The Arts: Drama

Unit Title
Year 3, Term 3, 2014
ACARA Content Descriptors:

Making
4.1 Create roles and relationships to build dramatic action in improvisation, devised and scripted drama
4.2 Create dramatic action and a sense of time and place using body, movement, language and voice to create dramatic meaning
4.3 Shape the dramatic action by introducing and resolving dramatic tension in improvised and devised drama
4.4 Offer, accept and negotiate situations in spontaneous improvisation and rehearsed devised drama performance

Responding
4.7 Identify, explain and comment on their drama experiences as participant, performer and audience
4.8 Identify and comment on the dramatic action, characters and themes in their own and others drama




Unit Overview:


Can the students use facial expression, gesture, posture, movement and voice to show age, attitude
and emotions?
Can the students improvise roles and relationships by engaging in dialogue?
Can you students show status and power in roles and relationships through proximity, different levels
and use of space i.e. showing what happens in the playground between different groups of students
Can the students vary movement and stillness, body language and facial expression to create dramatic
action?
Can the students show sensory and spatial awareness using mime?
Can the students add dramatic meaning and a sense of time and place by varying the pace, pitch and
volume of their voices?
Can the students establish a problem to direct the dramatic situation?
Can the students structure drama based on who, what, when, where and whats at stake?
Can the students drive the dramatic action with a problem that must be solved?
Can the students improvise interviews and situations involving given roles?
Can the students use materials and objects as stimuli for improvisation?
Can the students initiate an idea for dramatic action that is a problem to be responded to?
Can the students identify dramatic meanings, strengths and challenges?
Can the students pay attention to the performance, not disturbing others?
Key Words:

Experiment
Gesture
Posture
Movement
Voice
Attitude
Emotions
Dialogue
Space
Stillness
Facial Expression
Dramatic Action
Setting
Situation
Mime
Pace
Pitch
Volume
Problem
Resolved
Improvisation
Prop
Interview
Explain
Reflect

Assessment:

Students are given a scenario that occurs within the playground with dialogue a problem such as getting out in mega ball. There are 4
different characters with different roles and personalities. The students must rehearse using the dialogue and fill out a character profile
sheet for their characters identifying how their character would talk, walk and act if they were, for example, shy. The students need to
demonstrate they can portray their character reading the dialogue using the appropriate voice, movement and gestures.
























Week Teaching and Learning Experiences Resources
1
1 hour
session
Focus:
4.1 Experimenting with facial expression, gesture, posture and movement
4.2 Varying movement and stillness, body language and facial expression to create dramatic action
4.2 Showing sensory and spatial awareness using mime
Warm Up Activity

Freeze
Students move around open space classroom taking care to not touch or bump others
All try to walk at the same pace (set and modelled by the teacher)
Teacher calls FREEZE! and will give the students an emotion that they must portray using
their face and their body (angry, sad, shy, surprised, happy, scared)
Point out students who are doing a good job and talk about why
Holding their poses, students may only blink and breathe until the teacher directs them to
walk again no noise or no moving
Students keep walking around the room and this time when the teacher asks the students
to FREEZE they must find a group of 4
INTRODUCE THE DRAMA RULES
Holiday Reflection
In their groups of 4 the students must each share their favourite part of their holiday
next person must start speaking when they hear the bell
Teacher explains that each group has to choose one of those activities and create a freeze
frame for that activity
Teacher to give an example and use two other students to help show a freeze frame for
having coffee with friends (using 4 chairs the teacher and three students pretend to be
drinking coffee and smiling)
Give each group sufficient time to work on their freeze frame
Guess the holiday game to be played at the end where each group must share their freeze
frame and the rest of the class guesses
Reflection: Talk about facial expression, gesture, and posture























Bell
Chairs - can be used as props
(appropriately)
2
1 hour
session
Focus:
4.1 Improvising roles and relationships by engaging in dialogue
4.4 Using materials and objects as stimuli for improvisation
Warm Up Activity

