| INTENDED
GRADE/SUBJECT AREA |
| Grade 10/ Drama, History,
Language Arts, Music |
| RECOMMENDED
TIME FRAME |
| One to four periods, for
any or all units throughout the course. |
| BACKGROUND
INFORMATION |
| Small Group Acting (SGA)
attempts to re-live, portray, analyse and
role-play the events of Canada’s history.
They work best when the actors make a real
commitment to bring the events and facts
to life with costumes, music and documents.
SGA can be set up to work throughout the
year. We use them each unit, often as a
review exercise of the main people and events
of the unit under study. We will often set
groups at the beginning of the year, allowing
students to work with a certain group of
students that they might not work with otherwise.
SGA at its best brings the actors and the
audience into a virtual time machine, transporting
the class back into history. |
| INSTRUCTIONAL
OUTCOMES |
Students will:
- demonstrate an understanding of the
elements of Canadian identity;
- demonstrate an understanding of the
ways in which outside forces and events
have shaped Canada’s policies;
- ask questions, identify problems,
and effectively use historical research
methods to investigate topics and issues
in history;
- use a variety of information sources
effectively when researching historical
topics or issues, accurately record
relevant information, and then organize
this information in a meaningful way;
- analyse and evaluate information
when researching historical topics or
issues;
- communicate effectively the results
of research in presentations, and demonstrate
an ability to apply insights from history
to other situations;
- make reasoned generalizations or
appropriate predictions based on research;
- demonstrate competence in research
and writing (e.g., gathering information,
building an argument, supporting the
argument with evidence, writing clearly,
editing);
- express ideas and arguments in a
coherent manner during discussions and
debates, or in graphic displays;
- demonstrate, after participating
in dramatizations of historical events,
insights into historical figures’
situations and decisions.
|
| ACTIVITY |
| Usually in the first unit,
the concept of Small Group Acting is introduced.
The teacher should explain the importance
of storyboarding and making a good script.
Basic drama techniques are useful here,
and you might want to bring in a drama teacher
to discuss acting, blocking and costume
considerations. Groups of 4-6 are established
and assigned a number. For the rest of
the year minimal instructions will be
required as all you will need to do is
assign topics. For example, portray:
Group 1 – how the First
Nations helped Europeans adapt/survive
to life in northern Canada
Group 2 – how geography affected
fur trade posts and routes
Group 3 – why/how development
expanded into northern and western Canada
Group 4 – the arrival of
the Selkirk settlers and the conflict
that arose with the fur traders
Group 5 – compare/contrast
the differences between HBC and the Northwest
Company
Group 6 – the global factors
that influenced the fur trade and what
that meant to those
employed in the fur trade
Group 7 – how different individuals
might have lived
(Chief Factor and his wife would be different
from servants, voyageurs, trappers; how
English, French and Aboriginal people
lived differently yet absorbed parts of
each other’s cultures, etc.)
Students are given a set amount of time
to prepare the skit. Normally we introduce
the topics and give students two to three
75-minute periods to prepare their skits.
It is useful to start on a Wednesday,
giving students Thursday, Friday and the
weekend to improve the final product.
In the allotted time they must:
- brainstorm ideas (identify the main
ideas and how they want to perform the
skit)
- develop a script (they cannot read
from a paper during their performance)
- establish what types of media they
will be using
- develop a costume list and who will
bring what
- practice the skit (the performance
should be professional)
- perform the skit for the class
Often near the end of the course when students
are comfortable with SGA you can do SGA
speed rounds, where you hand out topics
and have students improvise on the spot
as a review activity. The time allotted
depends on teacher expectations, time constraints
and the students’ involvement.
SGA is a great stepping stone for Heritage
Minutes, short film productions, etc.
Enriched or Accelerated students can establish
a “Canadian History Film Club”
where they develop a movie about an area
of Canadian history over the course of
the term.
|
| MATERIALS/RESOURCES |
Make sure that students list
what they will need, typically:
- FurTradeStories.ca – has images
of artwork and artefacts to help inspire
costumes and sets, documents and audio
to relate details of specific events
or daily life activities, etc.
- CD player or stereo
- Overhead projector (useful for creating
backgrounds)
- Costumes if available
The initial SGA will require the following
handouts:
Students will be assessed at all stages
through observation, questioning and teacher
suggestions for improvement, ideas and
energy. They should be given a copy of:
|
About
the Educators
Adrienne Chong and Mark Melnyk won the Governor
General's Award for Excellence in Teaching
Canadian History in 2004. They have developed
teaching and assessment strategies that
breathe life into their Canadian history
classes. Role play, heritage albums, heritage
fairs as well as course packs of primary
documents provide students of varying aptitudes
and interests strong conduits for learning.
Their History Classroom of the Future
activity involves the construction of websites
that are used at Markville Secondary and
by educators across Canada. |
