Unit 5 6 Grade – RW and WW th
Readers Use a Variety of Comprehension Strategies to Interpret the Structure and Elements of Traditional Literature and Drama **THE BIG PICTURE – Reading and Writing Unit of Study: Readers use a variety of comprehension strategies to interpret drama. Immersion
A major emphasis of this unit is to help students develop an understanding of the structure of drama. The playwright organizes the action into a framework. Understanding the structure helps the reader to understand the message of the play. Most plays are divided into scenes and acts. The playwright often introduces foreshadowing into the beginning scenes (foreshadowing), which leads to conflict and resolution.
The elements of drama should also be reviewed. Draw students’ attention to the unique characteristics of drama such as scripts, scenes, characters/narrators, set directions, and dialogue
Talk is imperative during this unit. Students should be in partnerships or small groups in service of deeper understanding. It is important to fill the classroom with a wide variety of plays. Include plays with strong examples of theme and character conflict in the read aloud and shared reading.
Reading plays aloud is critical. Multiple readings of the same play are encouraged. The cast's pace, cadence, pause points, and voice all evoke different responses/emotions in the listener. Multiple readings allow students to experience the same play in different ways. The first reading gives you a preview for the play. The second reading helps you to visualize the characters and setting and to understand the author's message. The third reading allows you to imagine the cast, set and movement. It is suggested that the teacher use one play throughout objective 1 to model how focus changes and understanding deepens with multiple readings.
During this Unit of Study students should also continue to read their just-right books and reader’s theater scripts.
This unit has infused Reading and Writing lessons. Depending on your time constraints, you will need to decide whether the lesson can be taught in one block or if you will need to teach the reading portion one day and the writing portion the next day. The writing section can be found in objective 4. If you decide to teach the lesson in two days, teach the reading portion on the first day.
Read with an understanding that traditional literature contains stories that were originally oral and later became written text.
Indicators of Understanding: 1. Readers are able to identify drama and read from a selection with fluency and expression. 2. Readers can identify a variety of literary devices in context. Students articulate how those devices improve their comprehension.
3. Readers make connections, ask questions, and use sensory images to infer meaning in drama. 4. Readers demonstrate their ability to synthesize a text by articulating in their own words, their thinking about the big ideas in a drama. Interactive Read Aloud Reader’s Theater Scripts and Plays: http://www.thebestclass.org/rtscripts.html http://www.teachingheart.net/readerstheater.htm * It is important to note that there should be a variety of plays and reader’s theater scripts used. Reader’s theater scripts are usually missing the key structures (i.e. stage directions) A. Teacher selects plays that have strong plot, theme and one that is similar to a previously read literary text. Some suggestions include myths (http://www.kidsinco.com/myth/) and connect to a previously read myth.
Teacher identifies examples of dramatic structure and elements. Teacher identifies examples figurative language: simile, metaphor, and personification in poems.
B. Teacher models and students practice repeated reading of play.
Using plays teacher models and students understand dramatic elements: • Script/Scenario • Theme • Action/Plot • Character/cast • Language
Using plays teacher models and students understand dramatic structures: • Stage Directions • Dialogue • Plot • Foreshadowing • Rising action • Climax • Resolution Teacher demonstrates and students experience the strong mental images and feelings poetry can create.
Mini – Lessons
Objective 1 The following mini-lessons teach readers to understand the elements of traditional tales. 1.Readers use the elements of traditional tales to help them make meaningful connections. LISTEN: Teacher will review various familiar traditional tales. Explain that traditional literature was once told orally and passed down through generations. Teacher and students create an anchor chart to identify the common elements of traditional tales.
Characters Setting – make-believe Plot – high risk action Sensory and Figurative language (hyperbole, personification) Theme Other common elements – o magic helper (is a character – whether supernatural, human, or animal – who possesses an extraordinary kind of power that often assists the hero or heroine throughout his/her journey within the story. o rule of three (things happen in 3's. You should be on the lookout for: 3 related events, 3 connected characters, 3 rules, 3 punishments, 3 objects, 3 relationships which are compared and contrasted) o use of rhyme or repetition o good vs evil
TRY: Students select and read a traditional tales and identify the story elements. SHARE: Teacher selects 3-4 students to share the elements of the traditional tale they read. MATERIALS: traditional tales – various reading levels, Reader’s Notebooks, sticky notes ** this lesson maybe repeated over several days to ensure understanding.** 2. Readers will recognize that one’s culture can dictate how characters act or talk. LISTEN: Teacher reads the same traditional tale reflecting two different cultures. Teacher shares that characters can be different in one tale in each story in part because the stories reflect different cultures. TRY: Students work with a partner and read preselected tales that reflect cultural differences. Students will share differences they noticed in the characters based on their culture. The following questions stems could be used:
What problems did the character face? What happens that causes the character to change from the beginning to the end of the story? How is the problem solved in the story? What events lead to the resolution of the problem in the story? What was the theme?
