ARTS IMPACT—ARTS-INFUSED INSTITUTE LESSON PLAN (YR1-TTAL)

SECOND GRADE—LESSON ONE: The Super Expressive Body – Using Actions

Artist-Mentor – Dave Quicksall Grade Level: 2nd

Examples:

Enduring Understanding
Using exaggerated and dynamic physical expression (The Super Expressive Body) can convey emotion,
character attributes, states of being and actions in order to tell stories.
Target: Recognizes and uses actor neutral.
Criteria: Moves and freezes normally.

Target: Understands and demonstrates an active freeze.

Criteria: Holds a frozen position that represents a character, emotion, or state of being.

Target: Understands and uses exaggeration.

Criteria: Shifts frozen position to increase the size/dimensions of a specific physical choice.

Target: Makes a specific physical choice to convey action.

Criteria: Uses posture and movement choices to communicate a specific behavior.

Target: Understands how action words fit in a sentence.

Criteria: Writes two sentences that correctly use two different verbs.

GENERATE
IDEAS Teaching and Learning Strategies
Gather
Information PRE-DRAMA LESSONS PREP: Create a DRAMA WORD WALL to compile the different
• From WHAT action words and descriptive words that the students come up with during the course
you know
of brainstorming ideas.
• From WHO
you know
WARM-UPS
1. Instructs students to walk around the class as themselves. Prompts: In
CONSTRUCT theater, we call movement without character added to it as neutral. When you are
MEANING acting as yourself, you are neutral. Walk around the room as yourself.
• Brainstorm Student: Walks around the class in a neutral manner.
• Create
drafts 2. Guides directional change. Prompts: When I clap my hands—change direction.
• Organize
Change direction quickly and sharply without thinking about it. Change direction every
ideas
• Make a time I clap.
choice Student: Walks in a different direction.
SELF-REFLECT
• Check in with
THE SUPER EXPRESSIVE BODY
self 3. Introduces the concept of Freeze. Prompts: We’re going to be actors and
• Check in with writers. Actors and writers often think and work the same. We’ll be learning ways in
others which actors and writers generate their ideas, construct meaning and reflect. We will
• Refine work
walk around the room in neutral. I will shout out “Freeze!” Freeze wherever you are. I
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will then call out a character or a feeling. Turn your body into a statue of what I call out.
Student: Walks around until teacher says “Freeze!” Turns body into statues of the given character/
feeling.
Embedded Assessment: Criteria-based teacher checklist—room scan, reverse checklist

4. Observes group to make sure everyone understands what they are to do. The exercise continues
with other characters/emotions/states of being: policeman, teacher, pirate, rock star, baby, tiger,
astronaut, wizard, monkey, etc. Happy, sad, angry, frustrated, etc. Prompts: What amazes me is that
you are able to make statues so quickly! I call out a word and you know what to do! You are able to
GENERATE AN IDEA in a few seconds! You are able to make a choice from WHAT you already know.
Actors use their own BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE just like writers do. After a few statues, teacher
introduces the concept of exaggeration. Prompts continue: Focus on your own work instead of
looking around to see what everyone else is doing. Now I want you to exaggerate your statue; make it
ten times bigger! Use your Super Expressive Bodies to exaggerate the statue you already have.
Student: Responds to first and subsequent word cues, making exaggerated freezes.
Embedded Assessment: Criteria-based teacher checklist—room scan, reverse checklist

5. Divides class in half: audience/performers. Prompts: Now, we are going to look at how actions
can communicate ideas and tell stories. Performers, I want you to walk around the performance area in
neutral. You are CONSTRUCTING MEANING as an artist when you BRAINSTORM for IDEAS and
MAKE A CHOICE. Now, keep moving but it’s starting to get hot. Show us that it’s getting hotter. Even
hotter! It’s like a desert! I see you are exaggerating and making some of your first ideas even bigger.
Instruct actors to stop and take a seat on the floor. Lead audience reflection, writing action words on
the board. Prompts continue: Now, audience, let’s reflect on what we saw: what actions did you
notice the actors using to communicate that it was hot? Don’t show me, give me a VERB – an ACTION.
Continues the exercise. Guides the actors to move around as if the floor is sticky. Leads quick
reflection, asking for specific actions and writing them on the word wall.
Student: Performs conditions and participates as an audience member.
Embedded Assessment: Criteria-based teacher checklist; peer reflection; group-reflection

