Healthy Lifestyle Drama

Grade Level(s)
9 to 12

Subject Area(s)
Drama, Health & Career Education, Health & Life Skills, Health & Physical Education, Guidance

Links to Vancouver 2010 Education Program Component(s)

Sports and Healthy Living, Global Citizenship

Activity Description
Students will create a drama depicting how healthy lifestyle choices relate to the fulfillment of
dreams and goals. The form of the drama (for example, informal role play, formal stage play, film,
radio play, radio or TV commercial and podcast) can be selected by students or determined by the
teacher depending on the time and resources available.

Students will start by:

♦ studying the Vancouver 2010 Find Your Passion in Sport poster series and the athlete
biographies, focussing on the athletes’ dreams and goals

Students will then:

♦ work in groups to brainstorm:
− goals that adolescents might have (for example, in relation to education, careers, health
and personal interests)
− healthy lifestyle choices (for example, nutrition, physical activity, assertive behaviour,
positive role models, positive relationships, and seeking help and information) that can
support the fulfillment of goals
− unhealthy lifestyle choices (for example, drug and alcohol use, risk-taking behaviour) that
can have a negative effect on goal achievement
♦ continue in their groups to develop a drama depicting either healthy or unhealthy lifestyle
choices and the effects on goal achievement; students may choose to depict both types of
choices in their dramas
♦ present their dramas to another group, the rest of the class and a wider audience if desired
♦ individually select another group’s drama, and analyze it from the point of view of a “drama
critic” (for example, for the school news website)

Learning Objectives
By participating in this activity, students will:
♦ demonstrate drama development skills (for example, improvisation, playwriting and script
development)
♦ demonstrate drama performance skills (for example, characterization, body and voice skills)
♦ identify consequences of decisions
♦ analyze how lifestyle choices affect health and goal achievement
Resources Needed
♦ the Vancouver 2010 Find Your Passion in Sport poster series and biographies can be found at
vancouver2010.com/EDU in the “Vancouver 2010 Aboriginal Education Resources” program
♦ pens, pencils, paper
♦ optional: resources to support drama presentations (for example, film and projection
equipment, sound equipment, stage area)

Duration of Activity
Two to four hours, in addition to presentation time

Cognitive and Affective Domains

This lesson promotes development of:
♦ cognitive skills with respect to analysis (of cause and effect), writing and story development,
presentation skills
♦ affective capacity with respect to:
− imagination (in creating dramas)
− empathy (understanding motives, feelings and actions)
− the creative process
− effective group work
− problem solving

Assessment Strategy
Students’ drama presentations offer opportunities for peer assessment in relation to:
♦ drama skills (for example, effective use of body and voice, incorporation of stagecraft elements
as applicable and characterization)
♦ story development skills (for example, plot structure, conflict and resolution)
♦ realistic depiction of goals and how they are affected by lifestyle choices

Students can also conduct a group self-assessment of their abilities to:

♦ work effectively as a group
♦ value all group members’ contributions
♦ resolve disagreements fairly