Students can also create their own plot diagram over their text to use for summary lesson.
SHARE: Teacher selects 2-4 students to share their thinking. MATERIALS: Plot diagram, familiar texts 3.Readers will summarize text in a way that maintains meaning and logical order. LISTEN: Teacher reads or refers to a traditional tale. Teacher and students recount the plot using plot diagram and create a summary together. TRY: Students recount the plot from their just right book in their reading journal and create a summary that maintains meaning and logical order. SHARE: Students share their findings with a partner. Teacher selects examples from student work to share.
Objective 2: The following mini-lessons teach readers and writers to examine drama as a genre. If possible, use a traditional tale as a play.
4. Readers and writers determine how to best understand drama by previewing. LISTEN: Teacher introduces drama as a series of actions and words of characters on stage. Most plays are structured into acts and/or scenes. Generally the wants and desires of one character will conflict with another character. With this method the playwright establishes a pattern of rising action, climax, and resolution. Many plays also include stage directions for scenes or acts. The structure and elements of drama include (but not limited to): Script/Text - This is the starting point of the drama or play, the element most often considered as the domain of the playwright in theatre. The script, scenario, or plan is what the director uses as a blue print to build a production from. Characters/Cast - These are the people presented in the play that are involved in the plot. Each character should have his/her own distinct personality, age, appearance, beliefs, background, and language. Stage Directions- Instructions written as part of the script of a play, a message describing how something is to be done; Dialogue - The words/phrases/speeches spoken by each character in a play. Plot - the arrangement of ideas and/or incidents that make up the story in a drama or play Foreshadowing - When the writer clues the reader in to something that will eventually occur in the story; it may be explicit (obvious) or implied (disguised). Rising Action: Rising action is the section of the plot beginning with the first action and the sequence of events moving to the crisis or climax. These scenes make up the body of the play and usually create a sense of continuous mounting suspense in the audience. The Climax/Crisis - All of the earlier scenes and actions in a play will build to the highest level of dramatic intensity. This section of the play is generally referred to as the moment of the plays climax. This is the moment where the major dramatic questions rise to the highest level, the mystery hits the unraveling point, and the culprits are revealed. This should be the point of the highest stage of dramatic intensity in the action of the play. The whole combined actions of the play generally lead up to this moment.
Resolution - The resolution is the moment of the play in which the conflicts are resolved. It is the solution to the conflict in the play, the answer to the mystery, and the clearing up of the final details. This is the scene that answers the questions raised earlier in the play. In this scene the methods and motives are revealed to the audience.
Adapted from: http://homepage.smc.edu/adair-lynch_terrin/ta%205/elements.htm Teacher previews the drama by reading the title, characters, and narrator. Read any background information provided. Read drama once for overall meaning. TRY: Students will preview and read play paying particular attention to the features. SHARE: Teacher highlights 3 or 4 specific, positive behaviors she noticed and wants to continue. MATERIALS:
play
5. Readers read drama differently. LISTEN: Teacher models reading the play and while visualizing characters and setting. Notice - What does the person look like? How do they sound? How do they deliver each line? Contemplate the setting to have a clear understanding of the story’s time and place. Try to imagine the sets (scenery and props) and costumes. Consider whether or not the historical context is important to the story. Clarify words and phrases about which you are unsure about by looking for context clues. Evaluate the by asking what message is the play trying to send or help you understand? Does it relate to your life in any way? Select a play that lends itself to a dramatic reading. Share with students the importance of practice in effective dramatic readings. Over the course of the unit, model a dramatic reading that is practiced as well as one that is not practiced, noting the difference practice makes to the delivery of the play. TRY: Students read or reread a play, practicing the different ways to read them. Have students practice by engaging in an activity called “Sitting in the Directors Chair”. To visualize the play, the student should think like a director. To truly appreciate the dramatic literature, a student must imagine the cast (crew of actors), the set, and the movement. Place students in various groups an assign roles according to the cast. Allow time for all students to read and practice a dramatic reading. SHARE: Teacher highlights 3 or 4 specific, positive behaviors she noticed and wants to continue. MATERIALS: plays 6. Readers and writers reread to deepen understanding, stopping and thinking after each scene or act. LISTEN: Teacher models how to stop and think after each act or scene. Reflect on the rising action/plot/conflict/resolution and summarize the major events and character interactions. Teacher models jotting notes about his/her thinking after each act or scene.