I Get Around
Teacher to place students into their drama groups of 4
The groups are given a mode of transport (written on a piece of paper) that they must act
out using talking, movement and sounds if needed WITHOUT naming the car or bus or
whatever they have chosen
The first person starts first and 10-15 seconds later the second player joins and adds an
idea, helping the audience to believe they are really on a bus, or riding a horse etc. until all
the members have joined in
The rest of the class guess after a minute of action
The students are not making the form of transport with their bodies, they are characters
using it

Playground Problem introducing dialogue
Teacher to place students in groups of 4 (EXPLAIN THAT THESE WILL BE THE DRAMA
GROUPS FOR DRAMA)
Talk about the playground and play time discuss some possible things that might happen
at play time and write on board (mega ball, tiggie, loom band making, playing on the
playground)
Ask the students if there are any times during play time where sometimes you feel left
out, or you get out in hand ball and you get a bit mad or upset, or you might have lost your
friends Brainstorm and write ideas on other whiteboard
How does this make you feel? Sad? Angry? Embarrassed? (Remind the students how we
portrayed these emotions using our faces and bodies explain now we are going to add
talking)
Explain that in groups of 4 you need to act out something bad that happens at play time,
you must use one of the examples that you pick out of a hat
Explain that each student must take on a role each role is written on the scenario with
the written dialogue






Paper with mode of transport
written on it
Props









Script handouts

One student might be a bully, the other might be really nice, someone might be really shy
think about how these characters would talk, how would they move?
Model how someone would talk really shy and move
Before students start they must brainstorm as a group how these characters would talk
and how they would move their bodies if they were shy or angry
Explain that you need to show the emotions we talked about and you will need to use
dialogue to make us believe we are actually watching a scene from the playground
Give students 10 minutes to practice using their dialogue
Come together at the end and perform each performance should go for about 2 minutes
Reflect on the performances and remind the students of the drama rules, how it is
important to provide critical feedback as well as positive feedback!
3
1 hour
session
Focus:
4.3 Establishing a problem, conflict or unexplained situation to direct the dramatic action
4.4 Improvising interviews and situations involving given roles, situations and starting points for dramatic action
Warm Up Activity

Space Jump
Teacher chooses 5 students to play the first game of space jump
Teacher gives out 5 scenarios that each student must change as they enter the stage and
the other person must go along with their scenario
1
st
person starts on the stage and they act out any scene they want, this could be playing
a game basketball, watching TV at home, eating breakfast etc.
Then the teacher calls FREEZE! and then the 2
nd
student walks in and changes the scene
to whatever they want and the 1
st
person has to go along and act with the 2
nd
person
The same happens with the 3
rd
, 4
th
and 5
th

Explain if someone is really angry they might RAISE their voice, or if they are sad they
might talk soft and quietly
When all the students have had a moment on the stage each one has to now leave, one
at a time
As each student leaves they must go back to the scene that it was before that person
entered until all the students are gone except the student who started
Those students who didnt participate: identify dramatic meanings, strengths and
challenges by providing warm and cool feedback whilst respecting others feelings






Scenarios printed on paper

















Goldilocks and The Three Bears & Other Fairy Tales
Teacher to hand out a different short script excerpt from known fairy tales
Each group will have a script with different characters written on i.e. Red Riding Hood,
Wolf, Grandmother and a different fairy tale scenario
Explain that each character will have to use a different voice to portray their character and
have different movements using their body discuss why?
Explain that in every group there will need to be a narrator it is important to work this
out as a group
Explain that for each group there will be some props provided talk about how to be
appropriate when using the props
Give students 5-10 minutes to prepare and practice going through their scripts
Each group performs their fairy tale and then after each performance give some warm
and cool feedback for each


Short fairy tale scripts
Props
4
1 hour
session
Focus:
Adding dramatic meaning and a sense of time and place by varying the pace, pitch and volume of their voices, such as vocalising
sound effects to establish atmosphere and compare environments
Warm Up Activity

