2. Porter 2
Title of Unit:
Drama, Drama, Drama!
Grade: 4
Content Area:
Language Arts/Reading
Time Frame:
3 – 4 weeks
OVERVIEW OF UNIT
This unit focuses on teaching 4th
grade students how to choose a book in which to
design and base a dramatic production while working with members of an
assigned group. The classroom teacher will be discussing parts and elements
involved in a dramatic production. In addition to this, she will be spending time
each day doing a class read-aloud of Where the Red Fern Grows. The teacher
will be using the book and movie versions of this text to portray an example of a
dramatic production based on a well-known book. The overall goal of this unit will
include students working in groups to design and implement a successful
dramatic production based on a book of the group’s choice. The groups will each
choose an appropriate text, develop a script based on the text chosen, assign
characters, and perform a theatrical production.
The role that I will take (as the potential media specialist) is to help each group
chose an appropriate text, based on the group’s overall interest (and reading
ability). In addition to this, I will also help students learn to work effectively in
groups as well as assisting each group to generate information based on the
chosen text (or book).
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
Information Literacy Standards for Lesson/Unit:
The student who is an independent learner is information literate and
appreciates literature and other creative expressions of information.
Indicators
Indicator 1. Is a competent and self-motivated reader
Indicator 2. Derives meaning from information presented creatively in a variety of
formats
Indicator 3. Develops creative products in a variety of formats
The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to
society is information literate and participates effectively in groups to
pursue and generate information.
Indicator 1. Shares knowledge and information with others
Indicator 2. Respects others’ ideas and backgrounds and acknowledges their
contributions
Indicator 3. Collaborates with others, both in person and through technologies, to
identify information problems and to seek their solutions
3. Porter 3
Indicator 4. Collaborates with others, both in person and through technologies, to
design, develop, and evaluate information products and solutions
4th
Grade Georgia Performance Standards for Unit:
ELA4LSV1 The student participates in student-to-teacher, student-to-
student, and group verbal interactions.
a. Initiates new topics in addition to responding to adult-initiated topics.
b. Asks relevant questions.
c. Responds to questions with appropriate information.
d. Uses language cues to indicate different levels of certainty or hypothesizing
(e.g., “What if. . .”; “Very likely. . .”; “I’m unsure whether. . .”).
e. Confirms understanding by paraphrasing the adult’s directions or suggestions.
f. Displays appropriate turn-taking behaviors.
g. Actively solicits another person’s comments or opinions.
h. Offers own opinion forcefully without domineering.
i. Responds appropriately to comments and questions.
j. Volunteers contributions and responds when directly solicited by teacher or
discussion leader.
k. Gives reasons in support of opinions expressed.
l. Clarifies, illustrates, or expands on a response when asked to do so; asks
classmates for similar expansions.
ELA4LSV2 The student listens to and views various forms of text and media
in order to gather and share information, persuade others, and express and
understand ideas.
When delivering or responding to presentations, the student:
a. Shapes information to achieve a particular purpose and to appeal to the
interests and background knowledge of audience members.
b. Uses notes, multimedia, or other memory aids to structure the presentation.
c. Engages the audience with appropriate verbal cues and eye contact.
d. Projects a sense of individuality and personality in selecting and organizing
content and in delivery.
e. Shapes content and organization according to criteria
ELA4R1 The student demonstrates comprehension and shows evidence of
a warranted and responsible explanation of a variety of literary and
informational texts.
For literary texts, the student identifies the characteristics of various genres
and produces evidence of reading that:
a. Relates theme in works of fiction to personal experience.
b. Identifies and analyzes the elements of plot, character, and setting in stories
read, written, viewed, or performed.
c. Identifies the speaker of a poem or story.
d. Identifies sensory details and figurative language.
e. Identifies and shows the relevance of foreshadowing clues.
4. Porter 4
f. Makes judgments and inferences about setting, characters, and events and
supports them with elaborating and convincing evidence from the text.
g. Identifies similarities and differences between the characters or events and
theme in a literary work and the actual experiences in an author’s life.
h. Identifies themes and lessons in folktales, tall tales, and fables.
i. Identifies rhyme and rhythm, repetition, similes, and sensory images in poems.
