Curriculum Integration (links with other learning areas)

Unit Plan: Drama History/Social studies (Topic focus)

Adele Louise Tunnicliff Student ID: 6278548 Music (Use of soundscapes and analyzing music)
English (Analysis of a text and understanding of a film)

Title Year level and Curriculum Duration Important Ideas to cover:

The Rabbits: Exploring the stolen Learning area 3 Weeks The importance of whanau (family) in all cultures
generation through Drama. Year 9 (14 lessons) Who has the power in society, is it fair? Why/why not?
Arts-Drama The impact of the Stolen Generation and how it relates to us in New Zealand.

Achievement Objectives:
Student learning outcomes:
NZC Learning objectives:  Understand how to use conventions to structure drama.
Level 4 – Year 9  Build and extend knowledge of drama terminology, conventions, technologies,
Understanding the arts in Context (UC): Investigate the functions, purposes, and techniques and elements.
technologies of drama in cultural and historical contexts.  Build relationships with others through collaborative learning.
 Interpret text to create an original devised drama.
Developing Practical Knowledge (PK): Select and use techniques and relevant  Build personal confidence in performing and sharing ideas in front of others.
technologies to develop drama practice.  Beginning to understand how to give critical feedback to peers using correct
Use conventions to structure drama. drama terminology.
[ CITATION Min07 \l 1033 ]
Developing Ideas (DI): Initiate and refine ideas with others to plan and develop

1
drama.
Key Competencies this unit will cover:
Communicating and Interpreting (CI): Present and respond to drama, identifying Thinking: Students need to contribute original ideas based off their interpretations.
ways in which elements, techniques, conventions, and technologies create meaning Relating to others: Students need to work in small groups to structure and create drama.
in their own and others’ work.
(Ministry of Education, 2007) Using language, symbols and text: Students will use dialogue and symbolic use of
conventions to create a drama based on the text.
Managing Self: Students will need to complete tasks in short amounts of time so will
need to learn to make the most of their time in class.
Participating and Contributing: Students need to participate in all tasks and share ideas
with their groups.

[ CITATION Min07 \l 1033 ]

Lesson number, title, learning Intentions Learning Experiences/Activities Resources Comments/Things to reflect on Pedagogical and content choices
& Success criteria explanation

Lesson 1: Introducing the Rabbits.
LI: Students are learning ways of
interpreting text and how to
create an effective freeze frame
based off their interpretations.
SC:
 Students begin to have an
understanding of The
Rabbits
 Students work with others
to create a freeze frame
based on one
moment/image from the
rabbits.
 Students can identify
some aspects of an
Roll Call + Question
Q-What is something that makes
you feel safe?
Warm up game: Opposites
(Students walk around room,
teacher says Go, Stop, Clap or
Jump. Go means Stop, Stop means
go, Clap means Jump, Jump
means Clap.)
Activity 1: Students are asked to
draw something that is precious to
them (prompts given: Whānau,
Friends, Pets, Objects). Then
asked to present their drawing to
a friend and explain why this is
precious to them. Then teacher
The Rabbits-By Shaun Tan & One student has autism
John Marsden spectrum disorder so extra
care is given to her with one-
Pens and paper on-one advice from myself
(the teacher) throughout most
tasks. I have attended a
meeting prior to this class that
gave me a brief understanding
of her learning needs.
Students work well with her
and also help her through
tasks that she struggles with.
All students come up with a
freeze frame and adequate
time allocated per task.
The question asked at roll call
allows me to get to know my
students as well as them getting to
know each other. This is an
established routine in the Drama
classroom at this school. It helps
establishes an important
relationship between students and
teacher and encourages a learning
community [ CITATION Ait08 \l
1033 ].
A warm up activity each class is
helpful in Drama to get students to
stay focused or feel confident
participating in class. I’ve found
this has worked across my
teaching. The type of activity will