Sound Pictures
Students into groups of 6
Each group is given a theme the beach, rainforest, busy city, school playground
One student in the group acts as the conductor shaping the noise by raising their hand
when they want it to be loud and lowering their hand when they want it to be more quiet
Show example Rainforest Soundscape
Before starting make sure each person in group has had time to discuss a possible sound
that is appropriate before starting
Allow the group a couple of minutes to practice then come together to perform them to
the class








Interactive Whiteboard
Rainforest Soundscape









Playground Problem - Assessment
Teacher asks students to get into their drama groups (of 4)
Explain that the following lesson they will all be doing a performance for assessment
Teacher explains that today they will be working on a new playtime scenario and then the
next lesson will be dedicated to watching the performances
Give out each scenario and explain that today they will be given time to get into character,
brainstorm how these characters would walk, talk etc. using the character profile hand out
Practice reading their dialogue and choose some appropriate props from the basket that
adds to your drama
Give the students the rest of the lesson to prepare


Script excerpts
Character profile handouts
Props
5
1 hour
session

DRAMA ASSESSMENT PERFORMANCES


6
1 hour
session

Explore some different cultural videos from both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people
Talk about the different cultural costumes that are worn in the videos
Ask some of the students to point out or show some of the movements that were used in
the video from either the Aboriginals or the Torres Strait Islanders
Get the students to discuss what these movements might mean (emotions, actions or
messages, symbolism)
Explain that the Aboriginal people used dances to share stories just like we might sit
around and watch TV at night they would share dances with one another almost every
evening
Show the YouTube video of the crane bird
Have a YouTube clip of a crane bird dance ready and compare the movements
Get the students to identify what the movements were
To finish off the lesson get the students to copy your movements around the room of the
crane bird

YouTube crane bird, tradition
Aboriginal dance and
traditional Torres Strait
Islander dance


7
1 hour
session



8
1 hour
session





9
1 hour
session
*CAMP*
10




The Arts: Dance

Unit Title
Year 3, Term 3, 2014
ACARA Content Descriptors:

Making
4.1 Imagine and create new movement through improvisation
4.2 Explore and change movements using the elements of body, space, time, dynamics and relationships to express ideas
4.5 Present dance in a socially and culturally sensitive manner to a range of audiences

Responding
4.8 Identify and discuss the use of the elements of body, space, time, dynamics and relationships in expressing ideas in their own and
others dances
4.9 Recognise the features of a range of dances including those from Australia and the Asia region to explore perspectives and identify
that dances are created for a variety of reasons



Unit Overview:

Can the students explore known movements and gestures and find alternate ways
of performing them?
Can the students recognise ideas from a stimulus such as stories and memories to
generate movement?
Do the students respond to the feelings and sensations of their bodies during
improvisation?
Can the students alter movements using the elements of body, space, time,
dynamics and relationships to express ideas?
Can the students explore space and time by marking out the space required for a
series of movements?
Can the students change movements in a set or teacher-directed dance or student-
devised dance?
Do the students use safe dance practices when changing movements?
Can the students use expressive qualities of projection and focus to communicate
dance ideas to an audience?
Can the students present learned dances to known audiences, focussing on
accuracy, control, alignment, balance and coordination?
Can the students create a simple movement sequence based on ideas suggested by
Key Words:

Movement
Cultural
Aboriginal
Torres Strait Islander
Dance
Body
Space
Time
Story
Gestures
Performing
Opinion
Express
Communicate
Audience
Reflect

stimuli studied in class?
Do the students present their performance of dance movements from other
cultures in a respectful way?
Can the students respect other students dancing by being an attentive audience
member and acknowledging the opinions of others?
Can the students discuss why people dance in daily and community life and various
contexts, for example Aboriginal peoples welcome dance?

Assessment

Students are given a stimulus (Aboriginal story by Pamela Lofts) where they must create a series of movements, to create the story and
share in front of an audience. The students must first plan out their movements using the story book provided and write down their
movements and practice as a group.


