Gavin Purewal

Journal Entries EDTE 429

Lesson 1
Introduction to heroes

Warm up: Allah Baba and the 40 thieves: the demo of the steps was important. It woke up
the brain by engaging the whole body with physical activity. It can be applied in an everyday
class scenario to get the students engaged and ready. I would do this with a class.

Introductory activity alliteration name game with super hero actions: it’s a good way to get
to know the class and it keeps most people interested however for younger age groups this
game may not be the best way to be introduced to the students.

Mime
● The elements of mime: Resistance, consistency, and exaggerated expression.

Narrative Mime: essentially acting out a story, we did where your hero was trapped and had
to escape. It can be a great moving break because the learners are still following instructions
while they express themselves with movement. I really enjoyed participating and would try
this with my class, as it can easily show which students are involved. In a history class this
can be a good tool to act out a series of events which can help some students memorize
them.

Music and tableaux warm up

● heroic poses: we generated these during the name introductory game

● Tableaux: a freeze frame of an event. We were acting during the playing of the Indiana
Jones music and then when it was time to stop we created a tableaux.

Heroes Brainstorm: We gathered characteristics of heroes’ not just superheroes and Teresa
shared her story about her son and how he scared a cougar away from a stranded cyclist. We
determined that anyone can be a hero if they shoe the right characteristics. We also
discussed if super heroes are cooperative or competitive and they can share characteristics
of both. This discussion can be used in a class when discussing a unit or acts of heroism in
general. It can create a culture in a class where we are all trying to emulate superheroes.

Heroic Tableaux Performance: in groups we acted out a headline using our superpowers
which was a fun way to demonstrate tableaux. The direction that the actors are looking during
the tableaux really show points of emphasis and create strong imagery. Doing this activity
with a younger group may take a bit more time to organize the idea of a headline and how to
act it out. I might use this activity for story telling in the classroom at the end of a unit.
Ultimate Show Down: We were singing a song in a big group at the end of class. It was
somewhat rushed and the amount of time to organize actions was difficult because we were
in such a large group. This is an activity I most likely wouldn’t do in class because with a
younger group it would take considerable time to get it all sorted and ready.

IMPROVISATION
Student warm up. Christine, Lisa, Jordie, and Shanelle they had their warm up that had us
acting in tableaux to some music.

Warm up: the class was divided up into two groups and everyone had a partner. Each set of
partners was given an expression to act out. Every group had the same dialogue but the tone
and setting was different for each set. This was a good activity to demonstrate that tone can
change the meaning. I would use this in an English class to show that it is important to show
tone.

Commercials: in groups of 4-5 we were to use our superpowers and act out a commercial.
We needed to use improve (rehearsed). This was a fun way to work together and blend ideas.
Using this in a history class to act out the past or the history of Canada could be a fun way to
engage the learners.

Improvisation Introduction
Setting
● In groups of 3 students select a setting common to super heroes pre-written on slips on
paper
● Students after a brief rehearsal present their setting using mime
● whole group guess setting

We had the bank setting which was fun however this activity does take some time to do
therefore I would most likely not use it in my classroom. Guessing all the groups was not that
time consuming rather the preparation was the time consuming portion.

Characters
 In the same groups students are now adding characters to the setting
 Characters are congruent to the setting but there is one ‘super hero” among them
Plot
 The concept of plot is discussed
o Generally a plot is a problem that needs to be solved. The problem builds to a
climax and the resolution is found ending the scene.
o In comedy the ‘solution’ is usually incongruous or unexpected
  Each group has to decide what the ‘problem’ is and what the solution is
Improvs
 Groups rehearse their improve making sure they take the time to develop the setting
characters as well as plot
 Scenes are shown

Building on the setting component we prepared a sort scenario where there is a beginning,
middle and end. There is also a conflict and climax, this exercise is tremendous for
demonstrating rehearsed improv. Again this is a longer activity and I would most likely not use
this but it engages everyone and is informative. Also, with younger students the activity can
get loud and possibly rowdy.

Introduction to Hidden Heroes

Bread
● Give someone a piece of bread
● Am I a hero?
● Why? Why not?
● What could we do to make this a heroic moment?
Heroic moments or people
● In looking at myths and legends, and super heroes we are looking at famous heroes.
Are their heroes that are not well known? Who are they?
An unexpected /hidden hero
● Talk about everyday heroes or moments

The discussion we had about giving bread and how it can or cannot make you a hero was
intriguing because it became very situational. Everyone had unique viewpoints and it made
for a great discussion. I would totally use this in my classroom if we had to do debates or
even a warm up for a language arts activity.