For informational texts, the student reads and comprehends in order to
develop understanding and expertise and produces evidence of reading that:
a. Locates facts that answer the reader’s questions.
b. Identifies and uses knowledge of common textual features (e.g., paragraphs,
topic sentences, concluding sentences, glossary).
c. Identifies and uses knowledge of common graphic features (e.g., charts, maps,
diagrams, illustrations).
d. Identifies and uses knowledge of common organizational structures (e.g.,
chronological order, cause and effect).
e. Distinguishes cause from effect in context.
f. Summarizes main ideas and supporting details.
g. Makes perceptive and well-developed connections.
h. Distinguishes fact from opinion or fiction.
UNIT/LESSON UNDERSTANDINGS AND ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Understandings:
Students will understand that…
• Reading involves
comprehension of the text in
order to present it to others.
• It is important to work effectively
in group settings.
• It is important to verbally express
ideas, thoughts, and concerns to
teachers or peers.
• Literature comes in various
genres.
• Explain how to determine parts
of a story.
Essential Questions:
• What is drama?
• How can you turn text into a
performance?
• How do you determine the
setting of a story? The plot? The
characters? The climax?
• What are the best books in which
to base dramatic production?
• Based on your groups’ interests,
what would be the best genre of
text for your group?
• How do you work as a group to
assign characters from a text to
individuals?
Knowledge:
Students will know…
• How to “become the character”
to help better present information
to an audience.
• How to effectively work in group
settings.
Skills:
Students will be able to…
• Successfully present the
meaning of a selected text to an
audience.
• Cooperatively work in a group
• Identify the plot, characters,
setting, and other story elements
of literature.
5. Porter 5
• Speak/perform clearly, with a
purpose, in front of an audience.
Lesson Materials and Equipment
• LCD projector with computer connection
• Computer installed with OPAC
• Various books
• Computer lab with 18 computers installed with OPAC
• Access to media center
Lesson Procedures and Activities
I will work with the class three times per week, for approximately three weeks, or
until all groups have successfully planned and produced a theatrical performance
based on the group’s book of choice. Since there are several things going on with
the class during this unit, I will be doing various lessons and activities with them.
Also, because this is an ongoing project, there will be times that I am assisting the
groups individually by discussing their ideas and decisions. With this said, some
of the lessons will be more structured and planned than others.
Planned Lessons/Activities:
• To pull the students into the unit and concepts, the media specialist will
play a “Charades-type” game. During this lesson, the media specialist
pulls 4 to 5 students and has one student draw a well-known, short
children’s book from a bag. The title of the story is kept a secret while the
students work quickly to read their story, and then plan a short skit of the
title that they chose. After some time has passed, the students come back
together as each group presents their skit. The other groups not
presenting at the time are to attempt to guess what story is being acted
out. (Story books used: Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, The
Little Red Hen, Jack and the Beanstalk) After the story, the media
specialist discusses the strategies that each group used to work together to
present the information with the students. The media specialist will then
discuss additional strategies to use while working in groups.
• Similar charades game: this time, students will be given non-fiction books,
books with numerous characters, or books with twisted plots to attempt to
develop a dramatic production. Students and media specialist will develop
a list of challenges that they faced while attempting to act out a story with
no apparent beginning, middle, or end. The media specialist will then
discuss the importance of choosing a book with a storyline, i.e. a grade
appropriate fiction book.
• Finding the right book for your group: The media specialist will help each
group brainstorm a list of interests. (Many interests in this class in
particular overlap, and the groups have been formed in regards to
individuals’ interests.) The media specialist will then use the LCD
projector to display the school’s cataloguing program. She will teach
students to search for books by their interests using the “keyword” function.
6. Porter 6
She will also express to them that they need to check the “fiction” box in
order to get only fiction books in the results. She will present several
examples, and then will give the students a pencil and a slip of paper with
eight broad keywords listed on it. (Attached at the end of this packet.) The
students will then go to the computer lab. They will be asked to search for
five of the eight keywords and will be instructed to write down a title of a
book that is listed in the search results. This will be used as an
assessment.
• After completing the keyword search assessment, students will work with
their groups to search their own interests. As a group, they will search
book titles and make a final selection. They will do this after narrowing
their choices down to three books, locating the books in the media center,
and reviewing the books. Once the final selection is made, the media
specialist will approve the book to make sure that it is on grade level for
that particular group as well as suitable for the project.