2
 effective freeze frame
(e.g. Levels, body
language, facial
expression, focus, use of
space)
Lesson 2: Exploring the Rabbits
LI: Students are learning ways of
interpreting text and how to
create an effective tableaux (a
series of freeze frames) with slow-
motion transitions based off their
interpretations of the text.
SC:
3
asks students to scrunch them up.
Teacher asks how this makes them
feel.
Activity 2:
Students into small groups of 3-4,
reading the book The Rabbits and
answering questions written on
the board:
-What are the positives and
negatives of the Rabbits arrival?
-How could this story relate to the
previous activity?
-What is this story about? OR
what COULD it be about?
-How do the marsupials feel about
the rabbits? Does this feeling
change?
Activity 3: Pick one
image/moment from the book to
create a freeze frame in your
group and give it a title. Present to
the class and give peer and
teacher feedback on each image.
Roll Call + Question:
Q-What is your favourite season?
Re-cap of The Rabbits, using
questions from yesterday
Warm up: Diamond slow motion
(In groups of 4, one student being
the leader at each rotation. The
leader starts a movement in slow
motion and the others copy the
The Rabbits by Shaun Tan & Ran out of time at the end so
John Marsden missed out on seeing one
groups performance, however
I did see them during their
practice time and am satisfied
they understood the task and
completed it to the best of
their abilities. I was also able
to give them feedback during
rehearsal.
range from listening, focus,
energy, team work, connecting to
the body and voice, and breathing.
As the concept of the stolen
generations is quite abstract for
many students, I begin this topic
by making sure the students can
find some personal connection to
the emotions and events that
occurred. The drawing activity is
something I adapted from a
colleague at School A. It
encourages students to connect
with the topic [ CITATION Ait08 \l
1033 ]
Rather than answering questions
on their own, I have put students
into small groups. I have allowed
them to choose the groups this
time so they feel comfortable
working in a group [ CITATION
Tho00 \l 1033 ]
The recap of last lesson is helpful
in ensuring prior knowledge is
retained and built upon each
lesson [ CITATION Ait08 \l 1033 ]
This warm up activity allows each
student to have a leadership
position. With collaborative
learning it is important that
students take an active role in the
Students have a further
understanding of The Rabbits.
Students work with others to
create a tableaux based on The
Rabbits
Students can identify aspects of
an effective tableaux (e.g. Levels,
body language, facial expression,
focus, use of space) and how slow
motion can be used to enhance
drama.
4
student. Each rotation, the next
person is the leader)
Activity 1: I will place the
scrunched-up images from
yesterday in the middle of the
room in a sculpture/art like
format. In small groups of 2 or
three, students will come up with
a title for the artwork. Some
students will be allowed to then
arrange the titles in order of most
preferred to least preferred,
justifying their decisions. Discuss
how it relates to the story of The
Rabbits.
Activity 2:
Students into small groups (based
on birthday months), and to
create three frozen images with
slow motion transitions between
each one that shows a moment
from the rabbits that spoke to
them.
Discuss what makes an effective
frozen image, and effective slow
motion
Activity 3:
Present scenes to the class and
discuss: What we liked, what
meanings were created in each
scene etc.
Student with autism really
thrived when given a
leadership role and was
supported by her peers again
in the group work.
Some students seemed a bit
disengaged during class
discussions so going forward I
need to find a way to make
sure students are
understanding the
conversation.
See appendix A for image of
sculpture.
See appendix B for images of
students written work.
group, so this warm up activity
encourages each person to
contribute an idea and see it come
to fruition (Aitken & Sinnema,
2008; Thomson & Brown, 2000;
Killen, 2012).
This first activity is adapted from a
colleague at school A who
experience great success in her
class. It allows students to have a
personal connection, and also
encourages them to work in a
small group to come up with an
idea. It also allows students to
learn how to justify their
decisions, an important part of
group work and drama in general [
CITATION Kil12 \l 1033 ]
Small groups created at random to
ensure mixed groups, and that the
same people aren’t working
together each class. Encourages
students to develop many
personal connections and
friendships in the class.
Encourages a sense of belonging
as well (Killen, 2012, Aitken &
Sinnema, 2008).
Lesson 3: Sounds of the land
LI: Students are learning how to
use conventions to add meaning
to a short devised scene.
SC:
Students can identify how the
convention of soundscape creates
an atmosphere.
Students can create a short scene
in their group using the
conventions we have learned so
far
Students can understand and/or
verbally explain how others have
used conventions to create
meaning
5
Roll Call + Question:
Q-Favourite musical instrument
Re-cap of last lesson.
Activity 1:
Show video of Africa choir
Introduce the rules of creating a
rainstorm soundscape then create
a soundscape together.
Activity 2:
Play Dawn chorus.
Number everyone, then get them
to close their eyes and number by
number introduce a sound of their
own personal choice. Explore
dynamics.
Activity 3:
In groups of 4, create a short
scene based on The Rabbits using
a freezeframe, slow-motion,
dialogue from the text and a
soundscape. Discuss briefly before
starting what makes effective
freezeframe, slow-motion and
soundscape. Perform scenes to
class and give feedback.
The Rabbits by John Marsden
& Shaun Tan
“Dawn Chorus” song :
https://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=pqSYqPw3DI8
Africa choir:
https://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=-c9-poC5HGw
I gave them too many
conventions to add in all at
once in a short amount of
time for the performances at
the end, didn’t judge this well.
However two groups really
thrived with this challenge and
presented powerful short
scenes.
Needed to have a clearer
learning objective established
at the start of class.
Re-cap to maintain prior
knowledge and build on it
[ CITATION Ait08 \l 1033 ]
Multi-modal teaching, using
videos and music to evoke a
response and aid teaching.
The groups of 4 are picked at
random through numbering
students. Using a different
grouping strategy each time shows
students that the process is
random and encourages them to
work with others they usually
wouldn’t. However, student with
Autisim is placed in rotation with
three students in the class who are
particularly good at including her
in the task. This is important that
she is placed with people she
trusts because otherwise the
tendency is to not include herself
in the task. This recommendation
came from a meeting with a
specialist education teacher in the
school.
Pushing the students by
encouraging them to include
multiple aspects to build a drama.
Needed to give sufficient time to
complete, but the students did
find this cognitively challenging
[ CITATION Lin03 \l 1033 ] and
encouraged them to come up with
something quickly. This is