Development
Hidden heroes
● Individually think of a hidden hero you know or a heroic thing you know of?
● What makes this heroic?
● In groups of 4 tell your group your story
● Chose one story and share it through improvisation
● Remember to establish your setting and characters and then have your heroic moment
occur.
In groups we discussed heroic moments that we have either experienced or know of and
determined which we would act out. This was a great way to get to know our classmates on a
more personal level. I would use this as an intro activity with my class to get to know them. It
does take some time so that’s probably the only situation where I would use that.

MOVEMENT
Intro
 Puzzle pieces is done in pairs
 Action Reaction is done in pairs
 It is then done in slow motion with exaggeration
In partners one will react to the others movements. It would be a good activity to do with any
age grade with space permitting. I would use this as a brain break as well as a teaching tool
to teach action and reaction, body awareness and imagination.

Battle to Music (Empire Strikes Back Theme)

 Students group in pairs A and B
In pairs do narrative pantomime to theme music

Narrative mime. It is important that the students all know what a “lightsaber” is or whatever
device you will be using. This is a fun current way to teach action and reaction and also give a
brain break.

Monster Movement
 In groups of 4-5 each group is given a monster description
 In the style of a documentary each group depicts the monster through movement and
sound with one person acting as narrator
This exercise was good because it used expression through movement. It also allowed those
who have different levels of theatrics express themselves accordingly. It can keep students in
their comfort levels. I would like to use this in class except I don’t really see where I could
unless it’s loosely tied to a history class. This activity would take a fair amount of time to have
quality learning be the outcome.

Lesson 3: Performing Arts Based on Curriculum Sources

Student warm up: Tag with the noodle game where we sat in a circle. Passed the names (stand when your
name is called) along and tried to do so before being tagged. Very fun only modification would to be once
tagged you cannot tag the same person that just tagged you. This would also be good to play at the end of the
first week of class to try and see if you know everybody’s names. Additionally, if students have mobility issues
they wouldn’t have to stand up they can just raise their hand instead.

Eragon – the forest setting: the five senses walking through the forest and think about how it: feels, smells,
tastes, sounds, and looks like. This is good warm up for the upcoming activities. Visualization is a good skill for
all classes as well as extracurricular activities.

Rain storm – sound scape

This activity is similar to the one done during class 1 where we follow the person to the left of you no
matter what the rest of the group is doing. This activity I wouldn’t use until at least grade 6/7 as it would be
hard to manage the students.

Hobbit – setting
Narrative pantomime
 Using guided imagery we acted out a passage from the book. I didn’t really enjoy the acting out of the
scene.

Soundscape: each group is responsible for a sound that is a part of the passage from the hobbit. This activity
was good to break down an activity in groups then bring them groups together to create a fun sound/project.

Gift Giving – warm up: this activity was lots of fun, it creates chaos if you’re trying for speed. I would use this
activity to warm up the students or if spreading rumours I would use this activity to demonstrate that it can get
out of hand and to not spread rumours.

Choral Speaking
Introduction: we read the next passage of the Hobbit and got in groups to prepare a passage. This was a large
passage and I didn’t really enjoy this because it did not feel it enhanced my experience with the passage.

Hobbits – Choral Speaking

It was ok it showed good teamwork and unity however I would most likely not use this in my classroom.

The Flight of Icarus

Narrative Pantomime: the backstory of the Minotaur and the labyrinth. Being in partners made this fun and
made the writing in role more fun.

Writing in Role: Fun and exciting, good practice for a history class. Writing as if you were Icarus or his dad, I
would use this activity in my class.

Tableaux and Events:

More practice with tableaux and the transitioning between them. These are always good for re-
enacting history in a socials class.

STORY THEATRE PART 1: LESSON 4

Student warm up: My groups warm up of battle rock, paper, scissors. Josh led a vigorous stretch
which was a good hook into the game. Then we demonstrated how to play the game and how you
became a cheerleader after you lost. We could have gone over some safety precautions ie. Outside
as well as explained the rules of rock paper scissors. With younger students it is important to enforce
the rule that only positive words must be said to avoid hurtful words. Also, we had round champion vs.
round 2 champion (all the cheerleaders) play off while with some students could be intimidated by this
so gauge the winners.
Introduction: one word story: Where each person shares one word and the next person
builds off of it to make a story. This game is good for older students if they want to work on
their grammar. It is a bit time consuming doing the whole group together and often the story
doesn’t make too much sense. When we did it 1 on 1 it was better because you were more
engaged. There was also better interaction between the partners. Also, while working with
students might need to caution them to use appropriate words. It can be used in a classroom
to work on spelling words and trying to incorporate them into your story. This also has some
elements of improv and can be a good way to get the students active and engaged. I would
only use this in a high school English setting.

