DRAMA CHARACTERIZATION–MASS LAND MOVEMENT
Learning Description
Students will use a written script to demonstrate the impact upon various surfaces (i.e. rock, soil, etc.) caused by destructive and constructive forces through dramatic characterization.
Learning Targets
"I Can" Statements
“I Can…”
- I can demonstrate destructive forces caused by glaciers, rivers, and streams using body movement and role play.
- I can demonstrate the geological processes of landslides, rock falls, and other mass movement through movement and role play.
- I can use my body and movement to communicate the effects of destructive forces on our Earth.
Essential Questions
- Which destructive forces create mass land movement?
- What impact does mass land movement have on Earth’s surface?
- How can I use my body and movement to communicate the effects of destructive forces on our Earth?
Georgia Standards
Curriculum Standards
Grade 5:
S5E1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to identify surface features on the Earth caused by constructive and/or destructive processes.
a. Construct an argument supported by scientific evidence to identify surface features (examples could include deltas, sand dunes, mountains, volcanoes) as being caused by constructive and/or destructive processes (examples could include deposition, weathering, erosion, and impact of organisms).
b. Develop simple interactive models to collect data that illustrate how changes in surface features are/were caused by constructive and/or destructive processes.
Arts Standards
Grade 5:
TA5.PR.1 Act by communicating and sustaining roles in formal and informal environments.
b. Use body and movement to communicate thoughts, ideas, and emotions of a character. c. Collaborate and perform with an ensemble to present theater to an audience.
South Carolina Standards
Curriculum Standards
Grade 6:
6-ESS2-2. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales.
Arts Standards
Anchor Standard 3: I can act in improvised scenes and written scripts.
Key Vocabulary
Content Vocabulary
- Constructive force - A natural process that builds up the Earth's surface, creating new landforms and adding to existing ones
- Destructive force - A natural process that breaks down or wears away the Earth's surface, destroying or altering landforms
- Weathering - The breakdown of rocks into smaller fragments without changing their chemical composition; it can be caused by wind, rain, hail, snow, water
- Erosion - The natural process by which soil, rock, or other surface materials are worn away and transported from one location to another by agents such as water, wind, ice, or gravity
- Deposition - The geological process by which sediments, soil, and rocks that are transported by wind, water, ice, or gravity are dropped or settled in a new location
Arts Vocabulary
- Body - Actors use their body to become a character through body posture and movement. What your mind thinks, what your emotions feel, all of this is supposed to show up in your body.
- Voice - Actors use their voice to be heard by the audience clearly. Actors must also apply vocal choices such as pitch, tempo, and volume to the character they are dramatizing.
- Audience - The group of spectators, listeners and viewers collectively, in attendance at a theater.
- Collaborate - To work together with others to achieve a common goal or complete a task
- Role play - The practice of actors assuming and portraying a character's behaviors, emotions, and responses in a given situation, typically based on a script or improvisation
- Character - An actor or actress in a specified role
Materials
- Brainstorm table
- Theater Vocabulary
- Dramatic script
- Readers Theatre Rubric
- Pictures of landforms
Instructional Design
Opening/Activating Strategy
Teacher Note: In order to be successful in this unit students should be able to define constructive and destructive forces prior to beginning this lesson. Students should understand that landforms can change quickly or slowly over time. Students should be able to identify surface features caused by constructive and destructive forces.
- Review science vocabulary words.
- Think-pair-share ideas of how wind and water causes specific land mass movement.
Present visuals of different landforms. Ask students to discuss with a partner which destructive force would best move the landform to a different location.
Work Session
- Tell students that they will be demonstrating landform movement caused by wind or water through role play. Tell students that role play is when actors portray a character's behaviors, emotions, and responses in a given situation, typically based on a script or improvisation.
- Go over the rubric with students.
- Divide students into partner groups.
- Students will brainstorm how they can demonstrate landform movement caused by wind or water through role play.
- Students will personify each type of force by creating a unique voice for the character (force), determining how the character would move using their bodies, and what facial expression(s) the character would have.
- Students will be given pictures of landforms. Students will select from the given pictures and determine which force(s) are at work.
- Students will write a script that explains how they, as the force(s), will move the landform using wind or water.
- Students will use the dramatic script as a guide, and then create two additional examples of how the landforms in their selected pictures could be moved. Remind students that they should write in first person.
- Provide time for the students to practice their scripts.
- Students will share their role play with class to be guided and scored by the rubric for lesson.
Closing Reflection
- Students will reflect by discussing or writing about how the characters they created and the script that they wrote demonstrated their forces.
Assessments
Formative
- Question and answer review of constructive and destructive forces
- Students’ creation of constructive and destructive force characters
- Students’ collaboration with partners to create their scripts
Summative
- Student script and performance rubric
DIFFERENTIATION
|
Accelerated:
Remedial:
|
CREDITS
U.S. Department of Education- STEM + the Art of Integrated Learning
Ideas contributed by: SAIL Grant Teacher Leaders
*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.
Revised and copyright: June 2025 @ ArtsNOW