Once these lessons have been implemented by the media specialist, she will
continue to meet with the groups to encourage thinking, question group members’
ideas, as well as assist groups individually.
Lesson Assessments
• Developing a list of challenges found while using non-fiction books, books
with difficult plots, books with numerous characters – each student will be
called upon to list a challenge during this discussion (they will use sticky
notes to record their idea, then they will present the idea and stick it to the
poster paper)
• “Keyword Search Assessment” -- This handout will evaluate the student’s
ability to properly use the cataloging system
• Final group presentations – see rubric attached at the end of this packet;
Students will work as a group to perform an “adaptation” of a selected text
for the enjoyment of a selected audience. Groups will select a scene from
their novel, or create a paraphrased version of the entire piece. As a
group, students must decide how best to present their selection in a
dramatic form to successfully portray the information from the text to an
audience.
• Self-Assessment – see attached at the end of this packet
• Self/Group Evaluation – see attached at the end of this packet
Reflection
This lesson and topic was very fun to implement. I learned a lot from these fourth
graders! I am a pre-k teacher, and am now truly amazed at the knowledge that
these children have! Since I am a pre-k teacher, I was a little apprehensive about
working with fourth grade students. Much to my surprise, they were well
behaved, they listened, and they all knew how to write! (Something I’m not used
7. Porter 7
to in the pre-k world!)
Overall, I felt that my lessons went great. The kids were all engaged – I was
lucky, every student in the class loved to read. I was worried that I would have
some students who did not want to or care to read or participate, but I was lucky
that that wasn’t at all the case! It seemed that the students really looked forward
to each day’s group work time and to my visits. I am pretty certain that it was only
this way because the students were all engaged and interested in the material
and the project that was being presented. I quickly saw that as long as you make
sure the students are engaged and you are finding ways to make the learning
process fun, you will more than likely have their full attention.
The teacher that I collaborated with was excellent as well. She has taught fourth
grade for 14 years and uses this topic as a big part of her curriculum each year.
She was very helpful to me in planning, and offered lots of advice and ideas that I
could work with. The one thing that I did not like about this collaboration was her
busy schedule. We only met twice during the planning process of the lesson, but
she promised me that we would “make it work” once we started with the kids.
When the time came, she was right, and we did “make it work,” but it was a little
stressful for me, and I would have rather talked about things more thoroughly with
her. In addition to this, I also felt “out of the loop” in regards to what she was
doing in her own classroom on the days that I was not there. I would have liked to
have known more about what she was covering as far as the content standards
go. I know that they students were getting additional group time to read and
develop their scripts and time to practice their productions, but I didn’t get much
feedback as to how that was working out. Every time that I was scheduled to
“teach,” we went down to the media center (or to the computer lab) to spread out,
use the tables, and have access to the books on hand, rather than checking them
out.
There are not many things that I would like to change about this lesson. I felt very
good about the material that I presented, as well as the teaching methods that I
used. Again, the one thing that I would like to change is the lack of
communication between myself and the classroom teacher in regards to the
additional lessons and activities that she was working on within her classroom.
Assessment Results
• Challenges List: all students recorded their thoughts on sticky notes. Each
student successfully completed this assessment. This showed me that
each student understood the importance of choosing a fiction book with
limited characters and an easy-to-follow plot.
• Keyword Search Assessment: all but three students successfully
completed the keyword assessment by using OPAC. The three students
who did not have success were given an additional, individual lesson on
the using keywords and using OPAC. These students were then given a
8. Porter 8
second “keyword assessment” in which they successfully completed.
• The final group presentations were assessed by the classroom teacher
and myself. We both scored the groups, and then compared our results.
Only one group did not get the maximum amount of points. However, this
was only because of a lack of effort on the whole group’s part.
• The additional evaluations and group/peer reviews all resulted with positive
feedback. According to the group evaluations, each group was very happy
in working with the members of their groups and had no major problems.
9. Porter 9
Keyword Search Assessment
Pick any five of the keywords listed and search for a fiction book that is related
to the keyword. Circle the keywords that you choose, and write the title of each
the book that you find beside the keyword. You will need to go and look at the
books before you write the title down to make sure that is does in fact match the
keyword listed.
