1
Intermediate Drama
Playing With Words
Unit Overview
This unit plan was revised from the Ontario Ministry of Education Course Profiles written in 1999.
Unit Description
This unit “Playing With Words” is intended as an introductory exploration of vocal techniques to enhance and
contribute to the ability to role play. An emphasis on deconstruction of texts is employed in the unit to assist
students in understanding how the voice can either add to, or detract from personal interpretation. The unit
culminates in an examination of the use of gesture, pace, tone of voice and tension, in building a meaningful
interpretation of the humorous Shakespeare monologue “The Seven Ages of Man”
The unit is intended for grades 9 or 10 students who will already have extensive prior learning of drama Grades 1
to 8. It might also be used to introduce and or review elements of interpretation through voice or to introduce a
play or novel or more intensive drama unit where classical texts are prominent. The lessons are scaffolded to
encourage students to work towards a deepened understanding of the use of voice in the interpretation of a text.
Learning Goals:
Students will:
• Experiment with a variety of phrases using voice and genre as modes of interpretation
• Develop their ability to use the power of “voice” to enhance their role playing ability.
• Make connections between modern “slang” and the popular language of Shakespeare’s work
• Investigate the variety of sounds that Shakespeare uses to bring meaning to text
• Experiment with different modes of expression to bring meaning to a variety of “texts” and to improve
presentation skills
• Investigate the use of gesture, pace, tone of voice and tension, in building a meaningful interpretation of a
humorous Shakespeare monologue
• Reflect on and evaluate their own and others’ work in discussion or through thoughtful journal entries
• Identify knowledge and skills they have acquired in drama, through discussion or by reflecting in his/her
journal
• Identify and follow safe practices such as collaboration, respect for space and personal safety in the
classroom
Notes/Assessment/Modifications/Accommodations
Assessment as Learning
Understanding is checked for through reflection, summary, application ( e.g. student journals, discussion, exit
cards, etc).
Assessment for Learning
Is done throughout each unit through conferences, anecdotal comments, checklists etc.
Assessment Tools
BLM#1
BLM#2
BLM#3
BLM#4
Self-Assessment Checklist
Q Chart
Creative Process/Critical Analysis
Journal Rubric
Other Resources
BLM#6 - Tongue Twisters
“All the World is a Stage” from As You Like It (BLM#5)
Macbeth rap : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4cMHnWIR9k&feature=related
Also re Shakespeare:
http://www.flocabulary.com/macbeth.html
http://www.memorizeshakespeare.com/free-sample/
http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/
This unit plan was revised from the Ontario Ministry of Education Course Profiles written in 1999
Created with funding provided by the Ontario Ministry of Education
2
Differentiated Instruction
It is helpful to use a variety of strategies to assist all learners e.g. linguistic and non linguistic at the same time
e.g. give oral instructions AND write them on the board. Provide students with choice and incorporate a variety of
groupings.
Accommodations
Accommodations, and sensitivity to differences of all kinds is essential for an equitable drama classroom
environment and are reflected in this unit:
Reading/Visual
Reading accommodations may be necessary for ESL students or students with specific learning disabilities that
affect reading. Consult the IEP and use a peer tutor/helper to assist as needed. Using a larger type face/font are
helpful for all students. As a balance, encourage a higher level of oral participation
Students with visual challenges should be given copies of the script which have been expanded on the photocopier
Writing
Students who have difficulty writing should be paired with another student or a classroom assistant who will scribe.
ELL and/or special needs students may be buddied with another student to scribe or given the option to draw their
ideas, tape them, or write in their own language
ELL students may need the expectations to be modified for their level of language, all ELL students must be
capable of earning a level four with modified expectations.
Physically challenged students can always be accommodated (e.g., participate in Tableau/gesture using upper body
movement.
If contact is a concern, students may stand in a group or reach without touching in tableau, as a religious
accommodation. Female students can also be grouped together in same gender groups, as a religious
accommodation.
