Theater Curriculum Infusion Project 16-17

Pre-K Grade: Visit #5

Introduction to Acting & Community Jobs: How Uniforms Help
This workshop was developed for The Rose Theaters Theater Curriculum Infusion Project, a school year in-depth partnership
between the professional teaching artists at The Rose and the classroom teachers at Sherman Elementary. During the 2016-17
school year, each grade level will receive eight visits where the teaching artist from The Rose will develop and lead a drama class
tied to a curricular topic chosen by the classroom teacher. During each visit, students will actively explore both theater arts and
curriculum through kinesthetic experiences. The goal of this project is for teaching artists to model creative drama techniques that
classroom teachers can continue to use to connect drama to the curriculum in subsequent school years.
Description Students will explore the job of an actor by focusing on the three main acting
tools: the body, the voice and the imagination. Students will express themselves
physically, vocally and creatively through guided exercises. This workshop will
help get the students comfortable with acting and more confident in making bold
physical and vocal choices. These exercises and acting tools will be the foundation
for our future visits using drama to explore curriculum.
Grade Pre-K Grade
Date and Time January 18th 10:00am-10:45am
Classroom Teachers Ms. Toni Curtis
Curriculum Topic Fluency and Communication, Community Jobs, and Uniforms
Teaching Artist Stephanie Jacobson
Materials Book:

Student Learning
Objectives Assessment Criteria
What I want my students to be able to do and know. What I will observe in my students.
1. To learn about the tools of an actor Students will be able to name the three acting tools,
Body, Voice, Imagination.

2. To increase the students comfort and interest
in acting
3. To explore community jobs through physical
and vocal choices and identify uses for
uniforms
4. To create a safe environment where everyone
can learn and play
Students will actively participate in acting activities.
Students will be able to correctly name community
jobs and why those workers need a specific uniform.
Students will share of ideas, compromise, add to
the ideas of others, and work well in a variety of
groups

State Standards
LA 6.1.4 Students will develop accuracy, phrasing, and
Fluency: expression while reading grade level text

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Pre-K Grade Workshop: Visit #5 Introduction to Acting & Community Jobs: What do
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LA 6.3.3 Students will demonstrate reciprocal communication
Reciprocal skills.
Communication
:

Vocabulary
Theatre Actor
Language Arts Communication, Community, Jobs, Uniform

1. Anticipatory Set (getting class ready for lesson) time: 5 min

Good Afternoon Call and Repeat (Vocal Warm-Up)
Teacher will call out Good Afternoon in several different voices and students will repeat the call
Teaching artist Introduction and reviews rules
Focus Question
What were the tools that actors use in their jobs?
Body, Voice, Imagination!

2. Shared (Teacher and Student work together): Reviewing Body and Voice time 5 min
Students will use their entire body, getting the energy up and the blood flowing, while reviewing
Body Voice and Imagination tools.
Have students stand on their carpet spots, or in a circle. They sing the song along with the instructor, as best
they can. There is no call and repeat. This song is sung to the Hands, Sholders, Knees, and Toes song, using
the sign for each tool.

Body, Voice, Imagination

Body, Voice, Imagination
These are the acting tools we use
Body, Voice Imagination

----, Voice, Imagination

----, Voice, Imagination
These are the acting tools we use
----, Voice Imagination

----, ----, Imagination

----, ----, Imagination
These are the acting tools we use
----, ----, Imagination

----, ----, ---------

----, ----, ---------These are the acting tools we use
----, ----, ---------
Reflection Question: What acting tools did we just warm up?
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Pre-K Grade Workshop: Visit #5 Introduction to Acting & Community Jobs: What do
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 Transition Song: we are sit and we sit and we stop, we sit and we sit and we stop, we sit and we
sit and we sit and we sit and we sit and we sit and we stop.

3. Shared (Teacher and Student work together): Reviewing Community Jobs time: 5-8 min
Teacher will pull images of workers doing their jobs for the students do identify (House Painter, Chef, Chemist,
Construction Worker) In between each job reveal we will sing the following song.

Song: Who are the people in our neighborhood?

Oh, who are the people in your neighborhood?
In your neighborhood?
In your neighborhood?
Say, who are the people in your neighborhood?
The people that you meet each day

Reflection Question: What are they doing at their jobs? What do we see around them? Is it
dangerous? Is it hot? Is it messy?
Transition Song: A statue, a statue, a statue, a statue, does it move and does it talk?

4. Guided (Students do the work with teacher support): Group Statues of Different Community Jobs

8-10min

Small Groups of Students will help construct a workplace environment while others observe.
Modeling: Have students stay sitting together in a circle. First the teacher will ask, what is one job we just talked
about? The students will all repeat the names. The teacher will ask if any students would please raise a silent hand
if they would like to make a statue of that worker in the center of our circle.

Activity: Approx 5 students, one at a time will join the center statue, creating an environment of that job.
The students on the outside of the circle will help point out and suggest what parts of the job might be
messy, dangerous, hot, or cold.

The teacher will then hold up examples of clothing from their bag that would help those workers do their
job better or more safely. The students in the center will then pantomime putting on those articles of
clothing.

This activity will go through 4 rounds covering: House Painter, Chef, Chemist, Construction Worker.

TRANSITION: Lets use our acting tools to act out this story!

5. Shared (Teacher and Student work together): Funky Chicken as New Jobs 8-10 min

Brainstorming: Name the different jobs in our community. (Teacher uses leading questions: Who
picks up your garbage by the street? Who brings you the mail? What teacher has class where you

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 play basketball? ). How would actors change their bodies and voices to become those characters?
How are they different from each other?

ACTIVITY: Let me see your funky chicken, call and response activity. Important to model the song
simply first without any big movement of character then add style once the students have time to
learn the words.
All: left left left right left, left left left right left

Teacher: let me see your funky chicken

Students: whats that you say?

(Repeat )

All: ooh ah ah ah ooh ah ah ah ooh ah ah ah ohh (as funky chicken)

Teacher: one more time

(Repeat)

Begin with examples like Funky Chicken, & Dirty Sock.

Move onto the different brainstormed jobs such as , garbage collector, mail person, PE Teacher.

6.Guided (Students do the work with teacher support) : GIANT CLOTHES

8-10min

Objective: Students will use work together using their bodies to create Big items of clothing that
different community workers would wear.
Brainstorm: Who can raise a silent hand and tell me something a worker in the kitchen would
wear? (or garbage collector, or construction, or chemist)
Activity: Teacher will call one student up at a time into the center of the sitting circle (similar to
earlier statues) and ask what part of the clothing would they like to make with their bodies. For
example: A construction hat would need one student to be the visor and maybe three students to
make the rounded hat part.
Side-Coaching: Here are a few questions for the teacher to use to guide the students through their
experiences.
How can you make a straight line with your body, How can you make sure you are being safe with your
body for yourself and your neighbor? How can you make a rounded edge with your head, arm, back?

8. Reflection/Closing Song time: 2 min

Activitiy: Teacher will ask students to walk into a standing circle like a community worker we talked
about today. The class sings we work and we work and we stop to pantamime doing a job we discussed
earlier.

Transition: Teacher sings we sit and we sit and we stop & criss cross apple sauce into a seated circle.

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Brainstorming: What was your favorite job we talked about today? When I count to three please
whisper to your neighbor, I, 2, 3.. GO.

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