Lesson 4: Relationships

“You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself.” –Galileo

Now that I knew how to engage my students from the beginning of the lesson as well as give myself the confidence that I needed to teach smoothly, I was more than excited to teach what I was sure would be one of my favorite lessons!

I am fascinated with European history and kingdoms in general, and since we were learning about relationships, I decided to introduce my students to the topic by putting a fun twist on something that I’m passionate about: we would begin by exploring the relationship between commoners and noblemen! They responded very well to the opening activity and I was relieved to finally be comfortable teaching again!

To tie the lesson into the relevance of their own lives, we took a moment to talk about our own personal relationships and how we speak and act differently according to whom we are with. We actually skipped step 4 entirely for the sake of time, but I could tell it was unnecessary since the students seemed to understand the difference in interactions so well. The step 5 activity would be more effective and efficient, anyway.

The most recent question I’ve had about teaching is in regard to partnerships: Is it more effective to let these young students choose their own partners, or be assigned partners? If I assign partners, am I losing student ownership in my classroom? If I let students choose their own partners, will the lesson objective be reached effectively? Because of this battle, I have been a little too lenient in my classroom. I don’t want my students to feel that anything is unfair, so I suppose I should consider this in advance and choose a rule that best tailors to each lesson individually to avoid chaos in the future?

I am continuously impressed with my students’ active imaginations, clever responses, and eager attitudes. I have many students whom I can tell will be very talented actors in the future! I am very humbled to be one of the first to introduce them to the fascinating and beautiful world of performing arts.

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LESSON PLAN:

Casey Greenwood

BYU Arts Bridge

4^th Grade

Characterization Unit

Lesson 4: Relationship

LESSON EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE: Students will demonstrate their understanding of how relationships effect characterization by performing a contentless scene for the class.

USOE 4^TH GRADE STANDARDS: 1: Playmaking, Objective 1; Standard 2, Objectives 1, 2, and 4; Standard 4, Objective 2

MATERIALS NEEDED: Printed contentless scene (1 per student), relationship cards, computer access and proper connection cables

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HOOK: Clear the room to create plenty of floorspace. Divide the class into two groups and have them stand on opposite sides of the room. Each side will take on the title of either peasants or nobility. Invite the students to discuss amongst their own group what life would be like if they were indeed living as a peasant or noble in a kingdom. Next, have them discuss how they feel about the other group. Invite the students to walk around the room and interact with each other as they imagine peasants and nobles would interact if they were all shopping in the marketplace. Choose one student from the nobles to be the “king” of the class and have him or her sit on a chair in the center of the room. Next, have the students discuss in their groups how they would act around the king. Invite the students to interact with each other once again, but this time the king will enter the scene, affecting their interactions.

Step 1

Transition: Ask the students questions such as: How did you treat each other? Why did you treat each other that way? What was different about the way you treated the king? Why did you treat the king differently?

Step 2

Discussion: Write “RELATIONSHIPS” on the white board. Have the students think about the names of 3 people that they know and what their relationship is with that person (i.e. friend, mother, cousin, etc.). Ask for a few examples, and write them on the board. Ask the students questions such as: How would you act toward your (friend)? What would it look like? What would it sound like? How would you act toward your (mother)? Etc.

Step 3

Model: Show the students a video clip with no sound that features two characters interacting. Ask the students questions such as: What do you think their relationship is? Why do you think that? Next, have the students listen to a different video clip featuring two characters. Ask the students the same questions as before.

Step 4

Group Practice: Have the students get with a partner. Give each partnership an index card with a relationship written on it. Have them discuss what that relationship might look and sound like. Have the students improvise a 1-minute scene in which one of the characters wants the other to give him/her food. Have each partnership perform for at least one other.

Step 5

Assessment: Give each partnership a contentless scene. The students will decide on a relationship that they can apply to the scene, rehearse it, and perform for the class. After each scene, discuss the relationship and the clues that the students found within the scene that hinted at the characters’ relationship.

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LESSON SUPPLEMENTS:

VIDEO CLIPS: No sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdQgv4Og71E (1:05-1:45), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFdfssf2MNc (1:15-1:30)

RELATIONSHIP INDEX CARDS:

FATHER/MOTHER AND DAUGHTER/SON

BEST FRIENDS

TEACHER/STUDENT

OLDER BROTHER/SISTER AND YOUNGER BROTHER/SISTER

KING/QUEEN AND SERVANT

STRANGERS

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CONTENTLESS SCENE:

CHARACTER 1: What do you think about that?

CHARACTER 2: I think it could be better.

CHARACTER 1: I kinda like it the way it is.

CHARACTER 2: Whatever you say.