6. Assigns the same group a condition in secret (it’s windy) and asks the audience to guess
the condition—conditions lead to actions. Prompts: Let’s REFLECT as peers. What did you see?
How did you know the condition? Writes actions on the word wall. Switches groups (now the audience
group will perform). Repeats the sequence using cold and the floor is slippery. Leads quick reflection
for action words after each performance, records new actions on the word wall. Assigns actors the
“secret condition” and – the room has filled up with water. Prompts continue: Let’s REFLECT again.
Turn to a friend and tell them what you saw. See if they saw the same thing that you saw. Report out
to the class to see if everyone saw the same conditions and actions. How did you know? What action
did you see? Don’t show me, tell me.
Student: Performs conditions and participates as an audience member.
Embedded Assessment: Criteria-based teacher checklist; peer reflection; group-reflection

7. Guides students in copying down action words from the word wall and creating simple
sentences with those words. Prompts: Now, I want you to copy down any five (exact number at
teacher’s discretion) of these action words (verbs) that we generated during this lesson into your
notebook. They choose verbs and copy them down. Prompts continue: Now, we are going to write
two sentences. Each sentence must use one of the five words you just copied down. I want you to
underline the word you choose in the sentence. Let’s do one together first. Let’s pick the word
“fanned.” We saw actors fanning themselves when it was hot. What sentence could we write using

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the action word “fanned?” Solicit ideas. Prompts continue: Great ideas! Let’s go with this sentence:
“The young lady fanned herself because it was hot.” Notice that I underlined the word “fanned”
because that is the special word I am using. Go ahead! I am here to help whoever needs it.
Possible extension: create more than two sentences.
Students: Chooses words; writes sentences.
Embedded Assessment: Criteria-based teacher checklist; written words and sentences.

EXTENSION: Story setting – generate list of settings/environments from books (fiction or non-fiction)
the class is reading. Choose locations from books to act out for class to guess. Brainstorm the types of
characters one would find in each specific setting/environments.

Vocabulary Materials and Community WA Essential Learnings & Frameworks

Resource
Arts Infused: Performance: Arts State Grade Level Expectations
Action TBD AEL 1.1 concepts: character, emotion, actions
Character Seattle Children’s Theater AEL 1.2 skills and techniques: freeze, uses movement
Seattle Repertory Theater AEL 1.4 applies audience skills: active viewing
Reading/Writing: AEL 2.1 applies creative process: gathers information, organizes
Sentence Performance Materials: ideas, reflects
Verbs (action words) NA
Writing State Grade Level Expectations
Arts: 3.2.2 Uses a variety of words
Active freeze Builds a rich vocabulary through talking, listening, and language
Body activities: rich vocabulary, verbs
Exaggeration
Movement
Neutral
Physical choice
Posture
Super Expressive Body

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ARTS-INFUSED INSTITUTE LESSON PLAN (YR1-TTAL)
SECOND GRADE—LESSON ONE: The Super Expressive Body – Using Actions
ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET

Disciplines THEATER WRITING Total

Points
Concept Freeze/Movement Characterization Exaggeration Posture and Movement Verbs 5
Facial Expression
Moves and freezes Holds a frozen Shifts frozen Uses posture, movement Writes two
normally position that position to choices to communicate a sentences that
represents a increase the specific environmental correctly use two
character, size/dimensions condition or behavior different verbs
emotion, or state of a specific
of being physical choice
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
Total
Percentage
Criteria-based Reflection Questions: (Note examples of student reflections on back.)
Generating Ideas:

Constructing Meaning:

Self-Reflection:

Thoughts about Learning:

Which prompts best communicated concepts? Which lesson dynamics helped or hindered learning?

Lesson Logistics: Which classroom management techniques supported learning?

Teacher: Date:

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 ARTS IMPACT—ARTS-INFUSED LEARNING FAMILY LETTER

ARTS AND LITERACY LESSON

SECOND GRADE—LESSON ONE: The Super Expressive Body – Using Actions

Dear Family:

Today your child participated in a Theater lesson. We talked about how actors use their bodies to
make characters and show actions. We learned about how our “Super Expressive Bodies” can be
used to tell stories.

• We made our bodies into “statues” to show a frozen picture of a character or an emotion.

• We increased the size of our bodies—made it bigger to exaggerate our statue.

• We moved around the room as different kinds of characters.

• We showed with our bodies how actions can be communicated with specific behaviors and
facial expressions.

• We wrote sentences correctly using verbs that we chose from a list created by the class.

You could move around the house as your favorite characters from stories that you know.

Enduring Understanding

Using exaggerated and dynamic physical expression (The Super Expressive Body)
can convey emotion, character attributes, states of being, and actions in order to tell stories.

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Arts/Literacy Theater/Writing Lesson Plan 2nd#1—The Super Expressive Body 5.23.2010