Lesson 4: Pop up Rabbits
LI:
Students are learning how to use
conventions to add meaning to a
short, devised scene.
SC:
Students can identify how the
conventions of narration, and
spoken thought gives further
meaning to their scene.
Students can create a pop-up
picture book in their group using
spoken thought and narration
Students can understand and/or
verbally explain how others have
used narration and spoken
thought to create meaning
6
preparation for their final
assessment in devising.
Roll call + Question The Rabbits by John Marsden Lesson focus became more on Adaption of learning intention
Q: What’s something you’ve done & Shaun Tan how to use their bodies to because of the learning activities
this week that you’re proud of. express a character or tell a that took place. Made sure
story. Didn’t delve deep students were clear on the
Re-cap of last lesson enough into spoken thought learning intention once it had
or narration as today’s lesson changed so they understood the
Warm up games: was a shorter period than point of the warm up games and
Circle Space Jump normal. activities [ CITATION Kil12 \l
What are you doing? 1033 ].
Activity 1:
Pop up picture book
demonstration. A group of five
students. One student is the
narrator, the others are the pages.
Each page, the 4 students create a
new pose/frozen image and the
narrator “reads” the page based
on the images the students
present.
Activity 2:
In groups of 4-5, students pick
three pages from The Rabbits to
perform in the style of pop up
picture book. Spoken thought and
narration must be present.
Perform pop up books and class
discussion about narration and
 spoken thought to further
understand.

Lesson 5: Mother Earth Roll Call + Question: Mother Earth Poem Students didn’t want to do the Student choice offered to
 LI : What did you have for lunch? pop-up books again so we encourage student voice in their
Students are learning how moved forward onto the learning. This is important in
to use their voices and Re-cap and finish performing pop mother earth poem. Students building and sustaining a learning
bodies to communicate an up books from last time. really struggled to grasp the community [ CITATION Ait08 \l
idea from a poem. (Alternative plan if they want to concept of abstract movement 1033 ].
move on) so needed to do a lot of one-
 SC: on-one immediate feedback to
Students can create a Activity 1: In a circle, learn the the groups who were
short scene in their group poem “Mother Earth” together. struggling.
using some of the Discussion around how it relates
conventions we have to The Rabbits
learned so far.
Activity 2: In small groups,
 Students can understand students are to come up with a
and/or verbally explain movement to two lines from the
how others have used poem. Lines will be assigned to
conventions to create each group. They will say the lines
meaning. in a chorus alongside their
movements.

