Interrelated Arts Unit planner

UNIT PLANNER: The Arts Interrelated: Drama and Music NAME: Adriana De Cicco

UNIT/THEME/TOPIC: The Rainforest BAND: Primary Years Year level: 4

OVERVIEW OF THE UNIT:

The students will be exploring about the rainforest through music and drama. By beginning with a stimulus of

a picture, it will gain the interest of the students about the rainforest, and prepare them for the thinking and

actions of the discussions and drama activities that will follow. The next stages of the unit involve analysing

the human impact on the rainforest environment. This is where the drama takes the focus of the student

involvement and role play situations are mainly used. One of the main activities is where the whole class is

included in an interesting activity that gets them to “become the rainforest”, followed by smaller role plays

and group activities.

Class Profile/prior knowledge

Essential Learnings focus:

o Futures o Identity o Interdependence Thinking Communication

Key competencies focus:

collecting, analysing, organising information; o communicating ideas and information;

planning and organising activities; o working with others in teams;

o using mathematical ideas and techniques; solving problems;

using technology.

ICTs: (e.g. camera, computer software, etc). o ________________________________

Strand/s:

Key Idea:

2.2: Students explore representations of real

and imagined experiences. They create, plan or

Unit Outcome(s)

Conceptual (knowledge, understanding)

Arts Practice

Arts analysis &

Response ˆ

Arts in

Contexts ˆ

shape new and/or existing arts works to

express ideas, feelings and events related to

personal/ social/ environmental futures in

local/ global communities.

Relevant Standard

Standard 2: Demonstrates knowledge and

skills to each arts form. Chooses appropriate

techniques and technologies to complete work

specific to one arts form or combination

thereof.

Drama:

The students will understand the idea of

taking on different roles and expressing

different opinions in those roles.

Music:

The students will hear the sounds of the

rainforest, and understand and know what

is making these sounds.

Skills (can do)

Drama: The children can work together

to create a rainforest scene, and later can

participate in role play situations.

Music: The students can listen carefully

to the pieces of rainforest sounds for a

period of time.

Affective ( feel)

The students will be able to gain an

appreciation of the rainforest

environment and feel that it is worth

protecting.

Weekly outline of lessons:

Week 1:

The focus of this lesson is to introduce the feeling of the rainforest initially through music, then developing into a drama activity.

To get the students interested in the lesson, show a scene of the rainforest, included as Appendix 1, to show the children some of the plants that exist – enlarge this image to A3 size as it is too small to show the whole class at once.

Questioning with the picture:

What can you see in the picture? What could be seen in the picture? Where do you think this picture was taken?

The next activity involves the CD included with the unit – “Sounds of the Rainforest”

Students close their eyes and listen to the sounds of the rainforest – each track has a different sound to it, and any are appropriate for this activityWhile the music is playing ask questions like: How do you feel while listening? Any there any distinctive sounds they can hear? Anything else that you can notice?

After listening to the piece, give each child a name of an animal, and while the music is playing, each student acts out the animal. The aim of this activity is for all the same animals to find each other. Animal names are printed on cards Animals include:

Possum Frog Parrot Spider Butterfly Snake

Once the students find each other, they each take turns to perform as a group and the class has to discuss the actions and work out what animal they are Working in small groups allows the students to improve their communication skills and can learn from one another of how best to re-create the mannerisms of the each animal.

Teacher references and resources

Appendix 1:Photo of a rainforest scene – taken on a trip to the rainforest in Melbourne, 2009.

CD – collection of five songs called “Sounds of the Rainforest”

Appendix 2 – Animal name cards

Rainforest Resources:Appleby, P., 1992 Wildside: Rainforests, BBC Books, London.

Breeden, S., 1995 Paul and the Rainforest, Steve Parish Publishing, QLD, Australia.

Erbacher, J. & S., 1993 Life in the Rainforest, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

Taylor, B., 1992 Look Closer: Rainforest, Harper Collins Publishers, NSW, Australia.

Mackness, B. 1989 Mastering Rainforests, Dellasta Publishing, VIC, Australia.

Killen, R., 1992 Student-Centred Teaching Strategies, Second Edition, pp. 23-28, The University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia.