Materials
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Journals or Folders for each student
3 X 5 file cards
chart paper
markers
Class set of tongue twisters (Lesson 1)
Class set of «Copyright»
Class set of Shakespeare's All the World's a Stage (BLM#5 - All The World's a Stage)
This unit plan was revised from the Ontario Ministry of Education Course Profiles written in 1999
Created with funding provided by the Ontario Ministry of Education
3
Intermediate Drama
Playing With Words
Lesson 1 - Playing With Words or What did you Say?
Minds On/Warm Up (Approximately 15 min.)
Pairs > Double meaning
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Advise students to think about how using all of the voice (in addition to body language) is essential to
effective role playing and acting. Speaking clearly, with the addition of pace, volume and inflection affects
the meaning of what is said.
Instruct students to find a partner and together think of a phrase that means something different, depending
on how you say it. e.g.,A says: “That shirt/top looks really good” – Say it like you mean it. B says: “That
shirt/top looks really good” – Say it time say it like it is the ugliest thing you have ever seen!
Ask students to repeat, but this time add a convincing body position or gesture that supports the meaning of
the words.
Switch and repeat.
Action/Activities (Approximately 45 min.)
Small groups > Speaking Clearly
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Direct students to form groups of 4/5 or assign.
Hand out a list of short tongue twisters (BLM#6 - Tongue Twisters) to each group and encourage them to
explore each one by repeating six of them together six times
◦ selfish shellfish
◦ rubber baby buggy bumpers
◦ red leather, yellow leather
◦ knapsack straps
◦ specific Pacific
◦ unique New York
◦ a covered mug, an uncovered mug.
◦ men munch much mush
◦ black bug’s blood
◦ stupid superstitions
◦ good blood, bad blood
◦ toy boat, fruit float
◦ fresh fried fish
◦ pre-shrunk shirts
◦ scissors sizzle, thistles sizzle.
◦ he threw three free throws.
◦ fresh French fried fly fritters
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Ask students to choose 6 more from the list, and using the choral dramatization technique of altering
volume, pace, rhythm, repeat these six times. The “trick” to saying tongue twisters is to practise them,
saying each syllable clearly.
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Ask students to choose 6 longer twisters from the list, and using a variety of different choral dramatization
techniques, repeat each three times. Repeat each three times working to match the technique to accentuate
the meaning of the twister.
◦ Slippery southern snakes slide swiftly down ski slopes
◦ Wee Willy whistles to wise Wilbur Whale
◦ A real red rooster roosts in the rain
◦ Beautiful brooks babble between blossoming banks.
◦ Ten terrified tomcats tottering in the tops of three tall trees
◦ The sixth sheik’s sixth sheep is sick
◦ Six sick hicks nick six slick bricks with picks and sticks
◦ Seventy seven benevolent elephants
◦ There once was a two toed, she toad, tree toad, and a three toed, he toad, tree toad..
Ask students to work in small groups and combine 3 twisters to create and share a choral piece using a
variety of strategies. Instruct the students to add movement to the piece.
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Consolidation (Approximately 10 min.)
Assessment for/as Learning
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Check for understanding through reflection, summary, application (e.g. student journals, discussion, exit
cards, etc).
Use BLM#2 Q Chart to create higher-level 3 and 4 questions for students to respond to in their journals or
writing folders e.g.,
This unit plan was revised from the Ontario Ministry of Education Course Profiles written in 1999
Created with funding provided by the Ontario Ministry of Education
4
◦
◦
or
How will playing with words help you to role play authentically?
Why would tongue twisters be a helpful tool?
Assessment for Learning
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BLM#1 Self-Assessment Checklist
This unit plan was revised from the Ontario Ministry of Education Course Profiles written in 1999
Created with funding provided by the Ontario Ministry of Education
5
Intermediate Drama
Playing With Words
Lesson 2
Minds On/warm-up (Approximately 10 min.)
Whole Class > Sharing
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Ask students to think about their reflection from the last days work and orally share one thing they learned.
