THEATRICAL TEAMWORK

 

Georgia Standards

 

South Carolina Standards

 

Key Vocabulary

 

Materials

• Whiteboard
• Markers
• Blank index cards
• Clipboards, paper and pencils
• Plastic cup, balloon or beach ball

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

Classroom Tips: This activity works best in an open space with chairs around the perimeter of the room. 

 

• Start with a general physical warm-up to get the students' bodies ready. Use exercises such as:
  • Stretching: Stretch all major muscle groups.
  • Shaking Out Limbs: Shake out arms, legs, and the whole body to release tension.
  • Energy Passes: Stand in a circle and pass a clap or a simple motion around to build group focus and energy.
• SKILL CUP: This ensemble building warm-up is a good exercise to keep coming back to throughout the year. You will see how your students start to work as a team as the school year passes. You can use a plastic cup, balloon, beach ball, etc. for this activity.
  • Arrange students in a circle.
  • Tap the base of the plastic cup so that it is air-born!
  • Allow students to continue tapping the base of the cup without the cup hitting the floor. (No one can hit the cup two times in a row, but he or she can hit the cup more than once in the sequence.)
  • All students must audibly count to ten; the goal is to keep the cup from hitting the floor before the number ten is reached. If the cup hits the floor, the process must be repeated.
  • At the end of the activity, ask students to reflect on how they had to work together to achieve their goal.

 

Work Session

ORCHESTRAL THEATER: This exercise invites students to discover the actor or actress within!

• Ask students to define the word conductor. Ask students for some examples of conductors (e.g., Bach, Debussy, Liszt, Beethoven).
• Discuss this role and identify what signals he/she uses to tell the musicians to slow down, speed up, get louder and softer, and eventually stop. If time permits, show students a segment of an orchestral performance and discuss the body language, postures, signals, etc. that students notice.
• Arrange students in groups of five. One student will be the conductor and the other four will be the orchestra.
• Tell the students who are the conductors to think of a name for themselves.
• One at a time, each conductor will come forward and choose four cards.
• Each card will have a topic with suggestions for unusual instruments (drumbeat on a cup, etc.).
• The conductor will give each member of his or her orchestra one of the peculiar instruments to play or be. The conductor may use the suggestions on the card or make up his/her own instrument. 
• The orchestra members will use a sound and a movement to create/play this instrument. Give students a designated amount of time to create a musical composition.
• Tell students that the conductor will need to use signals to indicate whether the orchestra members should play faster or slower, louder or quieter, simultaneously or individually (eye contact and focus are important for both the conductor and the instruments). They cannot use words.
• Finally, the conductor and orchestra will generate a name for the piece of music.
• Each group will perform their musical composition for the class. Teacher note: Discuss appropriate audience participation and etiquette prior to performances.
• The conductor should introduce him or herself with their chosen name and the name of the composition.
• After the performance, all students should take a bow and the audience should applaud.
• Debrief the process with students asking questions such as what was easy about the exercise and what was challenging. Was it easy or hard to lead (the conductor)? To follow (the orchestra)? Why?

GROUP POEM: This exercise allows students to vocalize their thoughts as a group. It enhances and strengthens the ensemble. The poem can be based on any theme that you wish to explore with your students. You can tie your theme to a particular issue that your class is dealing with, a unit of study, or an attribute that you are exploring.

• Have students sit in a circle.
• Discuss what it means to collaborate and respect diverse opinions. Ask students for examples of what this might look like. Establish agreed-upon guidelines for the activity and post them somewhere that everyone can see so that the class can refer back to them if needed.
• Tell students to call out the first thing that comes to their minds when you say a particular word such as ”heart”.  Listen for answers and then call out another word such as “love”.
• Once the students feel free to talk and explore, head toward the theme. (Option: Start with low-stakes words such as “candy” to help the group get comfortable sharing. Then, transition to deeper words like “heart” or “love”.)
• Tell students that now you are going to start a phrase and they should finish it for you (based on your chosen theme).
  • Examples: “It's hard to be honest when……” or “Forgiveness is…..”
• Write down answers as they are called out. Make sure to scribe word for word.
• Read the title (“Forgiveness is”) and then read all of the student’s comments aloud in poem form.
• Type the poem up and distribute it to students on the following day.

 

PERSON TO PERSON

• Discuss what it means to collaborate and respect diverse opinions. Ask students for examples of what this might look like. Establish agreed-upon guidelines for the activity and post them somewhere that everyone can see so that the class can refer back to them if needed.
• Say to students, “We all have things we want to tell people in our lives but don’t always feel comfortable saying to them in person. if you could say anything to a particular person (ie, your mother, father, teacher, friend, president, etc.) Who would you speak to?”
• Allow time for students to reflect.
• Say to students, “Let's all talk to the same person today–to tell that person something that you don’t feel comfortable telling them face to face or you just haven’t ever told them for some reason.”
• Ask students, “Who are some people you might want to talk to?”. Allow time for answers and write them down.
• Tell students that now you will take a vote to see who we will all talk to today.
• Call out a list and have everyone vote one time.
• Teacher: “Today we are going to talk to…..(the principal). Let’s title our poem, “Students to Principal”.” (Insert the appropriate people based on your students and the person they voted to talk to.)
• Ask students to now close their eyes and think about standing in front of this person, face to face. Ask students to volunteer to share with the group what they would say to them.
• Write down answers as they are called out. Make sure to scribe word for word.
• Read the title (“Students to Principal”) and then read all of the student’s comments aloud in poem form.
• Type the poem up and distribute it to students on the following day.

 

Closing Reflection

• Allow students to reflect on the process with a 3-2-1 ticket out the door. Students should write three things that interested them about the process, two things they noticed about themselves or that were challenging for them in the process, and one question or comment they have about the process.
• Provide time for students to either share with the whole class or with a partner.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess students’ understanding of the content throughout the lesson by observing students’ participation in the activator, contributions to group activities, and collaboration with classmates.

 

Summative

CHECKLIST

• Students can collaborate with others to accomplish a goal (skill cup, orchestral theatre and collaborative poems).
• Students can interact with others to explore ideas and concepts, communicate meaning, and develop ideas through collaborative conversations.
• Students can build upon the ideas of others to clearly express their own views while respecting the perspectives of others.

 

 

DIFFERENTIATION 

Acceleration:  Arrange students in collaborative groups for poems so that students can work at their own pace. Have students complete a written reflection that builds upon the 3-2-1 ticket out the door. Let this lesson launch into a narrative writing piece about a time that students had to use teamwork and collaboration to accomplish a goal. Remediation:  Spend time unpacking the activities with examples. Provide examples of responses for the group poem and the person to person poem. Arrange students in collaborative groups so that students can work at their own pace.

*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.

Ideas contributed by: Susie Spear Purcell. Updated by Katy Betts.

Revised and copyright: July 2024 @ ArtsNOW