Lesson Plan

Grade: 7 Class: HR 7-7 Subject: Arts

Strand: Drama Length: Four - 50 minute Periods

Title: Acting with our bodies

Overall Expectations Learning Expectations
 B1. Creating and Presenting: apply the Students will learn about:
creative process (see pages 19–22) to  Blocking, and spacing
process drama and the development of  Body movement
drama works, using the elements and  Acting with bodies
conventions of drama to communicate  Using facial expressions
feelings, ideas, and multiple
perspectives;
 B2. Reflecting, Responding, and
Analysing: apply the critical analysis
process (see pages 23–28) to
communicate feelings, ideas, and
understandings in response to a variety
of drama works and experiences;
Specific Expectations
 B1.2 demonstrate an understanding of the elements of drama by selecting and combining
several elements and conventions to create dramatic effects
 B1.3 plan and shape the direction of the drama by working with others, both in and out of
role, to generate ideas and explore multiple perspectives
 B2.2 analyse and describe, using drama terminology, how drama elements are used to
communicate meaning in a variety of drama works and shared drama experiences
Success Criteria (Design with Students)
I can:
I can:
I can:
Assessment For, As, Of Learning
Achievement Chart Categories: Knowledge and understanding, thinking, communication, application
Assessment Type Assessment Mode: Assessment Strategy Assessment Tool
Written, Oral, Specific Task For student
Performance
Assessment For
Assessment As
Assessment Of Performance Students perform Rubric
tableau
Prior Learning
Students have experience:
 Writing dialogue
 Performing role plays
 Cross Curricular Links

Vocabulary
Tableau
Blocking (Drama)
Placement(Drama)

Teaching/ Learning Strategies Groupings

 Group think Circle of chairs no desks
Resources: Teacher Materials Resources: Student Materials
 Prop bag
Development of Lesson
Activities in sequence
1. Inform students that drama will be happening in class and review what students have already
done in class for drama (dialogue writing, role playing, performing)Ask students what other
experience outside of class they’ve had with drama
2. Tell students that today we will be focusing on using our bodies for acting and that speaking
and dialogue will not be a focus (5 minutes)
3. Tell students that we will be doing a slow motion race across the room, whoever finishes last
wins. (Students must take big steps, and should try and have one foot off the ground as much as
possible)
4. After a race or two move on to Environmental walk exercise. Tell students we will be walking
around the room and imagining we have to walk through these different environments and that
our walking and movement must change to suit the environment. (Move around the room as if
walking in the following environments: warm summer day, a light rain fall, a torrential
downpour, the first snowfall, a wind storm, a hail storm. Move around the room as if walking
through or on the following: a mud field, an icy sidewalk, hip high grass, a rocky mountain,
quick drying cement.) (15 minutes)
5. After the exercise have students sit down and explain next exercise. This will be using
Tableau. Explain what tableau is to the class. Using the Body to Show the Weather. Put student
in groups to create a tableau that shows the weather without using words or hands. (e.g. Holding
out a flat palm to show that it’s raining, covering head, snowing outside showing their bundled
up or catching snow with tongue, Hot sunny day, show them covering eyes looking up at sky,
wiping sweat from forehead.)
6. Have groups present tableaus of weather to class and teacher (25 minutes)
7. Tell students the next part will be using our bodies to show emotions. Tell students that they
(show enthusiasm in your eyebrows, your shoulders, your fingers, your knees, your feet. You do
this for a variety of emotions such as sadness, happiness and anger. But our body parts react
differently depending on our emotions. So our bodily reactions should reflect the emotion we
want to display)
8. Tell students they will be creating a full body physical pose for an emotion: What happens to
the body when you’re happy, mad, sad, scared, proud? Go through each emotion and have the
class go through it together in the circle. (15 minutes)
9. Tell students they will get together in small groups, create a tableau that shows an emotional
reaction and show the tableau to the rest of the class. See if the class can guess the emotion? (20
minutes)
10. Tell students next we will be looking at body movement and how it can inform the audience
of a character You can tell a lot about a character by how they stand, how they gesture, and how
they walk. Shoulders The easiest way to establish a character is by placing their shoulders.
Practice creating the following character types with the following shoulder positions.
• Are they a tense character? (shoulders up around the ears)
• Are they a relaxed character? (shoulders sloped down)
• Are they a shy character? (shoulders slumped forward)
• Are they a confident character? (shoulders pulled back)
11. Next look at how a character walks and what that can tell the audience. What kind of
character moves quickly? (a businessman on his way to work)
What kind of character moves with slow steps (someone going into a haunted house)
Then start combining the pairings:
• Fast, small, light.
• Slow, big, heavy (15 minutes)
12. Next have each student use these types of movements and expressions and create a character.
They come up with a name, an age, and a job. They then introduce themselves to the rest of the
class. (15 minutes)
13. Next tell students we will be learning about spacing and blocking. Explain what these mean
in dramatic terms. Tell students we will be doing an exercise to help with understanding spacing
and blocking. (10 minutes)
14. Entrances and Exits: Students enter the space, sit and then exit. Their objective is to show
both the location they’re entering and where they’re going. (e.g character is entering to watch t.v
from the kitchen, walks around a table, sits down facing the t.v, picks up remote, puts down on
table, gets up to go to kitchen for item forgotten.)(15 minutes)
15. Do second part of entrances and exits exercise: In groups of three. The first person enters,
establishes the space and exits. The next person enters, places a mimed object in the space (that
must fit the space) and leaves it when they exit. Third person does the same. Bonus points if the
third person can pick up and use the second person’s mimed object before leaving. (15 minutes)
16. Get students together and tell them they will now be putting on an original tableau
performance. Students will form their own groups of 3 or 4 if necessary. Students will need to
put on a tableau scene with 7 -10 frames. The scene must have a beginning middle and end.
Groups will have a narration at the beginning of performance to set up the scene and give
audience an idea as to what is happening. (The narration is not an explanation of what the tableau
performance will be) When students are ready they will perform tableau skits in front of teacher
and class (50 minutes)
Student Evaluation
Students will present tableau skits to teacher and class and be evaluated based off of rubric
Modifications/ Adaptions
1. Pair students that are more comfortable performing with each other in the same group
2. Re word and rephrase instructions
3. Guiding approach to ensure individuals are on task
Reflection