Perform to class and feedback.

7
Lesson 6: Who Will Save Us From
The Rabbits?
LI:
Students are learning how to use
dramatic conventions to show the
theme of reconciliation in a short
devised scene based on The
Rabbits.
SC:
Students can create and perform a
short devised scene in a group
Students can identify how the
conventions of narration, and
spoken thought gives further
meaning to their scene.
Students can understand and/or
verbally explain how others have
used conventions to create
meaning.
8
Roll Call + Question:
Q-Where is a place you’d like to
visit?
Activity 1: Teacher to lay out
images from a few lessons ago.
Teacher to say sorry for making
students scrunch up the images,
then explain how “sorry” won’t
make the pictures brand new.
Explain the importance of the
theme “reconciliation” in the story
of The Rabbits. Class discussion
prompted from this
Activity 2: Play the song “Where”
and ask the students to pick out
their favourite lines. Small
discussion around the song. Ask
students to spend 5 minutes
writing a quick response on how
this song and the scrunched up
images makes them feel.
Activity 3: Students in groups of 4
or 5 picked by the teacher to
create a short scene showing what
happens after the end of The
Rabbits. They will pick a line from
each person’s written response
and use them in the form of
spoken thought.
Every scene is to start off with a
line in the style of a narrator.
Students will get 10-15 minutes to
rehearse this.
The Rabbits by John Marsden
& Shaun Tan
“Where” From the opera: The
Rabbits (Song)
https://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=qb4fTimd8W8
The first two activities took Use of multiple teaching strategies
longer than I initially planned, in one lesson (visual, aural, group
but I chose to extend our work) which keeps students
discussion because the interest [ CITATION Ait08 \l 1033 ].
students were coming up with
some insightful responses. Class discussion is a rich learning
Unfortunately, all their images activity that encourages students
had disappeared, so instead of to apply their knowledge and
laying them out flat and saying reflect on others attitudes and
sorry, I said sorry for losing values [ CITATION Kil12 \l 1033 ].
them. This sparked the
discussion around how the Feedback given both by teacher
marsupials would feel about and peers, this allows students to
the rabbits if they apologised learn how to give feedback as well
to them. as take it on board.
For those students who didn’t
want to write, I instead had a
little korero with them about
how the song and discussion
made them feel. This
respected their decision not to
write and instead articulate
their ideas.
 Performances with feedback from
audience

Lesson 8: Watching The Rabbit
Proof Fence movie
Roll + Question: The Rabbit Proof Fence movie Watching a movie allows students
Favourite movie to understand the story of The
Stolen Generation, and the
Quick korero about what we have narrative will have an emotional
done so far. Explaining we are appeal that engages students
watching the movie The Rabbit [ CITATION Ait08 \l 1033 ].
Proof Fence and that it is based on
a true story. Care given to explain
that it can be sad, so students are
welcome to leave the room if it
gets too much,.

Watching the movie

At the end of class, checking in

Lesson 9: Watching The Rabbit
Proof Fence movie
with students about their
thoughts as they leave class.
Continuing to watch the movie.
At the end of the class students to
quickly write their initial thoughts
about the movie and how it
relates to The Rabbits.
The Rabbit Proof Fence movie
Didn’t have much time at the
end of class to write down
thoughts, but thoughtful
discussions happened as
students were packing up to
leave class.
Watching a movie allows students
to understand the story of The
Stolen Generation, and the
narrative will have an emotional
appeal that engages students
[ CITATION Ait08 \l 1033 ].