Weekly outline of lessons:

Week 2:

The focus of the lesson for this week is to stimulate imagination about living in the rainforest and leading to the feelings if the rainforest was destroyed. Begin the lesson by reading the story “Where the Forest Meets the Sea”

Questions during the story: Have forests existed for over a hundred million years? Why do you think the crocodiles and kangaroos aren’t in the

rainforest anymore? Can you see any animals in the pictures? (dinosaur, bird,

snake, lizard, spider, cassowary Is there anything else you notice in the rainforest?

(Aboriginal children, developments to be made – hotels) What do you think would happen to the rainforest if those

buildings do get built? Where would the animals go?

Small Group Activity: Journey into the Rainforest Students to imagine that they have followed the boy into the rainforest Get the students to think about these questions before beginning the drama:What would they see in the rainforest?How could they survive in the rainforest?Would they meet anyone in the rainforest? Students assign what characters they will be in the drama Teacher guides students through the drama – beginning by explaining that they followed the boy into the rainforest, and seem to be lost. Teacher guiding speech for the drama:“We haven’t been to this part of the rainforest before, and there isn’t anything that we can see that we recognise.”“We can see different animals and different trees around us.”“It’s beginning to get dark, we’ll need to find some food to eat and water to drink, because we won’t find our way out until the morning.”“Because we’re going to be staying the night, we need to make a safe place to sleep. We hope it doesn’t rain, and that we can keep warm through the night.”“The night wasn’t too bad – the shelter was good and strong and kept us dry.”“Should we continue to explore the forest or find a way out?”

The drama would then continue according to the students’ decision to stay for a bit longer in the rainforest or to find a way out.Small group discussion: How would you feel if you lived in the rainforest and it was destroyed? develops student’s intrapersonal skills

Teacher references and resources

Baker, J. 1987 Where the Forest Meets the Sea, Julia MacRae Books, New South Wales, Australia.

Department of Education, Queensland, 1993 Drama Makes Meaning, videorecording, 24 minutes, Unit Outlines, Year 2: Rainforest, Queensland.

Young, J., 2007 100 Ideas for Teaching Drama, Idea 45: Strange Journey, pp. 72-73, Continuum International Publishing Group, London.

Detailed Lesson Plan:

Week 3:

Discussions and activities in this lesson will be centred on the structure of the rainforest and how it is affected by the human processes of logging and how this impacts on every form of life in the rainforest.The activity of “Be the Rainforest” is the main part of the lesson. Begin by asking 6-8 students to volunteer being trees – including the tall canopy trees, shorter understorey trees, and forest floor shrubs.

After they are in position, give each student a role of an animal that lives in the rainforest, including chimpanzees, frogs, birds, snakes, wallabies, spiders, butterflies, lizards, possums, as well as asking students what other animals live in the trees and on the ground in the rain forest.Make sure to have one or two students not playing roles as animals or the trees, and get them to be the loggers and hunters.

Begin the drama by asking the students to work together to show what a healthy rainforest should look like and sound like, by making appropriate sounds and movements of the environment.Allow this to develop for a minute or so, then stop the drama and ask the loggers to now go in and begin cutting down the trees, so that they make the noises of a chainsaw, and the trees dramatically die.

The questioning then develops the actions of the animals – what will happen to you without your trees? Tree-animals – where will you live? Point out one by one why each different animal cannot live without the trees, if the children have not already done so, then each animal dies in turn.

It is important to explain that without the trees – not much oxygen is made, and we cannot make medicines to keep humans healthy because of the lack of plants. This causes the human to die, played by the teacher. Make a decision to act out the dying or not, as it depends on the behaviour of the children.

To conclude the drama, always make sure to reconstruct the rainforest. This can be done through giving the students situations:“Let’s see what happens if loggers stop cutting down and clearing the rainforests”“What if people plant new trees?”“What if some trees grew back if not many trees are taken?”The result of these questions would be that the trees come back to life, followed by the animals as their habitat re-builds itself.

An important part of this lesson is to reflect on the experiences – asking the students to think briefly about the role they played before asking them questions.“Trees, how did you feel when you were being cut down?”“Animals, how did you feel when your homes were being cleared away?”

Teacher references and resources

Adapted from “Be the Rainforest” activityhttp://www.childdrama.com/rainforst.htmlViewed on 15/06/09

Ideas for teaching added from:Dodgson, E., 1982 Exploring Social Issues, in “Drama and the Whole Curriculum”, pp. 97-112, Hutchinson Group, NSW, Australia.

Heathcote, D., 1981 Drama as Education, in “Children and Drama”, 2nd Ed, pp. 78-90, Longman Inc., New York.

