LESSON OBJECTIVE: Students will demonstrate their understanding of concept by creating a concept statement for a given fairytale.
MATERIALS NEEDED: Computer and projector access, appropriate connection cables, white board or butcher paper and markers, concept statement examples (not included)
HOOK: Show a clip from Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove. Ask the students what lesson Kronk’s shoulder angels wanted him to learn.
Step 1
CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING: Ask the students questions such as: What is a theme? Can there be more than one theme in a story?
Step 2
GUIDED PRACTICE: Write the name of the fairytale read in class in lesson 1 on a whiteboard or large piece of paper. Have the students write down themes or messages/morals from the fairytale on the board or paper.
After reviewing each of the items on the board or paper, have students write down on their own sheet of paper the three themes that they think are most important for the audience to understand from the story.
Have the students turn to a neighbor and share what they wrote down. With that neighbor, have the students narrow down their own lists until they have selected the one theme that they think is most important for the audience to understand from the fairytale.
Step 3
TRANSITION: Ask the students questions such as: How can a theme or message be portrayed to an audience? Answers may include metaphors, symbolism, etc.
Step 4
CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING: In their pairs, have the students discuss ways in which their selected theme or message could be portrayed or presented to an audience.
Step 5
DISCUSSION: What can a director do to ensure that all aspects of a show are helping to portray the theme? Answers may include concept, working closely with designers and actors, making sure that everyone knows what the vision is, etc. What is a concept? How does it change how a story is told? How does it make a story more powerful or interesting?
Step 6
MODEL: Provide and discuss examples of concept statements from previous productions you’ve directed.
Step 7
GROUP PRACTICE: Based on what they’ve already written down, have the students (in their partnerships) create a single-sentence concept statement for the given fairytale, incorporating the theme, message, metaphor, etc. that they discussed.
Have the students write a copy of their concept statement on a clean sheet of paper to be handed in to the teacher. Invite a few groups to read their concept statement to the class.
Step 8
DISCUSSION: Ask the students questions such as: What aspects of the production would a concept affect? Answers may include design, blocking, acting choices, etc. How could it change them?
Step 9
INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE: Invite the students to consider the following questions in regards to their own selected fairytale’s concept: What are some elements of your story that you would like to focus on? What do you want the audience to learn from your fairytale? How can it be portrayed to the audience?
Step 10
ASSESSMENT: Students will create a concept statement for their chosen fairytale scene based on what was discussed in class. These statements will be turned in to the teacher in lesson 3.