Sound Story text p. 242: Teresa read out a story about a king and queen of hearts. This
activity did not go over well because of the poor acoustics in the room. It was hard to hear the
story therefore respond with the correct actions (every time a key word was said do the
corresponding action). It was kind of fun just not the most organized activity. If the speaker sat
closer it could have helped.

Readers theatre
We read where the wild things are (missing a page thx Teresa lol) it was good because it
provided a venue for all comfort levels. The students should be comfortable with the material
to do this activity. I do not personally love it and most likely wouldn’t use it. I’ve seen it used in
a 2/3 class for the little red hen. It was a reward activity for knowing the material. It is similar
to choral speaking.

Story Theatre: Blue Bonnet

Word Scape: the use of words and enhanced with expression. This can be used to
understand meaning. This is also similar to sound scape, but this is an activity I would most
likely not use because it was not quite engaging enough.

Round Robin (text 253): We passed oggie (squishy ball) to retell the story of the blue bonnet.
This was a good summarization activity because people can add to the story if a detail was
forgotten. The game provides an alternative for reading comprehension to gain a further
understanding of the story. The disadvantage to this activity is that it is non-inclusive and
some students won’t participate or are too shy to participate. I like it but that disadvantage
might be the determining factor unless I have a very engaged class.
Story Theatre (text 257): This was fun yet takes up lots of time. We acted out the story after it
was read to us. This can further the understanding of the story and is a useful activity
however the right situation needs to be in place for it to be successful. There are many parts
which allow for individuals to take on as much or as little are they are comfortable with.
Organization and rehearsal are important for this activity to be successful. For this particular
story it is important to be mindful of tradition and not to mock culture. Also be sure to
demonstrate that it is non-authentic because it is just an interpretation of a shared space.

LESSON 5 STORY THEATRE 2

Student Warm up: 10-second tableaux for warm up. It was good because it touched on review
subjects. The timer was also a good idea but this lesson is more geared for a drama class and I would
most likely not use it unless in a drama class. Every group has 10sec to make a tableaux and they
have to go do it. The timer makes it more fun but not enough for me to want to do it.

Ultimate Ninja Warrior: This game wasn’t really a warm up game, however it provided lots of energy
and was a game I would like to do in some capacity. The game would start with everyone in the middle
and then jump back after a 3 2 1 countdown. The oldest person starts and gets 1 fluid movement. If
they make contact with anothers arm the individual that got hit loses that limb (you have 2. Both arms)
then the next person going clockwise goes. You go until there is only one person left with limbs

Puppets: Big Dog and Little Dog

We read the story of big dog and little dog. We then acted it out with puppets and a narrator. This was
fun and could be used in a high school history class or during an elementary reading. It could be a
reward for understanding the story and do a class puppet show.

Story theatre: we were split into three groups all were given different stories to act out. Being familiar
with the story is important to have a quality story theatre Our stories were a bit long for the day but I
can see it being used over a two-three day exploration of the short story. I could use story theatre in
an intermediate class all the way through grade 12.

Performance

- Story of the old lady: morals to listen and follow directions and the son can be the hero. The
dad rushed and ultimately died because he did not listen and follow directions
 - Married to the sea: The moral is to be able to sacrifice for the betterment of others and be
understanding. If we can think about the future rather than jump to answers all parties will be
better for it.

- Greedy Turtle: The selfish turtle let his ego get the best of him when he went flying and that’s
what led to his death. He should have appreciated what he had rather than complain about
what he didn’t.

- Ali Thumb Son: Never be ashamed because anyone can be a hero. The thumb sized son
saved the dad from being mugged. Always be courageous.

- The Farsi Story: the moral for this one was interesting basically the children got away with
lying and the fool fell for them.

All these stories have an element of children’s stories with morals. They all have their own morals and
lessons which all do have some element of being in the classroom however most of them seem to be
more of a children’s story to teach children values and ethics these are important but I think home is
the best place to learn these lessons. These stories are all important in their own respect and do teach
important values but not necessarily ones that should be taught in the class.

Reflection
 Discussion of the epistemological nature of stories
 Think from your head, heart, and spirit. What knowledge does this story hold?
 What can it be used to connect to in the curriculum?

Lesson 6: Role Play

Student warm up: this warm up was similar to musical chairs however instead of music the
person in the middle of the circle starts by saying “I am Unique because,” and then says a fact
about themselves. For all this fact applies to they need to do the action given by the centre
person and find a new seat. This was a fun game and I can see myself using this in a
welcome warm up game in my classroom for grades 5 and up.

Introduction: The Story

● Teacher reads the story of Three Billy Goats Gruff

Doughnut Story Telling

Partner up. All 1’s circle facing out while the 2’s circles the 1’s facing them. One partner was
to retell the story of the three goats in 1min. after that the outside circle shifts to the left and
everyone has new partners where the new perspective is told from the Little billy goat. This
continued with different perspectives of Big Billy Goat, the troll, a gossip, and a news cast. All
these variations shifted the story. This is a good technique to gain further understanding of a
story and I would use this in an English class for a novel study or book report. I would want to
have a certain maturity level for the class to ensure this activity does not get out of hand.