Week Teaching and Learning Experiences Resources
1

2

3

4


5





6
Explore some different cultural videos from both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people
Talk about the different cultural costumes that are worn in the videos
Ask some of the students to point out or show some of the movements that were used in
the video from either the Aboriginals or the Torres Strait Islanders
Get the students to discuss what these movements might mean (emotions, actions or
messages, symbolism)
Explain that the Aboriginal people used dances to share stories just like we might sit
around and watch TV at night they would share dances with one another almost every
evening
Show the YouTube video of the crane bird
Have a YouTube clip of a crane bird dance ready and compare the movements
Get the students to identify what the movements were
To finish off the lesson get the students to copy your movements around the room of the
crane bird
YouTube crane bird, tradition
Aboriginal dance and
traditional Torres Strait
Islander dance

7

Reflect on the last lesson by asking the students what the dances were that we saw last
week (traditional Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander dances + the crane dance)
Explain that we are now going to use our own movements to explore some movement of
our own
Give each child a piece of material and explain that you are all going to pretend you are a
storm, a storm builds from being quite slow, gentle and quiet to loud, strong and fast
Ask some students how they might move in the beginning of the storm, and how they
might move in the middle of the storm
Play the YouTube clip of the storm sounds and have the students lying down to listen to
the music before they do their movements get them to think of some movements they
think they might do
How do you think you might move at the beginning? Fast or slow? Imagine you cannot
speak and you are trying to share a story of how a storm came into the school to your
parents, you can only use your body model some movements

YouTube storm sounds
Worksheet explaining their
movements
REMEMBER: Appropriate!
Model behaviour that SHOULD NOT BE SEEN, and model good behaviour when moving.
NO touching other people.
Put storm sounds over YouTube and get the students to begin their moving point out
students who are doing excellent movements

Get the students to complete a worksheet afterwards answering the following:
What movements made you feel sad/happy?
What were you pretending to be?
What movements did you do?
Why did you choose to do those movements?
How did you feel when you were dancing?
8

Students are to create their own dance when they are given an Australian animal and
short scenario kangaroo, koala, goanna, pelican, crocodile in GROUPS 4 or 5
Watch the video of the Brolga bird talk about how it moves and what might be
happening? Is there a story?
Watch the Bangarra dance company perform their dance of the Brolga bird
Ask
What movements do you see are similar to the real Brolga birds?
Do the dancers look like real brolgas?
Do the dancers move like the brolgas? In what ways?
What do you think the dancers arms represent when they are long? What do you think they
represent when they are bent at the elbows?
Is there a story? Is she frightened? Is she sad and then happy? Explain?
Teacher to explain to students in their groups they are to share ideas about how this
animal moves and come up with several different movements to tell us about this animals
story. Yours might be a snake, which is being picked on by the other snakes. You will need
to show us this using several movements everybody will do the same movements

YouTube Bangarra Brolga
dance
YouTube - Brolga birds
unless you need one person to do something different because it shows the story
Remind the students that as they are planning they need to be making notes of the
different movements they are going to use in their dances aim to use a minimum of 5
different key movements and then you can repeat these
Remind students to use safe dance practices and display care and respect and
responsibility towards other performers in the space provided
Practice time: 10 15 MINS
Come together and share the dances
After each performance get the students watching to volunteer and ask them Which
movements expressed something you recognised from the animal they were focussing
on? How could you understand the story?
Warm and cool feedback
9
Students are each given a copy of aboriginal story in book
In their groups the students are to create a poster to plan all their different parts of their
story to help them develop a clear understanding of the movements they will use to
portray each part of the story
Students are to write down their movements next to each section of the story
Teacher to walk around and help students with their movements
Students are to practice their movements
*CAMP*
10

DANCE ASSESSMENT STUDENTS PERFORM THEIR MOVEMENT PIECE TO TELL THE STORY