Orientation Unit

Grade 7
Drama
September 4th- 13th 2019
Monsignor JS Smith School
Amelia Wills

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 Table of Contents

Rationale ………………………………………………………………………………………. 3

Unit Objective …………………………………………………………………………….…. 3

Unit Overview ………………………………………………………………………………. 4

Sample Lesson 1 ……………………………………………………………………………. 5

Sample Lesson 2 …………………………………………………………………………….. 7

Assessment
Formative ……………………………………………………………………………... 9
Summative ……………………………………………………………………………. 10

Materials ………………………………………………………………………………………. 11

Bibliography …………………………………………………………………………………… 12

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RATIONALE
This unit will help students improve their trust, special awareness, listening, focus and
confidence to help create a safe and respectful classroom environment. Having confidence
helps increase student’s oral communication skills which are important in everyday life. As per
the Teacher Resource Manual, drama helps “develop the whole person.” Through this unit we
will begin to work on fostering teamwork, communication and creative problem solving.

UNIT OBJECTIVE
This unit is working towards creating trust and communication between students in the
class. It’s the first steps in working together as a group collaboratively, accepting and working
off of each other’s ideas and being a good team member. As stated above, this unit will work on
student’s trust, spatial awareness, listening, focus, confidence, storytelling and communication.
These are important skills to have in the drama world because you can’t get anywhere if
students are not comfortable to be emotionally vulnerable around people in the class or
confident enough to offer up their own creative ideas. Doing these activity gives students a
sense of community and bonding.

Lesson 1 – Learning Names and Rules of the Classroom (SLO: 1, 2, 3)

Lesson 2 – Getting to Know the Class, Good Audience Member (SLO: 2, 5, 6, 8, 14)

Lesson 3 – Focus, Listening & Spatial Awareness (SLO: 4, 9, 10)

Lesson 4 – Trust & Communication (SLO: 5, 7, 8, 13, 15)

Lesson 5 – Focus, Storytelling & Collaborating in Groups (SLO: 9, 13, 14, 15, 23)

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ORIENTATION UNIT OVERVIEW

Lesson 1 –
TSW Know Everybody’s Name in the Class
Chat, Name Game, Fruit Bowl, Splat, Name Quick Draw, Tag, Zombie Name Tag
Orientation (Junior High) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10
CHECKLIST FOR PARTICIPATION

Lesson 2 –
TSW Demonstrate Ability to Introduce Each Other to the Class
Name Game, Human Scavenger Hunt, Splat, Grave Yard, Classroom Walk, Partner
Introductions
Orientation (Junior High) 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 14, 17,
CHECKLIST FOR PARTICIPATION

Lesson 3 –
TSW Play Twizzle Correctly
Walk Tag, Freeze Tag, TV Tag, Zombie Name Tag, Cat and Mouse, Jump Turn Twizzle
Orientation (Junior High) 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 17, 20,
CHECKLIST FOR PARTICIPATION

Lesson 4 –
TSW Play Tangled (Human Knot) Correctly
Circle Check In (High Fives), Trust Falls in partners, Blob Tag, 3 Zucchini Stretches,
Tangled
Orientation (Junior High) 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20
CHECKLIST FOR PARTICIPATION

Lesson 5 –
TSW Perform a Three Image Tableau
Freeze Tag, Jump Turn Twizzle, Sculpture, Stop Freeze (and Variations), Practice Still
Images, Create Tableaus
Orientation (Junior High) 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23
RUBRIC

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 DRAMA
Grade 7
Orientation Lesson 1

Stage 1: Desired Results

General
Students will be able to:
Learning
• Acquire knowledge of self and others through participation in and reflection on dramatic experience
Outcome(s)
Specific
Orientation:
Learning • 1, 2, 4, 5, 10
Outcome(s)

Learning Students will be able to:

Objective(s) • Identify all of classmate’s names by the end of class.

Stage 2: Assessment Evidence

• Observation
- Observe students on whether or not they
Summative Formative are willing to participate in activities and
• N/A
Assessment Assessment take risks
- Observe “Think, Pair, Share” discussions to
see if they are understanding objectives

Stage 3: Learning Experience

Tech • Teacher Resource Manual DRAMA Junior High School. 1989
• N/A Resources Alberta Education ISBN 0-7732-0078-9
to Do
Time: 47 mins Content/Description Notes
Introduction
• Introduce myself to the class
- My name is Miss Wills
- I graduated from the U of L with a BFA in Theatre Studies
- The last show I directed here in Lethbridge was the play
8 minutes “Comedy of Errors” for Shakespeare in the Park
• Go over some classroom expectations
- This classroom is a safe space
- The foundation for that is built on respect for one another
• Discuss today’s objectives

Alliteration/Action Name Game

• Have each student take a turn stepping forward and introducing their
names with an alliteration and an action to go along with it
• The class than repeats the name an action back to the person
7 minutes
• When you introduce a new person repeat the previous name and action
and add on the new one
• By the end of the activity you should have everybody’s name and action
• See if anybody can do everybody’s name with a buddy.