Action/Activities (Approximately 55 min.)
Small groups > Text Exploration
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Instruct students to form groups of 4/5 and hand each of them a copy of the text.
Students will work together to discuss and bring meaning to the entire piece using punctuation and choral
speaking strategies.
• Instruct students to select one stanza or section to further explore and prepare for presentation.
Copyright.
When you write copy you have the right to copyright the copy you write. You can write good and copy right but
copyright doesn't mean copy good - it might not be right good copy, right?
Now, writers of religious services write rite, and thus have the right to copyright the rite they write.
Conservatives write right copy, and have the right to copyright the right copy they write. A right wing cleric might
write right rite, and have the right to copyright the right rite he has the right to write. His editor has the job of
making the right rite copy right before the copyright would be right. Then it might be copy good copyright.
Should Thom Wright decide to write, then Wright might write right rite, which Wright has a right to copyright.
Copying that rite would copy Wright's right rite, and thus violate copyright, so Wright would have the legal right to
right the wrong. Right?
Legals write writs which is a right or not write writs right but all writs, copied or not, are writs that are copyright.
Judges make writers write writs right.
Advertisers write copy which is copyright the copy writer's company, not the right of the writer to copyright. But
the copy written is copyrighted as written, right? Wrongfully copying a right writ, a right rite or copy is not right.
• Invite groups to share their work and discuss what was challenging.
Consolidation (Approximately 10 min.)
Assessment for/as Learning
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or
Check for understanding through reflection, summary, application (e.g. student journals, discussion, exit
cards, etc).
Use the BLM#2 Q Chart to create higher-level 3 or 4 level questions for students to respond to in their
journals or writing folders e.g.,
◦ How will …
◦ Why would ….
◦ How should …..
Assessment for Learning
BLM#1 Self-Assessment Checklist
This unit plan was revised from the Ontario Ministry of Education Course Profiles written in 1999
Created with funding provided by the Ontario Ministry of Education
6
Intermediate Drama
Playing With Words
Lesson 3
Minds On/warm-up (Approximately 20 min.)
Whole Class > Nursery Rhymes
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Invite students to join you and repeat a nursery rhyme in the same way that you do.
Write one on the board for students to read (e.g., “ Mary Had A Little Lamb”).
Encourage students to suggest nursery rhymes that they know and write a list on the board.
Model first, then instruct students as a chorus to read in the same using the emotions listed below:
◦ with suspense
◦ angrily
◦ sadly
◦ incredulously
◦ suspiciously
◦ nervously
◦ in a depressed manner
◦ happily
◦ like a TV newscaster
◦ like an advertisement
◦ as a rock song
◦ in an operatic voice
◦ very softly
◦ very loudly
Action/Activities (Approximately 40 min.)
Small Groups
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Ask students to form groups of 4/5 or assign.
Direct groups to choose three rhymes with a different way to express each one from the list above, and
choose one to rehearse and share with the class.
Encourage students to include elements of choral speaking (posted on the wall from previous work) that will
enhance their presentation.
Groups share their work.
Consolidation (Approximately 10 min.)
Assessment for/as Learning
Check for understanding through reflection, summary, application (e.g. student journals, discussion, exit cards,
etc).
• Use the BLM#2 Q Chart to create higher-level 3 or 4 level questions for students to respond to in their
journals or writing folders e.g.,
◦ How will experimenting with different modes of expression improve your presentation skills?
◦ Why would experimenting with different modes of expression be important to getting at the meaning
of a text?
or
Assessment for Learning
BLM#1 Self-Assessment Checklist
BLM#4 Journal Rubric
BLM#3 Creative Process/Critical Anlysis
This unit plan was revised from the Ontario Ministry of Education Course Profiles written in 1999
Created with funding provided by the Ontario Ministry of Education
7
Intermediate Drama
Playing With Words
Lesson 4
Minds On/warm-up (Approximately 10 min.)
Small Groups > Playing with Slang
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Instruct students to form small groups and give each group chart paper and markers.