• fish
• a visit to the circus
• farm life
• school
• a friendship
• a vacation
• being sick
• wild west
10. Porter 10
Final Presentation Rubric
LEVEL ONE LEVEL TWO LEVEL THREE LEVEL FOUR
ORAL COMMUNICATION:
Use a variety of appropriate visual aids
to support or enhance oral
presentations, with limited
effectiveness.
Use a variety of appropriate
visual aids to
support or enhance
oral presentations,
with some
effectiveness.
Use a variety of
appropriate visual
aids to support or
enhance oral
presentations, with
considerable
effectiveness.
Use a variety of appropriate visual aids
to support or enhance oral
presentations, with a high
degree of effectiveness.
APPLICATION
Enact or create, rehearse, and present
drama works based on novels, with
limited effectiveness. (Effectiveness
of group as a whole throughout
process)
Enact or create, rehearse,
and present drama based
on novels, with some
effectiveness.
Enact or create, rehearse,
and present drama based
on novels, with
considerable
effectiveness.
Enact or create, rehearse, and present
drama based on novels, with a high
degree of effectiveness.
COMMUNICATION/THINKING
Describe and reflect, orally and
in writing, on their response to
their own and others’ work in
drama with limited
effectiveness (Self-evaluation)
Describe and reflect, orally
and in writing, on
their response to
their own and
others’ work in
drama with some
effectiveness.
Describe and reflect, orally
and in writing, on their
response to their own and
others’ work in drama with
considerable
effectiveness.
Describe and reflect, orally and in
writing, on their response to their own
and others’ work in drama with a high
degree of effectiveness.
KNOWLEDGE
Demonstrate awareness of audience
when writing in role, and use the
appropriate language, tone of voice,
gestures, and body movements when
speaking as a character in a drama,
with limited effectiveness. (Use of
voice, gestures, body movements,
etc. as character)
Demonstrate awareness of
audience when writing in
role, and use the
appropriate language, tone
of voice, gestures, and body
movements when speaking
as a character in a drama,
with some effectiveness.
Demonstrate awareness of
audience when writing in
role, and use the
appropriate language, tone
of voice, gestures, and
body movements when
speaking as a character in
a drama, with considerable
effectiveness.
Demonstrate awareness of audience
when writing in role, and use the
appropriate language, tone of voice,
gestures, and body movements when
speaking as a character in a drama,
with a high degree of effectiveness.
READING
Extend understanding of texts by
connecting the ideas in them to their
own knowledge, experience, and
insights, to other familiar texts, and to
the world around them, with limited
effectiveness. (Connectedness to
original text)
Extend understanding of
texts by connecting the
ideas in them to their own
knowledge, experience, and
insights, to other familiar
texts, and to the world
around them, with some
effectiveness.
Extend understanding of
texts by connecting the
ideas in them to their own
knowledge, experience,
and insights, to other
familiar texts, and to the
world around them, with
considerable
effectiveness.
Extend understanding of texts by
connecting the ideas in them to their
own knowledge, experience, and
insights, to other familiar texts, and to
the world around them, with a high
degree of effectiveness.
WRITING
Write longer and more complex texts
using a variety of forms with
limited effectiveness. (Script
writing)
Write longer and more
complex texts using a
variety of forms with some
effectiveness.
Write longer and more
complex texts using a
variety of forms with
considerable
effectiveness.
Write longer and more complex texts
using a variety of forms with a high
degree of effectiveness.
11. Porter 11
SELF-ASSESSMENT
NAME: _______________________
In the space below, write your personal observations about the following:
1. What I learned about myself while doing this assignment:
2. What I learned about others in my group:
3. What I learned about creating and performing a drama presentation like this
(strengths, weaknesses):
4. What I’d do differently next time:
5. What I was most proud of:
6. What I was most embarrassed by:
12. Porter 12
SELF/GROUP EVALUATION
Rate yourself and your group members CONFIDENTIALLY here, giving each
person level that you feel they deserve. No one will see your scoring but me.
SCALE:
1 – Never worked or helped with the group.
2 – Did some work, but not very much work with the group. Did not help much.
3 – Sometimes worked with the group and helped.
4 – Almost always worked with the group and helped.
5 – Always worked with the group and was always helping.
List group members’ names, and rate them:
NAME RATE
___________________ ______
___________________ ______
___________________ ______
___________________ ______
___________________ ______
Now, rate yourself: ______
