Waters – Addie Newcomer
Learning Objective/Exit Outcomes:
- Students will be able to summarize and act out the main ideas of the journey of Lewis & Clark.
- Students will be able to reduce those ideas by half, and then half again, arriving at the most important aspect of Lewis & Clark.
- Students will be able to use their imagination to communicate their ideas.
- Students will be able to communicate the journey of Lewis & Clark verbally and physically.
- Students will be able to collaborate efficiently with their peers to arrive at a cohesive set of ideas.
- Students will be able to present appropriate theatre etiquette as audience members.
Social Studies & Theatre
SS1H1 Read about and describe the life of historical figures in American history.
- Identify the contributions made by these figures: Benjamin Franklin (inventor/author/ statesman), Thomas Jefferson (Declaration of Independence), Meriwether Lewis and William Clark with Sacagawea (exploration), Theodore Roosevelt (National Parks and the environment), George Washington Carver (science), and Ruby Bridges (civil rights).
- Describe how everyday life of these historical figures is similar to and different from everyday life in the present (for example: food, clothing, homes, transportation, communication, recreation, etc.).
SS1G1 Describe how each historic figure in SS1H1a was influenced by his or her time and place.
- American frontier (Lewis & Clark and Sacagawea)
SS1CG1 Describe how the historical figures in SS1H1a display positive character traits such as: fairness, respect for others, respect for the environment, courage, equality, tolerance, perseverance, and commitment.
TA1.CR.1 Organize, design, and refine theatrical work.
- Use imagination to create, revise, and/or add to ideas.
- Demonstrate skills of the mind (e.g. imagination, focus, concentration).
- Follow directions and contribute to planning in theatre experiences.
- Listen to others with respect and courtesy in an ensemble.
TA1.CR.2 Develop scripts through theatrical techniques.
- Retell stories.
- Sequence plot events for dramatizations.
- Generate original ideas for dramatizations.
TA1.PR.1 Act by communicating and sustaining roles in formal and informal environments.
- Use voice to communicate ideas and emotions.
- Use body to communicate ideas and emotions.
- Cooperate in theatre experiences.
- Assume roles in a variety of dramatic forms (e.g. narrated story, pantomime, puppetry, dramatic play).
TA1.RE.1 Engage actively and appropriately as an audience member.
- Participate as an audience.
- Identify the basic elements of theatre etiquette.
Open classroom space
PAIR Specialist led the class in executing the PAIR strategy, Half-Life. The teacher chose five students to be the first volunteers to play this strategy. The PAIR Specialist then told the five volunteer students they had two minutes to figure out how to present the journey of Lewis & Clark in only thirty seconds. While the volunteer students were working, the PAIR Specialist talked to the rest of the class about proper theatre etiquette how to react and respond when the volunteer students performed their story.
Once two minutes were up, the students showed their thirty second version of Lewis & Clark. The PAIR Specialist then asked the audience members what the key details of the story were based on the thirty second performance given by the volunteer students. The PAIR Specialist always followed an answer with the additional question “and what makes you say that” to make sure students can verbally explain why they believe their answer is correct, in detail.
Next, the same volunteer students were asked to tell the journey of Lewis & Clark in half the time, fifteen seconds. The students were given one minute to discuss how they could shorten their performance. After the fifteen second performance, the audience was asked if they could tell what the main idea of the journey was, and for whatever answer was given, the student giving the answer was challenged to explain why they thought that. Then, the volunteer students were challenged to tell the journey of Lewis & Clark in only seven seconds. This challenges students to think quickly and collaborate to summarize a full story.
This strategy can be done to review multiple other social studies events, allowing for more students to participate. You could also have all the students work in groups around the room and present to each other, identifying similarities and differences in each groups’ choices on what they found most important from what they learned about Lewis & Clark.
This strategy definitely needs coaching and guidance from the teacher, especially the first couple times. Once students get comfortable with all of the elements, they will naturally become more creative and less nervous about participating.