimes worked with the group and helped.4 – Almost always worked with the group and helped.

5 – Always worked with the group and was always helping.

List group members’ names, and rate them:

NAME RATE

___________________ ______

___________________ ______

___________________ ______

___________________ ______

___________________ ______

Now, rate yourself: ______

Tailor to Students

To reach the diversity of the students in my classroom, I would implement several different methods of instruction in order to reach the difference in learning abilities. In stage one, I identified the differences in my students. The differences include students with ADHD, students with emotional behavior disorders (EBD), and gifted students. Some of the methods I would use include:

To implement diversity among students:Students will have a choice as to what work of literature they would like to read and design a script for. The books that groups will be allowed to choose from, will come from a list of books that I have created. All of these books will have engaging plots and will focus on a diverse topic. This way, all students will be forced to have a perception of another race and culture during their reading and planning for performance. (foundational window)

For ADHD students:Allow these students to move around freely during work time within groups. With these students I would not force them to sit in a seat, but rather stand and work with their groups so that they were not confined.

For EBD students:These students will be closely monitored to make sure that they stay on task and have equal opportunities to work with their group. These students will be given strict instructions and will have a reward plan for group working days in which they participate in a well behaved manner.

For GIFTED students: Gifted students will be given the option to express their creativity by designing props for their assigning groups. Gifted students will also have the option of finding and assigning music to go along with group’s presentations. This openness for creativity strongly encourages the gifted thinker.

Organize the Learning

See calendar on next page –

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

Continue reading the book, Where the Red Fern Grows summarize each chapter after reading – have students visualize the text in their minds

Finish reading the book, Where the Red Fern Grows summarize each chapter after reading – have students visualize the text in their minds

As a class, watch the movie, Where the Red Fern Grows – discuss some of the differences and similarities between the book and movie

Assess students on the comparisons and contrasts that they found between Where the Red Fern Grows – book and movie – (see assessment below)

Class field trip to watch the theatrical performance of a book that we have recently read as a class.Discuss vocabulary found in dramatic productions

Discuss findings from field trip. Ask students how the performance made them feel? Did they have the same visualizations? Etc… (Pre-Assessment)

Split students into groups. Discuss the performance and make connections between literature and drama. Explain the assignment (group drama performance) using a video podcast.

Work in groups – groups chose book from book list. Assign characters, develop main ideas from text to include in performance

Work in groups – being work on script – remind students to only pick key points in text, make sure characters are chosen, work as a group effort

Work in groups – continue to work on scripts (teacher will monitor and offer help to struggling groups)

Work in groups – continue work on scripts. Groups who have finished scripts may start on props or other “performance extras”

First PEER PRODUCTION – each group will present what they have so far. Rest of class will fill out peer review questions for feedback

Groups take feedback and revise scripts, characters, props, make necessary changes. Later in day we will have another PEER PRODUCTION

Get feed back from 2nd

peer production – review, revise, and rehearse based on feedback – DRESS REHEARSAL at end of day

Final productions for groups – after all groups have presented, students will complete the self-assessment/evaluation (mentioned earlier)

Task 1: Book vs. Movie(designed for high to middle ability students)

For this task, students will read Where the Red Fern Grows as a class read. After we have finished with the book, we will discuss the major parts, review the story line, and then watch the movie version of the book. After the movie, the students will be assessed on the differences that they found between the book and the movie. The assessment will be short answer/essay, and can be done on notebook paper. The instructions will be for the students to identify five major differences between the book and the movie. Each answer should be 5-7 sentences long. The assessment will be graded using the following rubric:

TASK 1 RUBRIC

*Each, individual answer will be graded using this rubric, meaning that each question is worth 20 points – overall points available on assessment is 100 points.

x 5 = ____

Task 1: Book vs. MovieAlteration

(designed for lower ability students)

To alter this assignment to fit the needs for lower ability students, the task would change from students having to identify 3 differences or similarities, versus the original task, which called for students to identify 5 differences or similarities. This way, the assignment would not change so much, and it would remind fair between all students.

0 1 2 3 4

The student provided no

answer to the question.

Difference stated is not

found in book or movie, no connection made, 1-2

sentences, >6 grammatical

errors

Difference is stated, but is a

very minor difference, little

connection made, 3

sentences, 4-5 grammatical

errors

Difference is stated, mild connection

made between book and movie, 4

sentences, 3 grammatical

errors

Difference is clearly stated, evidence that

student sees a connection,

5-7 sentences, very little

grammatical errors

Task 2: K-W-L(designed for all students)

Complete a K-W-L chart based on what you know and for now, what you’d like to know. We will complete the “What I LEARNED” column after the unit.

K(What I KNOW…)

W(What I WANT to know…)

L(What I LEARNED…)

Task 3: Web of Ideas

Students can use this model to design a web of their ideas about the relationships between drama and literature. For lower students, stick with the design below. Higher students should try to add more “bubbles” to the web to develop more ideas about the connections that they find.

HOW ARE DRAMA

AND LITERATUR

E RELATED?