Developing the Troll

Window
What do we know about trolls
Glaring Red eyes, hairy arms, under
bridges, twisted nose, may eat goats,
territorial of bridge, threaten to eat goats
What interests us about trolls
Revenge? Why ugly? Language abilities,
mean, why hate goats? Related to
gargoyles?
What do we need to know about trolls
Actually eats goats, only under bridges,
temperament, die?
What would you like to find out about
trolls
Under every bridge? Why this troll is angry,
family, how was it raised?

Group work: in role as Cultural Anthropologist

This activity of acting in role at a conference about trolls was fun but needs a level of maturity
which is critical for this activity to be successful. I want to use this but it depends on the class,
it is a fun alternative way to learn material of multiple subjects. This could also be used for
test review or research groups in a science class, a more toned down role play could work in
younger classrooms

Troll Families
This was fun it was a snapshot into was a family dinner would look like in a family of trolls. It
provided a constructive way to demonstrate what life was like. This could definitely be used in
any history class to pretend what life was like long ago. Additionally, personalities are allowed
to come out and it is constructive.

Troll Schools
More tableaux practice this time it was a series of tableaux in a commercial. This was ok but
seemed repetitive and there are other ways tableauxs can have an effect. This a bit too time
consuming or me to want to use in class.

Discussion: these methods in this class are all ways to further understanding of stories and
give a deeper analysis. However the downside is that the activities are time consuming and
need a level of trust with the students to behave and stay on task. It is fun and sometimes it
can get out of hand and the purpose of the lesson can be lost.
 Lesson 7 – the Klondike

Student warm up: this was a Halloween themed charades which was fitting and appropriate.
It was open to both teams being able to guess the act that was being displayed. There was a
first to 5 to determine a winner which kept it short which was effective. It was difficult for the
instructors to determine who had their hands up first and police the rule of making a
Halloween related noise in addition to putting their hand up first. This was an ok activity and I
don’t see myself using it but it’s a possibility. An adaptation I could make would be to use
vocabulary words or a novel review of events.

WARM UP
Cat and Mouse/street and alleys. The children were placed in a grid 4 by 4 which was easy to
spread them evenly. There was a caller, cat and a mouse. The grid people would raise their
arms blocking a certain path and the caller could change that by calling either latitude or
longitude. The cat would chase the mouse however the cat and mouse were restricted to
following the open path and had to adjust to what the caller was saying because a new path
could open up. I liked this because it can be a good introduction into graphing or a PE warm
up activity but the downside is that there only 3 people that aren’t the grip people which
leaves the possibility that some kids will be upset if they don’t get to do all the positions.

Longitude and Latitude

First explain longitude and latitude and have them sit in a grid. Explain how taking coordinates
work and practice saying them by calling out on each individual to give you their coordinates
this is an easy and positive to teach a basic understanding of how L and L works. I could use
this if I taught a unit on geography

Introduction – Who discovered the gold!!! The Mystery of the Klondike

The intro that was read to us was a good way to engage the learners the maps also provided
a strong visual representation to help gain a better understanding. This hooked our attention,
the story about Skookum Jim, George, Kate, and Robert.

DEVELOPMENT
Introduction: each group was assigned to make a news cast in a different perspective as
long as the questions (Who was it, who was there, what and how it happened, and why the
person discovered the gold?). This showed us that rumours and truth really faded from the
actual story when basing a news cast on one person’s individual story. This is a good activity
for a unit and should be near the middle or end of the unit. The drama perspective should not
be the main focus of the unit as well. Thorough knowledge is needed for this activity to be
impactful.

Group Source Work

● Students are placed in 5 groups

● Skagway, Alaska
● Chilkoot trail
● Dawson City, Yukon
● Gold Panning
● End of the Gold Rush

All these places listed were locations on the route to get to the gold rush. The multiple ways to
get to the gold rush were shown but the route we will use was the most common route. Also,
groups received a drama technique to depict life in one of the places. We got mime so we had
to mime out the life there so there was multiple elements to it. After that the groups would act
in tableaux with spotlight. Life at these places was also depicted in the tableaux’s. There were
two tableauxs depicting life during and after the gold rush. These activities are fun and allow
for creativity but the maturity of group needs to be high and the background knowledge needs
to be extensive so the drama techniques would be best suited for the end of the unit. I would
have some group project where cross curricular integration would be involved.

Writing in Role
This activity could go with the unit I talked about. It is good practice to gain further
understanding of the content. This activity would work best for older students probably grade
seven and up.