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Portfolio 15
Showing posts with label 8P58 Portfolio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 8P58 Portfolio. Show all posts
2017/04/04
EDBE 8P58 15 Portfolio
EDBE 8P58 14 Portfolio
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Portfolio 14
2017/01/27
EDBE 8P58 12 Portfolio
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Portfolio 12
Code BreakerActivity
Reflection
The code breaker activity was a great way of building our skills not only as performers, but as an audience. Watching the performances for different movements proved very challenging and was a welcome change from the narrative approach we had seen so many times. While we used a die to roll a number from one to six, I would build on this with my class to incorporate all of the numbers from zero to nine. This would allow groups to create sequences that represented any number they desired, and also allow for the creation and solving of mathematical expressions. Groups could use this numbers-as-movement vocabulary to pose questions to each other, before solving and demonstrating their solution as another movement sequence. I think this activity would be a great way to incorporate DPA into a math class as well as build a familiarity with the ActionPAK cards.
EDBE 8P58 11 Portfolio
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Portfolio 11
States of MatterActivity
Reflection
Exploring the states of matter was an activity very close to my heart. Being a chemist I am very familiar with particle theory, so it was fun to have the whole class moving as particles and then to create our own sequences of phase changes. One change I would make to the activity, however, would be to remove plasma from the discussed states! Perhaps this is my background speaking, but plasma is generally ignored as a state of matter here on Earth, and it only serves to confuse students about its relationship with the other states. Moving from solid to liquid to gas seems somewhat intuitive as particles become more energetic and spaced out. But changing from gas to plasma when ionized? What is ionization? That's not part of the grade seven curriculum! But I digress. I liked this activity because it focused not only on one's own energy, but on the energy and relationship between all members of the group. Students could demonstrate the very energetic particles of a solid through small, quick movements while standing close to one another, then begin to drift apart and increase their use of space to demonstrate liquids and gases. Linking the changes to one's body makes the underlying properties and theory much more intuitive, and I look forward to trying this in my own classroom sometime.
EDBE 8P58 10 Portfolio
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Portfolio 10
Vocab CircleActivity
Reflection
This activity is a simple way to get students out of their seats and engaging with a dry subject like vocabulary. The vocab circle has many hallmarks of childhood games and could therefore easily be incorporated into weekly routines as a fun break. It is a great way to incorporate "play" and for a teacher to participate with their students. For the primary grades I would use this as an opportunity for word study of nouns, and I might adapt the activity to include verbs by having students mime the action rather than pointing at a picture on their flashcard.
EDBE 8P58 09 Portfolio
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Portfolio 09
Math NarrativeActivity
Reflection
When we did this activity in class I thought it was really corny, but I have since changed my mind a little. Dropping small math questions into a narrative activity is a good way to keep the audience's attention and it always provided a good laugh. While some groups planned out exactly which questions they would use and how they would incorporate them, others seemed more spontaneous. The biggest advantage of this activity is that students have the opportunity to act as teachers and ask questions of their audience. I think, perhaps somewhat selfishly, that this could help students build empathy with the teacher as they might encounter a room full of blank stares from time to time!
EDBE 8P58 08 Portfolio
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Portfolio 08
Cat and MouseActivity
Reflection
Cat and mouse was not an activity that we participated in in class, but it was shared on Sakai and I liked the idea of it. I think this activity would be particularly useful in terms of scaffolding creative movement, as you can begin with teacher-led sequences, then have students create their own A-B sections. While form is discussed extensively in music, and we even did a somewhat musical activity with different A-B patterns, I think this activity would get students exploring how different movements could be incorporated into a variety of sequences seamlessly. One common issue that many of us have in class is that our movement sequences are somewhat disjointed. I think that having students work on ABAB and ABBA types of exercises would help build cohesion in their work, and music could easily be integrated into this to guide such changes. I feel that music and movement are very strongly linked and that it is important for students to really learn to feel music. While we did many of our dance exercises to music, I do not feel that we spent much time allowing the music to dictate the form or energy of the dance. This is something that I hope to do in teaching music someday.
EDBE 8P58 07 Portfolio
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Portfolio 07
Secret ScenarioActivity
Reflection
The secret scenario activity was a welcome step back from many of the dialogue-heavy activities we had been doing in drama. Falling somewhere between the improv and tableau that we had started the course with, this activity focused primarily on blocking, body language, and inflection to convey the scene. The opportunity to use a pseudo-language distinguished the activity from mime and meant that we all looked for ways in which our vocal inflection and volume could convey emotions for our scenario. I really liked how this approach removed the emphasis on coherent dialogue and could be used for students that might have difficulty engaging in drama due to language. One extension of this activity that I might try would be to remove language entirely and only allow students to create sound effects for their role. I think this might be a lot of fun and this modified activity might be able to bridge the gap between mime and the secret scenario as facilitated in class.
2017/01/26
EDBE 8P58 06 Portfolio
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Portfolio 06
News ReportActivity
Reflection
The news report was one of my favourite drama activities that we explored in class. I liked how the images we were reporting on were projected on the Smart board because it showed that a context or a setting can be effectively created for a drama presentation without the need for elaborate props or costumes. The time constraints for the demonstration also meant that creating a script was not feasible. Members of my group each shared one or two ideas or lines that they would contribute, and then the rest of the presentation was improvised. This flexible format meant that we had to be very in tune with one another, looking for cues and listening for exchanges so that the presentation flowed naturally. I think this resonated with me so strongly because I was always the type to require a well-rehearsed script when presenting dramatizations in high school, however, there were many instances in which group members would forget lines or completely miss sections of dialogue, which meant I needed to think on my feet... something I am still not good at!