TRY: Students reread a play, stopping to jot their summaries and the poem's meaning after each part. SHARE: Teacher highlights 3 or 4 specific, positive behaviors she noticed and wants to continue. MATERIALS: play
Objective 3: The following mini-lessons teach readers to use strategies to think deeply through drama. 7. Readers and writers make personal connections to drama. LISTEN: Teacher models making personal connections while reading aloud an excerpt or scene from a pay. Teacher thinks aloud how the character connects to his/her own life. Example: "I think this character is acting like he doesn’t care because nothing seems to be going right for him. I felt the same way last week when I overslept, lost my keys, and dropped my breakfast on the way out the door. Teacher reads another excerpt from the play and students turn and talk about the personal connections made.
TRY: Students reread scenes from a play and make personal connections. Students make note on sticky notes of their reactions as they read. Students try to bring in personal insights that would benefit the reader. SHARE: Teacher shares 3 or 4 of the student’s sticky notes. Students share their writing with their writing partners. MATERIALS: plays, graffiti wall (personal connections)
8. Readers ask questions of the text when reading drama. LISTEN: Teacher models collecting his/her thoughts after reading a poem and asking questions such as: How does the plot (the sequence of happenings) unfold? If there is more than one plot, are the plots parallel, or are they related by way of contrast? Are certain happenings recurrent? If so, how are they significant? What kinds of conflict are in the play—for instance, between two groups, two individuals, or two aspects of a single individual? How are the conflicts resolved? Is the resolution satisfying to you? How does the author develop the characters? How trustworthy are the characters when they describe themselves or others? Do some characters serve as foils, or contrasts, for other characters, thus helping to define the other characters? Do the characters change as the play proceeds? What do the author’s stage directions add to your understanding and appreciation of the play? If there are few stage directions, what do the speeches imply about the characters’ manner, tone, and gestures? Why is the setting/location important to the play? How is it revealed? How do costumes or props add to the meaning of the play? Are any of the props symbolic? What do they symbolize? TRY: Students work with others to read and act out play. Students then reflect by asking and answering critical questions.
SHARE: Students share in small groups the questions and answers they found as they read plays. The students share the questions they asked of themselves as they wrote their poems. MATERIALS: play
Objective 4: The following mini-lessons teach readers to interpret and synthesize drama. 9. Readers deepen their understanding of a drama's meaning by inferring. Writers write with depth in order to allow readers to infer. LISTEN: Teacher models how some dialogue, character actions or other features that require readers to “read between the lines" in order to understand the message. They show how connecting the words to their schema and making inferences help them to deepen meaning. Teacher models she uses the information in the play to make an inference. Some questions to include: Why does the author include props in the play? How do they contribute to the conflict or resolution? Why does the author use sound effects? What message did the author wish to convey? TRY: Students read and reflect on the deeper meaning of plays inferring. SHARE: Students share with their partners the work they have done today as readers and as writers. MATERIALS: plays 10.Readers synthesize the theme of a play in their own words. LISTEN: Teacher models stating the big idea or theme of a play into his/her own words. Example: "This is all about forgiveness because they became friends again and I think they'd have to forgive each other to have a future relationship." TRY: Students work with partners to read and synthesize the theme of a published poem. Students work with their writing partner to synthesize the partner’s poem. The students will then discuss what the reader synthesized and what the student poet intended when writing the poem. SHARE: Teacher selects 2 or 3 partnerships to share their work with synthesizing. MATERIALS: plays 11.Readers notice similarities and differences between film and plays of same story line. LISTEN: Teacher explains that often there are differences between films and plays of the same story line. Some of these may include: setting, characters and even plot. TRY: Students work with partners to review and identify more similarities and differences of the film and play. SHARE: Teacher selects 2 or 3 partnerships to share their work with comparing and contrasting. MATERIALS: plays/short film segments
Objective 5: The following mini-lessons teach readers to make connections between dramas and other texts. 12. Readers develop the ability to make specific connections between scenes or characters within the play. LISTEN: Teacher reviews how to make connections within texts. We understand that as we read we make connections and think about various characters and scenes within the play. Teacher models comparing 2 scenes from a familiar play. Refer to a Venn Diagram or a T-chart as a tool to use to compare and/or contrast different texts. TRY: Students complete comparison graphic organizer looking characters. SHARE: Students share their findings with a partner. Teacher selects examples from student work to share MATERIALS: play, graphic organizer 13. Readers develop the ability to make specific connections between texts and employ these strategies while reading. LISTEN: Teacher reviews how to make text-to-text connections. We understand that as we read we connect to other texts that we have already read. We think about other characters, genres, ways in which certain authors have written, and also big ideas that might be the same across the texts. Refer to a Venn Diagram or a T-chart as a tool to use to compare and/or contrast different texts. Teacher selects a familiar play that was read during this unit and a familiar text that was read previously. Together, teacher and students complete comparison graphic organizer looking characters, theme, or other events (teacher selects). Teacher concludes by saying we have talked about making connections between texts. TRY: Students When students are reading independently, they may want to use the comparison graphic organizer as a way to frame their thinking and any connections that they make between their reading and another text. Questions that Evoke Conversation What is a major idea found in both selections/stories? The play and the text present ideas about _____ Why was __ mentioned in both the (play) and the (story with the journal)? What is the theme in both selections? What do the lessons in __ and __ have in common? What is a common theme in both of the stories? In comparing __ and __, what was the difference in the moral lessons in the two? selections? A theme found in both stories is __. SHARE: Students share their findings with a partner. Teacher selects examples from student work to share.
