December 14th "The Puppetry Finale"

Our puppetry unit has come to an end and we finished up with a final performance. I decided to do a performance (with a "small p") that was really easy and didn't take a lot of preparation for the last day of the unit. A performance with a "small p" is still a performance, but is not a Performance with a large crowd, script, costumes, music etc. I chose to do this because at this age level drama should be more focused on the process than the performance. If I wanted to do a grand performance it would have ended up with me just telling the students what to say and where to be. Our smaller performances allowed students to make creative choices and to come up with their own dialogue in a way that benefited their learning. When watching their performances I was able to assess their understanding of voice while being a different character as well as their understanding about the faculty member's role in the school. These silly performances showed their creativity when it came to creating a character as well as their thoughtfulness when it came to picking their sentences for their groups.

Throughout this semester working with these students I have learned a lot and I am really grateful for the opportunity I had to work with my teacher and her students. One thing that was confirmed to me was how important the arts are even at an elementary level. Drama in this classroom has allowed these students to express themselves, see someone else's perspective, and to learn in a way that engages the body.



Here is the lesson and some of the performances below:

Grade 2

TH:Pr5.1.2

a. Demonstrate the relationship between and among body, voice, and mind in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

TH:Re9.1.2

b. Use a prop or costume in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama) to describe characters, settings, or events.

TH:Cn10.1.2

a. Relate character experiences to personal experiences in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

Theatre Objective: Students will show their understanding of how the voice and body are used in theatre by introducing their puppet to the class and then having their puppet perform a monologue. 

Standard 2

Objective 2

Identify individuals within the school community and how they contribute to the school's success.

Identify the roles that people have in the school and explain the importance of each member.

Demonstrate respect for the school and the school community.

Social Studies Objective: Students will show their understanding of how school faculty work together in order to create a successful school by creating a performance that talks about individuals and their importance to the school.

Theatre Objective: Students will show their understanding of voice and movement by operating a puppet in a small group performance.

“I am important”

Have students find their own space in the room with their puppets. Explain to students that you will say a phrase such as “I am important because teach students.” If that is true for your puppet, your puppet’s job is important because they teach students, you are going to stand up and make the puppet dance. Then sit back down and wait for the next phrase.

Phrases:

I am important because I help teachers.

I am important because I teach students.

I am important because I keep the building clean.

I am important because I help parents.

I am important because I keep students safe.

Ask students what it means to be important. Have them pair and share with a partner. Have a couple of students share.

Have students share some of the sentences you used for the game. See the above “I am important” statements. Write these on the board.

Split Students into Small Groups

Help each group find a space in the room. Have each group pick two sentences from the ones on the board. Explain that together they are going to say these sentences in a performance. Have them practice saying the lines using the puppet. Remind students that they should have a puppet voice.

Perform in Front of the Class

Explain to them that they are now going to perform in front of the whole class. Tell them that they are going to introduce their puppet as their puppet and then deliver their lines as group. Remind them to make sure to use their puppet voice when the puppet is talking and to be loud enough so that everyone can hear. Go over audience etiquette (sitting in their seats, not talking, clapping when they are done).

Appreciation

After everyone has performed talk to students about how we know that our faculty is very important to us, but how do we show them our appreciation? Appreciation means that we show others that we are thankful for them and what they do. Get ideas from students about the different ways we can show our appreciation to our staff. Explain to students that one way that we can say thank you is by creating a thank you video for the staff. Explain to students that you have filmed their performances that you will make a video that they can share with the faculty. The last thing we need to do is have a clip of us all saying thank you. Have all the students come to the carpet and film students saying thank you with their puppets.