9
Lesson 10: Whose story is it?
LI: Students are learning how to
initiate and refine ideas to
contribute towards an original
drama.
SC:
Students can share ideas with
others and accept others ideas.
Students can work in a group to
plan and create a short moment
using a convention to enhance
their chosen moment.
Roll call + Question:
Did you prefer The Rabbits or The
Rabbit Proof Fence?
Korero about The Rabbit Proof
Fence
Warm up: Walking shapes
(Students walk around room,
teacher yells out a number and
students get into a group in that
size, then teacher yells out a
provocation e.g. Bird and the
group has 10 seconds to create
that image with their bodies as a
group)
Pens, Paper
brainstorms.
The Rabbits by Shaun Tan &
John Marsden
Task Sheet: See appendix C
See appendix D for students Encouraging student voice in the
role call and allows me as the
teacher to understand which
students prefer and tailor how I
engage with the student about
their work in relation to which text
[ CITATION Ait08 \l 1033 ].
Groups are chosen by me
(teacher) to ensure there is a
mixed ability in each group. This is
crucial to effective group work and
fosters higher levels of intellectual
thinking [ CITATION Gil03 \l 1033 ]

Students are put into groups that

the teacher has created. Task
handed out to all students and
brief chat about the final
assessment and approximate
date.

In these groups students are to

brainstorm on paper their
foundations for their final devised
work.
Q’s-
Whose story will you tell?
Pick a moment each from The
Rabbits that you want to explore?
Favourite quotes or images from
the book?
Favourite moment in the movie?
Favourite conventions.

10

Lesson 11: Building the story
LI:
Students can work together to
quickly create a moment for their
final devised drama.
SC:
Students can present a beginning
scene to the class.
Students can give feedback to
peers that is helpful.
Students use feedback to build
their work.
11
In their group, pick a convention
and a moment then perform this
to the class.
Roll call + Question Chairs Teamwork game used to build
Q: How did you get to school energy and teamwork strategies as
today? Brainstorms the class is a bit tired today.
Warm up game: Zombie Chair Connecting to prior knowledge
Every student is sitting on a chair, and work, allows students to
one student is the zombie and has achieve the final outcomes
to move slowly towards an empty [ CITATION Ait08 \l 1033 ]
chair to try and sit down.
Everyone else has to work
together to fill the empty chairs
without the zombie sitting down.
Good for team work, energy and
quick thinking.
Activity 1: Bring out brain storm
from last time and create a
beginning scene that lasts no
more than 10 seconds using at
least one convention we have
learned in class.
Activity 2: Show beginning scene
to the class and receive feedback
from both teacher and classmates.
Take feedback on board to
develop work.
Activity 3: Continue building the
story of the piece, using the

Lesson 12: Formative Assessments
LI: Students are learning how to
use feedback to develop their
work
SC: Students can perform their
drama that they have come up
with so far
Students note down the feedback
given to them to work on next
time
Lesson 13: Rehearse, revise, refine
LI: Using the feedback given in
formative assessments students
are learning to refine their work.
SC:
Students can rehearse, revise and
refine their drama based on
feedback from last lesson.
Students manage their own time
when rehearsing
12
brainstorm and feedback.
Roll call + Question
Q- How confident are you feeling
about your piece on a scale of 1-
10?
10 minutes to quickly go over
pieces so far before performances
Performances plus feedback given
after each performance from
teacher
Time at end of class given for
students to write down feedback
and begin refining their work.
Roll Call + Question:
Q- What is your goal for today’s
class?
Ask students if they would like a
warm up game or want to get
straight into rehearsing. (They
chose to get straight into
rehearsing)
Rehearsal time. Teacher to
circulate around groups and give
assistance if needed.
Asking this question is a good way
to gage where students are at
before their final assessments and
give any reassurance to those who
are less confident.
Asking this question focuses the
students on using the most of
their time to achieve their goal. It
also encourages them to be
intrinsically motivated to achieve
[ CITATION Lin03 \l 1033 ].
This class has a focus on self-
regulation as I (the teacher) will be
taking a relatively hands-off
approach to allow them to
manage their own time. This fits in
with the key competency of

Lesson 14: Final Assessments
Students are performing their final
work today for assessment.
B) All lessons above in unit plan are fully developed with pedagogical choices and content explained. Please see other files to see lesson plans as used in class
with timing included.
13
Roll + Question:
Q-What do you do to relax?
10 minutes to quickly practice
scenes
Performances for assessment
If time: Game of Zombie
Chairs for game at end if time.
managing self [ CITATION Min07 \l
1033 ].
Asking this question at the start
before final assessments is a way
of easing any nerves before
assessment.
C) Unit Reflection:

Overall the students were successful in achieving the learning outcomes of this unit:

 Understand how to use conventions to structure drama.

All students have understood how to use the conventions learned in class to structure their drama.