Ask the students to write 5 old “slang terms” that are out of date, and 5 current “slang terms” that changes
the meaning of words. e.g. ‘sick” does not mean anything about illness.
Groups share their terms and post around the class. Ask students if they think their slang terms will be the
same 20 years from now.
Note to teacher: You may want to find some engaging videos on YouTube or on the internet to support your
lesson by inputting the word Shakepeare. Places to start:
Macbeth rap : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4cMHnWIR9k&feature=related
Also
http://www.flocabulary.com/macbeth.html
http://www.memorizeshakespeare.com/free-sample/
http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/
Action/Activities (Approximately 60 min.)
Whole Class > Discussion
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Instruct students to sit in a circle and ask them to share what they know about Shakespeare.
Lead a class discussion on “slang terms” used today and draw a correlation between “slang” today and
“slang”, or popular wording of Shakespeare’s day, that appealed to the average person. Clarify
Shakespeare’s reputation including his prodigious output of 37 plays, his ability to write blank verse, his
exceptional vocabulary, and the fact that he is ‘actor-friendly.’ Point out that Shakespeare’s work allows us to
gain insight into the universal truths about the human condition as we compare our thoughts, feelings, and
world view with those of Shakespeare’s characters.
Explain to students that Tupac Shakir has been compared by some to Shakespeare in terms of poetry and
language that speaks to us about human issues.
To illustrate some commonalities hand out lyrics from Tupac' Shakur’s album - Best of 2Pac-Part 2: Life the
song - Ghetto Gospel Lyrics:
Don't them let me get teary, the world looks dreary
but when you wipe your eyes, see it clearly
there's no need for you to fear me
if you take your time to hear me, maybe you can learn to cheer me.
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Compare them to a few lines from one of Shakespeare's Sonnets. Number 23 as an un-perfect actor on the
stage,
O, let my books be then the eloquence
And dumb presagers of my speaking breast,
Who plead for love and look for recompense
More than that tongue that more hath more express'd.
O, learn to read what silent love hath writ:
To hear with eyes belongs to love's fine wit.
Modern translation:
So let my writings speak for my heart instead.
They plead for love better than I could if I spoke,
And begged for love and ask for it to be returned
even if I it said more and more eloquently.
Oh, read in these silent lines the love I cannot express in speech.
Love will give you the insight to read between the lines.
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Lead a discussion on the common themes and issues in both excerpts.
Consolidation (Approximately 10 min.)
Assessment for/as Learning
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Check for understanding through reflection, summary, application (e.g. student journals, discussion, exit
cards, etc).
This unit plan was revised from the Ontario Ministry of Education Course Profiles written in 1999
Created with funding provided by the Ontario Ministry of Education
8
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or
Use the BLM#2 Q Chart to create higher-level 3 or 4 level questions for students to respond to in their
journals or writing folders e.g.,
◦ Why would looking at Tupac’s work help in understanding Shakespeare?
Assessment for Learning
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•
BLM#1 Self-Assessment Checklist
BLM#4 Journal Rubric
This unit plan was revised from the Ontario Ministry of Education Course Profiles written in 1999
Created with funding provided by the Ontario Ministry of Education
9
Intermediate Drama
Playing With Words
Lessons 5 and 6
Minds on/warm-up (Approximately 10 min.)
Whole Class > Ages and Stages of man
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Invite the students to brainstorm the ages and stages of a person’s life. i.e. childhood, adolescence etc.
Post the list on the board.
Action/Activities (Approximately 60 min.)
Whole Class > Discussion
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Hand out BLM#5 - All The World's a Stage and ask students to read it silently.
Lead a class discussion on the content of the speech and the themes it contains. Ask:How might the speech
be performed? What will it look and sound like on stage? Why is there little punctuation?
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Explain that the purpose of punctuation is to instruct the reader on how the piece is to be read and that in
Shakespeare’s, time commas were not used. Shakespeare used only full stops: period, semicolon, and
question mark.