Objective 6: The following mini-lessons teach writers to create an original play using characters, setting, and dramatic dialogue that reflects story elements. **Each lesson will take several days to complete. 14.Writers will review story structure and develop a foundation of an original play. LISTEN: Teacher reviews that plays are like short stories. Model laying out the plot structure of a familiar movie using plot diagram (1.e. plot mountain).
Teacher suggests that strong plotlines have many things in common. There is a momentum that keeps the plot moving from one point to the next. Usually, this momentum is created by having characters with clear goal that they are pursuing throughout the play. Strong plotlines also include meaningful conflict where multiple characters are invested in the outcome of the conflict. As a writer, you will all become playwrights by creating an original play. While writing this script, you will need to be aware of the plot structure and character development. TRY: Have students break into groups. Students should begin creating an overview of play by completing the following factors: Describe three different locations where events could take place. Go into detail for each section (weather, time of day, etc.) Describe two original characters. Give them names and a physical description and determine a character “goal.” This can be a simple goal like “Go to the grocery store” or it can be a more complex goal like “Discover a new life form.” Determine a conflict that two characters could get into through the course of a day. Determine a resolution or ending for a story SHARE: Teacher selects 3-4 examples from student work to share.
15. Writers will review character development and dialogue to further develop the plot of their script. LISTEN: Teacher discusses the interactions of characters and dialogue within scripts. The goals and desires of the character are shown through a character’s thoughts, words and actions. In order to keep the rising action momentum, characters often face obstacles (i.e. other events or characters). Dialogue is key to keeping the audience aware of how the character is overcoming obstacles and reaching his/her goal. TRY: Students work with their group to add dramatic dialogue and/or monologues from the unique perspective of each character within each scene. As scenes are written they should be read aloud and discussed in terms off what works well as an active dramatic scene and what could be improved. Students should also make note of the setting, simple props/materials needed to incorporate into the scene, stage directions should also be included in the script. Each scene should be written discussed and rewritten prior to assembling them together a complete play. SHARE: Teacher selects 3-4 examples from student work to share. MATERIALS: script 16.Writers will celebrate by sharing the completed script and share with class. SHARE: Students should share the finished script with the class.
TEKS SUPPORTING STANDARDS 4(A) analyze how poets use sound effects (e.g., alliteration, internal rhyme, onomatopoeia, rhyme scheme) to reinforce meaning in poems 8(A) evaluate the impact of sensory details, imagery, and figurative language in literary text 19 (D) make inferences about text and use textual evidence to support understanding 19 (E) summarize and paraphrase texts in ways that maintain meaning and logical order within a text and across texts 19 (F) make connections (e.g., thematic links, author analysis) between and across multiple texts of various genres and provide textual evidence
NON-TESTED STANDARDS 1(A) read aloud grade-level stories with fluency (rate, accuracy, expression, appropriate phrasing) and comprehension 16(B) write poems using: poetic techniques (e.g., alliteration, onomatopoeia) figurative language (e.g., similes, metaphors), and graphic elements (e.g., capital letters and line length)
Conferring during Reading Workshop
Indicators of Understanding
When conferring, you might say / ask:
1. Readers are able to identify the structure and elements of drama.
1. What features make a drama different from other genres of literature? Which of these features have you found in the play you are reading
2. Readers are able to use strategies think deeply and synthesize through drama.
2. Describe incidents that advance the play. Explain how you visualize the setting and the characters. How do they help you understand the play?
3. Readers make connections, ask questions, and use sensory images to infer meaning in drama.
3. In what ways did you connect with this drama? What questions did you ask of this drama to better help you understand it? What techniques did the author use to help create this mood? What is the theme??