 Build and extend knowledge of drama terminology, conventions, technologies,

techniques and elements.
All students have developed a repertoire of conventions, and this list is available to them on their google classroom.
They are learning about drama terminology such as impact, unity, focus, tension.
They are still to learn about technologies such as costume and set, but the foundation is there.

 Build relationships with others through collaborative learning.

All students participated amicably in their groups and there were no ongoing social issues. Students who did struggle to accept ideas initially learned to
accept and be open to offers through ongoing group work activities.

14
  Interpret text to create an original devised drama.
All students interpreted the texts to create a devised drama. Some were lacking originality but this didn’t hinder their overall performance.

 Build personal confidence in performing and sharing ideas in front of others.

All students achieved this

 Beginning to understand how to give critical feedback to peers using correct drama terminology.
Learning to give feedback, this skill will need further development.

Unfortunately, I was not able to do the final assessments because it landed after my practicum had finished, but I have been informed by my mentor that all
students at least achieved which is great news.
I was able to get the students to do a feedback survey for me before I left and have gained positive responses in regards to my teaching but forgot to ask
questions specifically related to the unit so I’m not able to properly assess whether students enjoyed it or not. However, they all seemed to enjoy and appear
engaged in all classes. They struggled with abstract thinking at times but were guided by the activities we did in class to achieve a basic understanding of the
abstract thinking.

At one point in the unit I was asked a question by a student “Why do we perform at the end of every class?”, and I explained to her that we perform each time to
gain feedback to improve our performance skills and also refine our ideas. She was very satisfied with this answer, and I decided to share this with the class
before they performed. Students who had prior seemed disinterested in performing suddenly understood the importance of it. This was a pivotal moment in my
teaching because I realized I hadn’t fully been explaining why we were doing certain activities and this resulted in disengaged students or left them struggling to
understand why we were doing tasks. From this moment I made sure to explain why we were doing tasks and how it related to the overall unit.

The assessment task I designed for students (See appendix C) was a collaboration between myself and my mentor. I designed it initially, and then had her help in
creating the assessment criteria as I had no prior experience doing this. I have learned that it is important to ask colleagues for help when creating assessment
schedules in the junior drama curriculum as they will often be moderating the work with you so they need to understand it as well.

Some lessons were lacking a learning intention that was clear and this resulted in unclear learning for students, this was helpful for me in learning the importance
of making learning intentions clear and focused. I still have a way to go with developing clear learning intentions, but I feel confident going forward in my
teaching as I will check with my HOD and other colleagues if my learning intentions are clear.

I feel confident using this unit again in the future, but will tweak it so there’s more focused lessons and clear learning intentions each time. Also ensuring the
questions asked at roll call relate to the topic more as well, however this was a great way to build a relationship with the class. It is important to note that this
unit worked well with the student who has Autism because of the group work, multiple teaching strategies, multiple modes of learning and the learning

15
community that was built over time.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aitken, G., & Sinnema, C. (2008). Effective Pedagogy in Social Sciences/Tikanga ā iwi: Best Evidence Syntheses Iteration. Wellington: Ministry of Education.

Gillies, R. M., & Ashman, A. F. (2003). An historical review of the use of groups to promote socialization and learning. In R. M. Gillies, & A. F. Ashman, Co-
operative Learning (pp. 1-15). London: Routledge Falmer.

Killen, R. (2012). Effective Teaching Strategies (Vol. 6). Cengage Learning Australia .
Linnenbrink, E. A., & Pintrich, P. R. (2003). The Role of Self-Efficacy Beliefs In Student Engagement and Learning in The Classroom. Reading & Writing Quarterly,
19, 119-137.

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. Wellington: The Ministry of Education.

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Thomson, C., & Brown, D. (2000). Co-operative Learning: What it has to offer New Zealand Teachers. Learning in Partnership, 3, 38-41.

Appendix A
Sculpture presented in class

17
18
 Appendix B
Students titles for artwork (Façade of dominance, Stolen memories, Trash-can Not, Complicated, Lost treasures, The core of memories, Scattered memories,
Raining balls of love.

19
 Appendix C: Task sheet created by Adele Louise Tunnicliff 2018

20
 Appendix D: Samples of brainstorms

21
22