Students will be able to revise and improve a scene by reenacting the three times the wolf tries to blow down a house in the story of the Three Little Pigs.
National Arts Standards:
TH:Cr3.1.4.aRevise and improve an improvised or scripted drama/theatre work through repetition and collaborative review.
TH:Cr1.1.4.aArticulate the visual details of imagined worlds, and improvised stories that support the given circumstances in a drama/theatre work.
Students will participate in the game, “What are you doing?” To play, form two single file lines with the ends facing each other (so the two people in the front are facing each other, and the other people in the line are behind them.) One person starts by pantomiming a simple action (for example, brushing their teeth). The person across from them asks “what are you doing?” and the person who is pantomiming has to say anything other than “brushing their teeth”. Whatever the person says their doing, the person who asked must start pantomiming that action. The previous pantomime goes to the end of their line and the next person asks “what are you doing?” and the rounds continue. Keep going until everyone has had a turn or two.
Lesson: (30 Min Total)
Begin (5 Min)
Begin class by showing the picture of the Three Little Pigs (see above for attachment). As a class, analyze the picture. What’s happening?
Probable answers will be that the students observe that a wolf is blowing down houses, that the houses are made out of different materials, and that the brick house is the only one that’s standing.
Today, we will be reenacting the story of the Three Little Pigs in our own way. As a class, we will be trying to create the greatest, most coolest, house on earth that is absolutely indestructible.
Getting into role: (5 Min)
Take a moment to let the students get into role. They will be taking on the part of a pig. What is their pig’s specialty? Are they a brick layer? Do they know a lot about wood? Did they go to college? How can they help with the house building?
Once everyone has a specialty, go around the room and listen to what everyone does.
Building the house: (7 Min)
Right off the bat, give the students a chance to create an indestructible house. They can do it as an entire class or, if the class is larger, split them into groups of 5-8 students per group. Tell the students that they must collaborate together to think of strong materials that will keep a smart wolf out of their house.
Once they’ve decided on what they’re building their house out of while using their specialty, they will pantomime building their house. They are required to have a specific material they’re building it out of and one “cool feature” within the house (like a built in movie theatre, swimming pool, or indoor basketball court). Ask the students questions about their house as they’re building it. Be careful to avoid offering suggestions.
Tell students that they will need to sit down once they have completed their house.
Teacher in Role: (3 Min)
As the Big Bad Wolf, the teacher will go around to the different houses. The students for each house will describe their materials and then the teacher will try to blow their house down (or do something else to bring the house down like burn it or something. The goal is to have the teacher destroy each house this round)
Reassess and rebuild: (10 Min)
Hopefully, the teacher was able to take down every house one way or another. Take a minute to talk as a class on how things could be improved. What was their weak point? Can they strength it somehow?
Let the students get back into their groups (or it could be fun to have the entire class work together for this revision. Use your best judgement…) to build another, even better house. Again, you can go around and ask questions as the students are building the house. This time you can even offer suggestions if needed.
The teacher will go around again as the Big Bad Wolf and won’t be able to take down these houses.
Assessment:
Students will be assessed on their ability to collaborate with one another, create a character with a specialty, and revise their house from one point to another.
