Cambridge Public Schools Drama Collaborative

CURRICULUM GUIDE Unit Title: Native American Folktale: How Rabbit Stole Fire Grade Levels: 1/2 Subject/Topic Areas: Native American Folk Tales Key Words: Folktale, Native American, performance, culture Unit Designers: Laura Groff, Lisa Troy School: Tobin Time Frame: 16 sessions Click here for Teacher Resources: Guide for vocal warm-up exercises Theater Games Native American song lyrics How Rabbit Stole Fire (script) Link to Massachusetts Standards: Language Arts #1 (discussion), #2 (questioning, listening, contributing), #4 (vocabulary and concept development), and #18 (dramatic reading and performance). Brief Summary of Unit (including what students will understand as a result of this unit) Students will develop and perform a play that helps them remember and summarize the important parts of their Native American unit. The play will be performed in front of a backdrop mural that also chronicles Native American life. Drama Strategies Role-playing (animals), vocal exercizes, sequence and focus drama games, play rehearsal and performance. Key Concepts (What statement(s) clearly expresses what I want students to know and understand?) There is an important difference between folklore or mythology and history; although they can both give information about a culture, one relates to a culture's imagination and values, and the other to a culture's artifacts. Myths and folklore can be altered storyteller to storyteller as they're passed on; historical artifacts remain unchanged. Native Americans are individuals living today, rather than ancient peoples. Stereotypes of Native Americans, however, are still around us. People can communicate in many ways. One way is through drama. Essential Questions (What specific questions will guide this unit and focus teaching and learning?) What are some myths about Native American culture? How do we know they are myths? How do folktales help us learn about a culture? How do artifacts&emdash;like traps, recipes, and models of real structures&emdash;help us learn about a culture? How do storytelling and drama help us convey our ideas and knowledge in a different way than writing them down? Students will know Students will be able to beginning acting techniques such as vocal variety and articulation "come out of their shells" to perform short skits so they can be heard and understood how to present themselves on stage show self-confidence in front of group how to take turns and do simple sequences of actions to illustrate songs or poems develop skills in reading, patterning, and listening beginning stagecraft; how to take on a character and stay with it begin to sequence dramatic events, work together as a team; know that when they're not speaking, they're still in the play EVIDENCE OF STUDENT UNDERSTANDING: Summary of performance tasks and projects Grinding corn, cooking johnny cakes Sketching Native American structures Building a trap Learning Native American songs Learning a Native American folk tale Dramatizing a Native American folktale Helping to create and build costumes, props, and backdrop Summary of quizzes, tests and prompts. N/A Other Evidence (e.g. observations, work samples and dialogues) Teacher's observations of student's behavior at rehearsals staged in front of other people Video of performance Parent feedback SEQUENCE OF ACTIVITIES: What sequence of teaching and learning experiences will equip students to develop and demonstrate the desired understandings? Ongoing/preliminary activities Drama games and activites (suggestions in resources) to help students learn focus, coordination, vocal articulation, projection, and sequencing of movement Reading stories and books about Native Americans during story time (suggestions in resources)   1.) What do we know about Native Americans? Teacher leads brainstorming session with students: what images and stereotypes come to mind when you think of Native Americans? What is a stereotype? Where do they come from? Discuss the word "Indian," where it came from and why it does not really apply to Native Americans. Discuss difference between TV and movies and historical records of Native American life. Show images that show both. Discussion: What would you like to know about Native Americans?   2.) Research activity Teacher leads students through primary classrooms to look at each classroom's alphabet chart. Record findings on the letter "I". How many charts feature Indian for I? Record data on a chart.   3.) Drama warm-ups: Act Like An Animal (see resources) Read folktale: how rabbit stole fire. Brainstorm play: what characters would be involved, what actions, what settings? Make a list.   4.) History Teacher talks about history of Native Americans, provides children with books showing Native American lifestyles and activities.   5.) Native American Lifestyles Teacher leads students in cooking activity. Students grind corn to make meal and use it to cook johnny cakes. Students begin to paint backdrop (big brown paper) for play by filling in foods that Native Americans eat and grow.   6.) Drama warmup: Animal characters, focus games. Native American Lifestyles: teacher talks about trapping methods. Leads class through activity where student build animal trap. Students add paintings/drawings of traps to backdrop mural.   7.) Native American Lifestyles: picture drawing stories. Teacher explains about native American picture drawings and shows examples. Teacher and students together invent a short story using symbols to tell a tale. Students add symbols to the backdrop mural.   8.) Read though script. Drama activities: vocal warm-up. Cast play.   9.) Field Trip: Peabody Natural History Museum. Visit Peabody Museum and take guided tour of Native American Exhibit. Provide students with paper and crayons to sketch housing structures. 10.) Students paint wetus (housing structures) on mural backdrop. Teacher and students brainstorm a list of costumes and props that will be important to the play.   11.) Rehearsal #1. Vocal warmup, focus game. Teacher leads students through sequence of activities in play. (Teacher and parents begin to collect and create costumes)   12.) Rehearsal #2. Vocal warm-up, focus game, sequencing game. Add group chroreography to narrative. Add drum for pacing.   13.) Rehearsal #3. Vocal warm-up, learn "Wampanoag Chant" by Kate Judd (or other song&emdash;see resources) Run through play.   14.) Rehearsal #4. Vocal warm-up, sequencing game. Teacher talk with students about costumes and props; where to leave them, how to take care of them. Hand out costumes. Make a list of anything that's missing. Finish backdrop mural. Each child takes home a script with their part highlighted to practice with their family.   15.) Rehearsal #5. Dress rehearsal. Vocal warm-up. Students perform play for another class.   16.) Final performance! What resources are helpful and/or necessary to accomplish this curriculum?   Books Native American Big Book - Scholastic Pheasant and Kingfisher Big Book by Cathyerine Berndt Knot on a Counting Rope by Bill Martin The Legend of Blue Bonnet by Paul Goble The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble Native American Legends Series - Watermill Press Brother Eagle, Sistser Sky, Children of the Breaking Day Where Indians Live: American Indian Houses by Nashone Kimit and the Watermelon Hawk, I'm your Brother by Byrd Baylor The Way to Start a Day by Byrd Baylor Goat in the Rug by Charles L. Blood Whale in the Sky by Anne Siberell The People Shall Continue by Simon J. Ortiz Arrow to the Sun by Gerald McDermott Tonibah and the Rainbow by Jack Crowder Annie and the Old One by Miska Miles I Can't Have Bannock But the Beaver Has a Dam by Bernelda Wheeler Baby Rattlesnake retold by Lynn Moroney Paddle to the Sea by Holling Clancy Holling   Materials Educational: Filmstrip: Scholastic&emdash;"Indian Children" Article: "Confronting Native American Stereotypes" by Stephanie Michel Curriculum Guilde: A Wampanoag Curriculum, King Open Staff Children's Museum Wampanoag Kit - full of information, activities, artifacts, etc. Projects and Performance: Paints, big piece of paper for backdrop Costume materials Drum Stones for grinding corn, corn Electric frypan for cooking johnnycakes Materials for trap: box, string, sticks, bait, etc. Other Activities to Substitute: Making clay pot Dying fabric with natural dyes (like raspberries) Making wetus from wood and papier mache Visits from Native Americans (famlilies in school, Mediciine Story storyteller)   Curriculum developed by the Department of Drama and Dance, Cambridge public school teachers and Studebaker Theater artists involved with the Cambridge Public School Drama Collaborative, a project funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. CPSDC is a multi-year teacher training program that helps teachers integrate drama into the curriculum.