Frozen Bodies: Introduction to Tableau with the Road to the American Revolution

This lesson was the best lesson of the semester! The kids had never made a frozen image before, and by the end, they were performing on a high level of dramatic sophistication.

1/27/17 Drama Lesson Plan

5th grade

Objective: Students will use their frozen bodies to express the perspectives of at least 3 different characters from the Revolutionary War.

Learning Target: I can use my frozen body to show perspective.

Drama Vocabulary words: playing space, director, pantomime

            English Language Arts Words: setting, perspective

Expectations:

1.       I am silent when the attention cue is given.

2.       I am a courteous audience member.

3.       I am brave.

Intro Drama Game: 10 min

Sculptor: List a theme: (anger, sadness, traveling, super hero.) In pairs, one person (A) is the sculptor and the other (B) is the block of clay. ‘B’ begins by standing in a neutral position; the sculptor slowly moves ‘B’s body into a new position according to the theme that is being explored. Ideally this is done without talking so that all communication is through body-language. Facial expressions can be shown by the sculptor for the statue to copy. Give them no more than 30-60 seconds per pose. Many themes can be explored using this popular technique and some examples are listed below. Once the statues are made, an ‘exhibition’ can be held so that the sculptors walk around and look at each other’s creations. After this they can swop over. Sculpting can also be done by small groups, with one person being molded by the others until they reach consensus. Remember that it is difficult to hold a physical position for a long period, so give a time-limit. You may like to give the sculptors paper and pen so that they can write a title or caption for their masterpiece and put it in front of the statue.
Ideas to use today: Sadness, ecstatic (so so so so excited), Old person, superhero, traveling

Identify target: Using frozen bodies to communicate.

Content Introduction: 10 min

Use a wordless picture book as an example to teach students that frozen images allow us to see perspective without any words.

Frog Goes to Dinner- Silently flip through pages at the carpet without any commentary at all from you as the teacher. Do small sections at a time. Then have the kids turn and tell their neighbors together exactly what happened in the story.

Ask them how they knew what happened in the story. Actors use bodies, minds, and voices. But even just with your bodies, you can tell almost an entire story. Explain how frozen images can still tell us so much about the story.

Practice and Apply:

Introduce Tableau by modeling positive and negative examples with your own body that demonstrate these principles:

• A frozen body is powerful. Give examples of anger, pleasure, fear.
• How does not using your whole body affect the power of the performance?
• How does whispering to a neighbor affect the power of the performance?
• How does not being frozen affect the power of the performance?

Story from Wonders book: A New Nation

Introduce the idea of each scene, and then stop for students to create a tableau.

Boston Massacre 5 minutes

Setting: Downtown Boston, town square, 1770- quartering act of 1765, troops in the street

When I say go: silently look for cues in other people’s bodies to see who they are and where they are. No talking. You can glean hints from their eyes and bodies, just not their mouths. If you can’t do it without your mouths, we will have to try it again until you can master creating a frozen image in silence. 5 min

• Have students who did well model in a small performance
• Then sit and listen to next part of story

Boston Tea Party - 2-3 min each

Setting: Boston Harbor, night, 1773

Intolerable Acts (shutting down of Boston Harbor)

Setting: Boston Harbor, early morning, 1773

First Continental Congress- decided to send proposal to king

Setting: Philadelphia, 1774, inside

Shots Heard Round the World

Setting: Lexington and Concord, farm towns, barns, 1775

Second Continental Congress-, signing Declaration of Independence

Setting: 1775, Philadelphia

If lesson finishes early, replay all the scenes again, but simply go through the scenes, don’t tell the story. Let the tableau tell the story.

Assessment: informally observe students participation in the tableau.

Student Self-Reflection: What is my strength? What is my weakness? How will I practice next week making my weakness a strength? How can I prepare to be a frozen actor in March better?

Standards:

Drama:
5.T.CR.5: Create character through physical movement, gesture, sound and/or speech and facial expression with age-appropriate outcomes.

5.T.P.1: Analyze the character, setting, and essential elements (plot) in a story that make up the dramatic structure and use choices to enhance the story in a drama/theatre work.

5.T.P.4: Communicate meaning using the body through space, shape, energy, and gesture.

Reading Informational Text:
RI.6.6 Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.
Social Studies:

6. Social Studies, Standard 2, Objective 1a

Explain the role of events that led to declaring independence (e.g., French and Indian War, Stamp Act, Boston Tea Party).