Young, J., 2007 100 Ideas for Teaching Drama, Idea 44: Looking at Both Sides, pp. 71, Continuum International Publishing Group, London.

Detailed Lesson Plan:

Week 4:

To pick up from last week’s lesson, the students will use what they discovered when they made the rainforest, and demonstrate the different perspectives held about clearing rainforest areas.

Get the children into small groups, four students to a group, and assign roles to each student using fruits rather than numbers or letters: Apple = tree of the rainforest Orange = rainforest animal of choice Banana = logger Strawberry = rainforest animal of choice (different to

orange)The purpose of this discussion is for the each student to see different standpoints on rainforest clearing.

The logger begins by presenting their case for cutting down trees of the rainforest, and each of the other students in turn reply with why they need the rainforest trees, or why they are important for the environment and world.

This develops their views on the issue, as well as the way that they present their reasons to help the logger to see what they are doing is harming them. These reasons need to be why they are important and what would happen if they weren’t there anymore.

The language can be simplified that the logger asks “I’ll take this older tree away” so that the older tree can reply “No, you can’t take me!” then give their reasons why.

Let the discussions develop until each character is given the opportunity to give their opinions. Once each character has spoken, give the children perspectives by getting them to change roles for the next discussion. This is so that each child not only hears each perspective, but also experiences and reflects about them.

After each child has taken on each of the roles, conclude the lesson by having each student write down what they thought the strongest points for and against logging were throughout the discussions that were held. These notes will become a valuable resource for the next lesson in the unit.

Structure this by asking questions like “What did the logger say that you thought was a really important reason for cutting down the trees?” or “Was there a significant point that was brought up by a rainforest animal?”Change these questions according to each of the roles, and make sure that each child records at least two points; one on each side of the issue.

Teacher references and resources

Assigning roles using fruits:Phillips, G., 2009 Workshop Week 13, UniSA Magill.

Adapted from: “No, You Can’t Take Me!”http://www.childdrama.com/lpno.html- viewed on 14/06/09.

Phillips, G., 2009 Tutorial Week 11, UniSA, Magill.

Weekly outline of lessons:

Week 5:

Using the previous discussions, the class will be involved in an activity that shows how it gets harder for animals to survive when the land is being cleared of their habitat.

Links to Health and P.E. – this lesson is active Majority of the children go to one side of the room These students are to be the animals in this activity Begin with having ten hoops in the middle of the room Choose two students to be the loggers. The hoops represent the safe areas of the rainforest where the

animals can live happily. The animals work together to fit into the hoops completely. Allow 2-3 minutes for each round After this time, the loggers take away one hoop each, and the

animals have to re-arrange so they are all still safe. Repeat until there are only two hoops left – animals realising

that they cannot all be safe anymore Result: animals die and the children can see that as the

habitat is disappearing. End off the activity by changing the loggers into tree planters This lets the children see what would happen if we help to

re-build and preserve the rainforests.

Ending this lesson and unit involves reflection on the issues brought up about the rainforest, as well as the activities that the students were involved with. How did you feel at the beginning of the activities? How do you feel about the Rainforests now? Have your opinions changed from the beginning of the

activities to now? What do you think changed your ideas? What do you know about rainforests that you didn’t know at

the beginning of the unit?

Following these verbal questions, get the students to reflect on their own by using the student self assessment proforma.

Teacher references and resources

Activity adapted from:Cleland Wildlife Park – Education officer activity

10 x Sports Hoops

Appendix 4 – Self Assessment Proforma

Assessment strategies

The main things that are being assessed through completing this unit are the students’ idea

development about the rainforest, beginning with listening to sounds of the rainforest and

communicating what they feel about the music, demonstrating animal mannerisms, and developing

into role playing by showing the ability to stay in character and express the views held by that

character.

The assessment will take place through self assessment and observations. The students will reflect on

what activities they have done by discussing and recording how they felt while doing them. To assess

the technical elements of the dramatic skills being demonstrated, the teacher will use a rubric to

record how each student is developing their skills, how well they work with others, and if they can

convey the emotions through the views of their roles. Also, informal peer assessment will occur

through seeing if the students can express the mannerisms of an animal successfully, by identifying

what animal they were.

Are the assessment methods appropriate to the processes , skills & concepts which are being

assessed?

These assessment methods are appropriate because they assess how the students portray each

character they take on, their feelings about the rainforests while doing the activities, through listening

to the sound recordings of the rainforests, as well as how they work together with each other in small

groups as well as a whole class. They will accurately record how the students move through the

lessons and develop their skills.