Instruct students to go over the speech and make a slash mark after each period, so that it is divided into
sections.
Each section then becomes a part of a sequence of smaller ideas that build to form a larger idea.
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Pairs > Language and Gesture
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Ask students to identify any words they cannot pronounce and any tongue twisters that are apparent, then
underline each action word.
Instruct them to find a partner or assign and begin to say the speech, while adding gestures to the action
words. Each pair will experiment with the gestures and share the results. How can gestures be used most
appropriately?
Whole Class > Discussion on Sound > Pairs
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Ask students to identify any words in the speech for sounds. First, ask students to count the number of ‘s’
and ‘t’ (sibilant) sounds in the last line. (There are fourteen). Why did Shakespeare do this?
Direct students to try whispering the line to see if the sibilant sounds suit a particular form of reading, or
create an appropriate atmosphere.
Ask students to now look for words which contain sounds which imply action and feeling – for example, the
hard ‘k’ sounds in “quick in quarrel”, which could represent the click of duelling swords, or the vowel sounds
in “woeful ballad”, which may be appropriate to the heartache of young love.
With a different assigned partner ask students to explore possible gestures and tone in pairs and share their
ideas. Ask:
◦ How well did the gestures match the words?
◦ What tone and pace fit well with the gesture(s)?
Whole Class > Identifying Roles > Pairs
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Ask students to identify all of the roles (ages) described in the text. In some cases, the role is clear, as in the
“lover sighing like furnace.” In other cases, Shakespeare gives the actor a choice as in the “infant mewling
and puking in the nurse’s arms.” In this instance, the actor must decide whether to represent the baby or the
person holding it. Ask:
◦ Which provides the best transition to the “whining schoolboy”? (The choice of role for the schoolboy
might help determine this).
◦ Is it better to be the schoolboy or the person sending him to school?
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Share with students that there is no one right way to do this as Shakespeare offers a good deal of choice to
the actor which is a characteristic of any excellent playwright.
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Instruct students to now add the “layer” of role to their previous exploration of language, gesture, and sound
and share the results.
Whole Class > Finding the tension > Pairs
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As the speech is intended to be humourous up to the sixth age when the tone shifts, ask students to
consider;
◦ How can this change happen using gesture, pace and tone of voice?
◦ How can tension be created, then broken at the proper point to provoke a laugh? (Tension is
important to humour!)
This unit plan was revised from the Ontario Ministry of Education Course Profiles written in 1999
Created with funding provided by the Ontario Ministry of Education
10
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Again, ask students to experiment in pairs with the addition of tension to the previous elements and share
the results.
Challenge students to repeat as much of the speech as possible without referring to the script.
Small Groups > Preparing and Presenting
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Ask students to form groups of four, or assign.
Instruct them to use a variety of strategies, choral speaking, dividing the speech into four, etc. and spend
twenty to 30 minutes to interpret it.
As you circulate, ask each group:
◦ What is the speech about?
◦ What are the modern equivalents of ages such as the soldier?
◦ What can an actor do to help the audience to identify with the ages?
Each group will use the comments to enhance their work, and present the speech to the rest of the class.
Follow each presentation with discussion and encourage positive feedback by asking students:
◦ What did you like about this group’s work?
◦ What did you like that you might use in your own work next time?
Consolidation (Approximately 10 min.)
Assessment for/as Learning
•
•
or
Check for understanding through reflection, summary, application (e.g. student journals, discussion, exit
cards, etc).
Use the BLM#2 Q Chart to create higher-level 3 or 4 level questions for students to respond to in their
journals or writing folders e.g.,
◦ Choose three of the stages. How would they be the same today?
Assessment for Learning
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•
•
BLM#1 Self-Assessment Checklist
BLM#3 Creative Process/Critical Analysis
BLM#4 Journal Rubric
This unit plan was revised from the Ontario Ministry of Education Course Profiles written in 1999
Created with funding provided by the Ontario Ministry of Education