I have created a musical track that presents the steps in an ocean theme.
Breathe = whale sounds
Tactile = brushing the sand off from the beach
Core Distal = Star Fish
Head Tail = Kelp, then a Standing Crab Walk
Upper Lower = Dolphin
Body Half = Octopus on Right, then Left
Cross Lateral = Picking up Seashells
Vestibular = Surfing a Tsunami
Cool-Down = Returning to Your Spot by Breathing and Swimming like a Scuba Diver
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| Here are the Brain Dance Moves. This picture comes from the following website: http://karenbodyofknowledge.com/workshops-and-classes/braindance/purchase-braindance-cards/ |
After this successful warm-up, I taught the students the vocabulary lessons for the day. We discussed how the 6 questions that people naturally ask when they write a story/play or read a book are WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, and HOW? Once those questions are answered, the story becomes more complete and easier to follow.
We then discussed how all these questions can be answered by the R.O.O.T., which is an acronym I created, which means Relationships, Objectives, Obstacles, and Tactics. I explained that if a story or scene feels weak, too short, or empty, focusing on one or all of these elements can help the story move along. Characters must have some sort of connection to people, places, and things. They must have a goal (objective); they must want something in order for the scene to be interesting and for the audience to invest in the character's journey towards it. Then they must have things standing in the way of what the character wants, otherwise the story will be too short and boring. Lastly, the character must make choices and do things in order to get what he/she wants. Otherwise the story just stops when the character fails, and it is too short and boring as well! Overall, the character must be connected and tied to things, have a want, overcome obstacles, and do things to get what he/she wants. This makes a complete story and a wonderfully structured scene because it has a strong R.O.OT., which works as a great metaphor because of the way roots literally ground a plant. Thus "root" is an easy and effective metaphor and acronym for students of all ages, and in all levels of writing experience.
As we discussed these terms, the students came up with examples for R.O.O.T. elements in movies. Many talked about the importance of relationships between the characters in the "Star Wars" series. We also used "Finding Nemo" to show the importance of objectives (since it is in the title of the film), obstacles, and tactics towards reaching a clear goal.
Here is the handout I gave to the students to help them remember all the word and definitions I taught them today.
Conveniently, these were the core curriculum standards in the classroom, which perfectly relate to the lesson I was teaching. They are for 4th grade Language Arts and Writing. The R.O.O.T. can also help with reading comprehension because it can be used as a memorization tool. If they ask themselves the 6 questions and focus on the R.O.O.T. elements of the story, they have the entire gist of the story they just read in class!ACTIVITY: Complete the Scene
After teaching this vocabulary. the students received their assignment. They were put into the same groups as last time (3-4 people) and read a story that I wrote. Here it is:
TOOL: This existing prompt, and a piece of fabric
TECHNIQUE: Narration + acting (add onto the prompt to finish the story/scene)
As you can tell ,the story is only half complete. I find this to be a nice 2nd day activity because it is a lot to ask them to create a really strong scene all by themselves right after having just learned these terms. So the scene already answers the questions (who, what, when, where, why), but now they have to finish the story by adding more of the "how": the obstacles that keep the character from achieving his objective, and the choices the character makes in order to overcome those obstacles. I wrote this on the board and used these pictures to help tell the story.
Then the students received the worksheet where the wrote the rest of their scene, adding onto the existing story, also on their worksheet for reference. They had about 20 minutes to write and rehearse performing the scene. They were also given a long piece of fabric and were challenged to include it somewhere in their scene. Here are some pictures from rehearsal and the final product.
*Note: The students had the option of beginning their performance at the very beginning of the story (reading and acting out the part that I wrote), or starting at the part that they wrote, since we were all familiar with the part I had written. MOST chose to act out the entire thing! I was happy about this! They seem to love acting and telling complete stories.
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| Students rehearse the scene while others write it down. Sometimes ideas come after acting it out, first. The fabric in this scene was used as a magical cloth that transforms Billy into a girl (another actor) so his father does not recognize him hiding in the cupboard. |
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| The students all rehearse in the room at the same time. We make sure all the desks and chairs are out of the way to maximize the rehearse and performance space. |
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| I gave the students no instruction as to how to stage the scene. Many used the same staging as one another, which I found interesting, and I enjoyed seeing how comfortable they are performing for each other. Here, Billy is revealed hiding in the closet, once hidden under the blue fabric. I allow the students to use their clipboards with their script as they perform. Memorization is not important at this stage. |
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| In many of the scenes, the narrator stood in the wings, which is the word for the offstage areas directly right and left of the stage. I taught them this word on this day. In this scene, the fabric was used as an invisibility cloak (and in many other scenes as well) to hide Billy and allow him to escape without being caught by his father. Some students wrote dialogue or improvised dialogue. Others just read the story while the rest of the group acted it out in silence. |
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| Students are also instructed that they can use anything they find in the classroom for costumes, set pieces, props, etc. This group and many others used a desk as the cupboard, hiding Billy underneath. This particular group used their fabric as unicorn dust, as it sneezes on Billy. I loved their creativity and their chose to add characters (and a dream sequence)! I also loved their natural use of levels in this scene. Sitting, standing, sitting higher, etc. It was very clever and a great use of space. |
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| I am already very impressed with the students' acting and physicality in their performance. The "Vampire Cookies" story has a lot of action, and I believe this is the moment where Billy bends down to bite off his door handle. They loved acting this scene out, adding their own twist, assigning roles (sometimes changing the gender of the characters to fit their cast), and adding sound effects. I loved seeing how the narrator often doubled as the dog character a well. From what I could see, no one fought over roles. |
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| This group used the fabric to be a cape for the father, since the characters are vampires. I loved this idea! I also loved making the levels here, showing the different in power between Billy and the dad. They are so clever! |
THEATRE VOCABULARY WORD OF THE DAY: Wings - the offstage areas directly left and right of the stage, where actors wait for their cue to enter. This is also where they end up after they go offstage.
These scenes were a ton of fun to watch. Lots had similar themes, but that is to be expected since they all were working with the same scene template. The teachers, Mrs. Bailey and Mrs. Ormsby, really enjoy watching their students perform and work together to act out these stories they mostly made up! We will continue to create scenes based on templates, yet I will loosen the reigns a bit more next time and not even give them the first half of a scene!
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