EAE 201 Lesson Plans (Drama, Dance, Music, Visual Art)

Drama

For this lesson, the teacher will work with the students to create a script about certain animals coming into contact with flowers (Scandrett, 2021, Class 8). This lesson plan would relate to CP1.4 which is to “use language, visual images, and other ways (e.g., movement, sound effects) to represent ideas both in and out of role” within the indicator (b) which is to “represent ideas in the drama using visual images” (Ministry of Education, 2011, p. 19). To begin, the teacher will split the students into groups. The group sizes will vary depending on class size. If there are 20 students in the group, the teacher will create five groups with four students in each group. Once groups are created, the teacher will show several photos of different types of flowers to the students. As the students look at the flowers, each group will pick a different one to use. Then, the teacher will show pictures of different animals and insects including dogs, bees, cats, and more. Each group will once again choose an animal or insect to use. Once the flower and insect or animal have been decided for each group, the students will then work in their groups to discuss their chosen animal or insect along with their flower. While the students are discussing this, the teacher will go around and ask each group what they have come up with so far and possibly give some ideas if needed. Once the students have decided how their flower and animal or insect interact with each other, the teacher will help them write out a scene. Since the students are in grade one, they might be able to write it out but may need teacher assistance depending on their skill level. Once it has been planned and written out, the students will act out their drama scene for one of the groups and then for the class if they feel comfortable doing so. There are several learning resources being used during this process such as scaffolding with either the teacher or teacher assistant, group work, and various images provided for visual representation.

Dance

For this lesson, the students will respond to visual expressions through movement (Scandrett, 2021, Class 6). This lesson plan would relate to CP1.1 which is to “create movements and movement patterns in response to stimuli such as stories, poems, music, or objects as starting points” within indicator (f) which is to “use movements in many different ways in response to a given stimuli” (Ministry of Education, 2011, p. 18). To do this lesson, the teacher will play a YouTube video on the overhead projector so that all of the students can see what is occurring. In the video, the students will observe several different types of flowers in the field. While watching the video, they can mentally or physically take note of the sizes and shapes of each flower. For example, some flowers in the video are short and wide while others are very tall and skinny. Once the video is over, the teacher will brainstorm with the students on the whiteboard. While brainstorming, they will write down how each of the flowers looked including size, shape, and even colour. After writing all of the flower appearances down, the students will associate a certain movement to each type of flower. For example, a short and wide flower might have the movement of folding into a ball on the ground. If the teacher notices the students struggling to come up with movements, they could ask what it looks like to make yourself tall, short, or move around in the wind. Once movements have been decided, the students will do each movement with the teacher as a class. Some learning resources to be used in this lesson include scaffolding when the teacher is writing things down on the whiteboard and online videos walking through fields. 

Video example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyuZPrvqBQs.

Music

For a music lesson plan drawing flowers into the classroom, sound mapping could be used. To recall, sound mapping includes listening to a soundscape in nature and lines, colours, shapes are used to illustrate what is being heard (Scandrett, 2021, Class 5). This lesson plan could relate to CP1.6 which is to “demonstrate understanding of patterns and the elements of music” within indicator (d) which is to “imitate, create, and respond to simple rhythmic and melodic patterns” (Ministry of Education, 2011, p. 21). Since flowers do not necessarily make noises very much, the students will participate in sound mapping. The students will go for a walk outside with the teacher in an area with lots of flowers, perhaps the Floral Conservatory located in Regina. After walking around for a while and observing the surroundings, the students will find a place to sit with their paper and markers/pencil crayons. Then, the student will examine their surroundings and draw on a paper using lines, shapes, and colours about what they might be hearing in the conservatory. They could possibly hear birds chirping or flowers being watered; the possibilities are endless. While the students are drawing on their papers, the teacher will walk around and see how each student is doing. If some students are struggling to draw something, the teacher might give ideas such as “do you hear the watering” to scaffold the student. If the student still does not hear anything, the teacher could ask them to draw on a piece of paper what the silence feels like. If students are struggling to decide which colour to use, the teacher may ask what their favourite colour is or how the sound makes them feel. Then, after receiving a response about how the sound makes them feel, the teacher might ask what colour that feeling reminds them of. During this lesson, I feel that it is crucial to involve parents. Since this will be a field trip, parents are welcome to volunteer to come as well and assist the students in what might be heard. As well, scaffolding will also be used in this lesson if some students need the extra assistance.