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 Fruit bowl
• Break groups up into 3 groups labeled bananas, oranges, and apples
• Students can call out fruit and that fruit has to change seats or fruit Will need to grab chairs
6 minutes basket and then everybody changes seats and organize them into a
• When fruit basket is called out everybody has to change seats circle
• Part way through game call out other things to get people to stand up

Splat
• Get students standing in a circle, teacher will be the splat master and
stand in the middle
• When splat master points at you and says splat that person has to duck
Push chairs away and
and the people on either side of that person have to try and “splat” the
5 minutes come back to standing in
other person first. Loser sits down.
a circle
• This goes on until there are two people left. The two people stand back
to back and turn around and splat each other when they hear a certain
word fork splat master

Name Quick Draw

• Students walk around the classroom like cowboys, when they lock eyes
with another student they have to try and be first to say the other
5 minutes
person’s name.
• Both continue walking around after each draw (Get the pride of winning)

Tag
• Start with walking and build up to a faster tag
5 minutes
• Build on the amount of people who are “it”

Zombie Name Game

• One student is a zombie and a teacher call out a name and the “it”
student has to try and tag that person
• That student must try and call out another student’s name before they
5 minutes
get tagged
• Once students get a hang of the game, introduce more students who are
“it”

Conclusion
• Have students break off into partners for Think, Pair, Share
- Why is it important to learn each other’s name in theatre?
6 minutes - Did we meet our objective?
• Speak to the importance of learning names
• Thank everybody for coming.

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DRAMA
Grade 7
Orientation Lesson 2

Stage 1: Desired Results

General Students will…
Learning 1. To acquire knowledge of self and others through participation in and reflection on dramatic
Outcome(s) experience
Specific
Orientation SLOs:
Learning
1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 14, 17
Outcome(s)
Learning Students will…
Objective(s) Demonstrate ability to introduce each other to the group

Stage 2: Assessment Evidence

Summative Formative
• N/A • Checklist for Participation
Assessment Assessment

Stage 3: Learning Experience

Teacher Resource Manual DRAMA Junior
Tech
• N/A Resources High School. 1989 Alberta Education ISBN 0-
to Do 7732-0078-9

Time 47 mins Content/Description Notes

Introduction/ Check- In
• Discuss todays objectives
8 minutes • Go over the day’s agenda
• Go around circle and do a chick-in with students

Name Game
• Students learn names of people sitting on either side of them
• After each round of learning names, students find a new place to sit
7 minutes • Each round increases the number of names students must remember
on either side of them
• Have students break up in pairs and name everybody in the class

Human Scavenger Hunt

• Hand out a sheet that teacher has developed with 20 characteristics
that students in class may have, such as jeans, glasses, blonde hair
6 minutes • Students then must find a classmate that fits that description and have
them sign off on that box
• Students can only sign a piece of paper once

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 Splat
• Get students standing in a circle, teacher will be the splat master and
stand in the middle
• When splat master points at you and says splat that person has to duck
and the people on either side of that person have to try and “splat” the
5 minutes
other person first. Loser sits down.
• This goes on until there are two people left. The two people stand back
to back and turn around and splat each other when they hear a certain
word fork splat master

Graveyard
• One person is “it” and the rest lie on the ground frozen as if they are
dead
5 minutes
• The “it” person must try and make the rest of the students laugh, smile
or move

Walk around Classroom

• Have students walk around the classroom
• Walk on a grid, walk in a curvy line, walk low to the ground, walk “big,”
• Follow somebody, start making eye contact with people, high five with
5 minutes somebody, shake hands with somebody, make a secret hand shake
with somebody
• Find somebody and start walking and talking with them
• Last person they talk to is their partner for next activity

Partner Introductions
• Students are paired off and given two minutes to find out as much
5 minutes information as possible about each other
• Students then introduce their partner to the class

Conclusion
• Have students get into partners for Think, Pair, Share
- Why do you think we did these activities today?
- Did we meet our objectives?
6 minutes
• Discussion about importance about building trust and connection in
drama
• Thank everybody for coming

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ASSESSMENT

Formative Checklist:

Name Participation Anecdotal Notes

Jessica

Erika

Zoë

Celia

Paul

Ryan

Alex

Kimmy

Aleta

Beth

Sarah

Shaedene

Karlee

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Summative Rubric:

Three Image Tableau

Name ____________________________

1. Clear Beginning, Middle and End (Storytelling) 1 2 3 4 5

2. Use of Low, Medium and High levels to vary 1 2 3 4 5

Tableau scenes (Creativity)

3. Facial expression and body expressions are 1 2 3 4 5

dynamic and help tell the story (Communication)

4. Ability to get into place on time and hold freeze 1 2 3 4 5

(Focus)

5. Images are free of blocking (Trust) 1 2 3 4 5

/25

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MATERIALS
Improv Ideas: A book of games and lists, by Justine Jones and Mary Ann Kelley

Teacher Resource Manual: Drama Junior High

BIBLIOGRAPHY
(2015). Retrieved from Beat by Beat Press: bbbpress.com

Jones, J., & Kelley, M. (2006). Improv Ideas: a book of games and lists. Colorado Springs:
Meriwether Pub.

Teacher Resource Manual: Drama Junior HIgh. (1989). Edmonton: Education Alberta.

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