Educational Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of character, setting, and story development by putting together their cartoon project.
Standard: L2.T.P.1: Develop the character, setting, and essential events in a story or script that make up the dramatic structure in a drama/theatre work.
Warm-up: Mixed Emotions–Have students stand in a circle. One student begins the game by having the “power.” The person with the power makes eye contact with someone else in the circle, and tells them a reaction to a situation. For example “Jill, you are super sad about going to Disney World…you are very happy that your dog is lost…you see a duck and you are terrified …you are given a beautiful piece of chocolate cake but you feel disgusted, .etc. Then, the student who just reacted to that situation has the “power,” and they pass it by giving another student a situation to react to. Encourage students to really exaggerate their reaction to the situation! THe game goes on for as much warm-up time that they have (maybe 15 minutes). Have the students call on different people so that everyone has a chance to react to a situation.
Individual Practice/ Assignment: Record the Cartoons
Instructions: Students will be able to film segments of their films in 5 minute cycles. When it is their turn, a group may go into the hall to escape the noise of other groups working so that they can record their cartoons. For example, Group 1 will record the first part of their cartoon, then Group 2 will record their first part, and so on. During the time that the students are not recording in the hall, they will be writing their script for each section of the story: exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. The instructor will float about answering questions and helping the students brainstorm ideas. As the groups work on their projects, they must pass of each section of their story before they go to record that section. Once they pass-off, they are able to go into the hall and quietly record that section of their cartoon. Remind the students to refer to the rubric they were given last time to help them stay on track with the necessary elements.
Potential Adaptation: More than one group may step outside, they will just need a signed hall pass from the teacher to be able to go to another space. This could help the process go faster so that the students can finish in a more timely manner. NOTE: If one group finishes their story and is able to record rather quickly, then they may split into other groups to help them develop their cartoons.
