Students will participate in a variety of drama games designed to improve their focus and concentration (two skills necessary for drama work).
Students will work on group and partner improvisations with a focus on risk taking, the three rules of improvisation, refining brainstorming abilities, and enhancing creative thinking abilities.
Group conversation and reflection is a regular part of this unit.
Curriculum Connections:
B1.1 engage actively in drama exploration and role play, with a focus on examining multiple perspectives and possible outcomes related to complex issues, themes, and relationships from a wide variety of sources and diverse communities
B2.3 identify and give examples of their strengths, interests, and areas for improvement as drama creators, performers, and audience members
Students collaborate with me to create a group piece dedicated to a Halloween theme. Students take on a character. They move, speak, and look like this character while conveying a message through movement.
Curriculum Connections:
A1.2 use dance as a language to communicate messages about themes.
A1.3 determine the appropriate choreographic form and create dance pieces for a specific audience or venue.
B1.2 demonstrate an understanding of the elements of drama by selecting and manipulating multiple elements and conventions to create and enhance a variety of drama works and shared drama experiences.
B1.3 plan and shape the direction of the drama by negotiating ideas and perspectives with others, both in and out of role.
Now that students have participated and watched a model of how to choreograph and act out a movement piece, they will create their own. In small groups, students select a theme and illustrate it by creating movement, costume and character.
Students will view a play. They will be required to write a review of this play using appropriate drama terminology that they learned in class.
Curriculum Connections:
B2.1 construct personal interpretations of drama works, connecting drama issues and themes to social concerns at both the local and global level
B2.2 evaluate, using drama terminology, how effectively drama works and shared drama experiences use the elements of drama to engage the audience and communicate a theme or message
B3.2 identify and describe a wide variety of ways in which drama and theatre make or have made contributions to social, cultural, and economic life in a variety of times and places
Students will learn aboriginal dances and dances from confederation times in Canada. They will discuss and demonstrate an understanding of the purpose and societal connection of these dances.
Students will research the history of and then learn a variety of ballroom dances. They will compete with a partner in the annual Clara Brenton Ballroom Dance Competition.
Group conversation and reflection is a regular part of this unit.
Curriculum Connections:
A2.2 analyse, using dance vocabulary, their own and others’ dance pieces to identify the elements of dance and the choreographic forms used in them
A3.1 describe how social, political, and economic factors influenced the emergence and development of a dance form
A3.2 identify a variety of types of dances and relate them to their different roles in society