Evaluation of unit outcomes :indicators;

These relate to the unit outcomes of conceptual, skills & affective etc…..

These are related to the conceptual, skill and affective outcomes in earlier outcome column ie

Students will know what animals exist in the rainforest, and how we has humans are impacting on them and the environment.

Students will understand how to take on different roles and express the opinions that they would have about the conservation of rainforests.

Students will be able to work individually, in small groups, and as a class to explain the situation with the rainforests and how the animals, trees and loggers would view it.

Students will have gained a better appreciation for the rainforest environment and consider each view in a un-biased manner, which results in improving their perceptions of the world.

REFERENCES

Appleby, P., 1992 Wildside: Rainforests, BBC Books, London.

“Be the Rainforest” activity : http://www.childdrama.com/rainforst.html, Viewed on 15/06/09

Breeden, S., 1995 Paul and the Rainforest, Steve Parish Publishing, QLD, Australia.

Dodgson, E., 1982 Exploring Social Issues, in “Drama and the Whole Curriculum”, pp. 97-112, Hutchinson Group, NSW, Australia.

Erbacher, J. & S., 1993 Life in the Rainforest, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

Heathcote, D., 1981 Drama as Education, in “Children and Drama”, 2nd Ed, pp. 78-90, Longman Inc., New York.

Killen, R., 1992 Student-Centred Teaching Strategies, Second Edition, pp. 23-28, The University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia.

Phillips, G., 2009 Tutorial Week 11, UniSA, Magill.

Phillips, G., 2009 Workshop Week 13, UniSA Magill.

Taylor, B., 1992 Look Closer: Rainforest, Harper Collins Publishers, NSW, Australia.

Mackness, B. 1989 Mastering Rainforests, Dellasta Publishing, VIC, Australia.

“No, You Can’t Take Me!” : http://www.childdrama.com/lpno.html, Viewed on 14/06/09.

Young, J., 2007 100 Ideas for Teaching Drama, Idea 44: Looking at Both Sides, pp. 71, Continuum International Publishing Group, London.

Appendix 1:

Photo of a Rainforest Scene

Appendix 2:

Animal Name Cards

Animal Name Cards

Possum Possum Possum Possum Possum

Frog Frog Frog Frog Frog

Parrot Parrot Parrot Parrot Parrot

Spider Spider Spider Spider Spider

Butterfly Butterfly Butterfly Butterfly Butterfly

Snake Snake Snake Snake Snake

Appendix 3:

Mind-Map

Connections to Learning Areas

Music:Sounds of the rainforest

Animals Weather

Play music piece of the rainforest – how does it make you feel?

Rainforest

Drama:Movements like rainforest animals:

TigerMonkeyBirdsSnake

Role play – what if all the rainforests of the world were gone?

Maths:Numbers of animals decreasing

Graphing data

Temperatures of the rainforest in comparison to suburbia

Society and Environment:Rainforest area decreasingGlobal effects of logging and land clearing

Extinct species that lived in the

rainforest

Design and Technology:Creating a rainforest dioramaMaking puppets of rainforest animals to tell a story

Science:Food chainDifferent types of rainforests – how they are different to each other as well as different to other environments

English:Story – “Where the Forest Meets the Sea” by Jeannie BakerWords associated with the rainforest used for spellingWriting a poem about the rainforest

Appendix 4:

Self-Assessment Sheet

Self-Assessment ProformaDid you enjoy doing these activities on the Rainforest?

Yes Unsure No

Why did / didn’t you enjoy them?

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

How did you think you went when doing the activities?

Very Well Okay Not Too Well

What was the most interesting part of the activities?

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Did you enjoy doing these activities on the Rainforest?

Yes Unsure No

Why did / didn’t you enjoy them?

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

How did you think you went when doing the activities?

Very Well Okay Not Too Well

What was the most interesting part of the activities?

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Appendix 5:

Teacher Observation Proforma

Observation of Students – “The Rainforest” Unit

Student A Student B Student CRainforest Sounds:

Expressed feelings while listening

Identifies distinctive sounds

Drama:

Acting out animal mannerisms

Discussed if rainforest destroyed

Role-play in being the rainforest

Demonstrated different perspectives

Reflected on activities and issues

Attitude:

Worked well with peers

Stayed engaged throughout task

Developed rainforest appreciation

(More student columns can be added as needed)