Monday
a. Objectives:
To establish classroom community.
To teach students that stage directions are actions.
To have students understand what a “lazzi” is and how they might create one.
b. Essential Question: How do we read the “text” of physical comedy?
c. Standards:
State: 7th Grade Speaking, Viewing, Listening and Medial Literacy Standard 1, parts b-d
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, andissues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
b. Follow rules for collegial discussions.
c. Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed.
d. Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views.
IB: Caring Students: show empathy, compassion, and respect for the environment, and take special care to consider the feelings and opinions of others.
d. Materials: Red noses, vocabulary sheets, pencils, copies of Becket’s hat scene from Waiting for Godot, copies of school appropriate lazzis from Lazzi, objects and costume pieces from the instructors.
e. Procedures:
1. Introductions: 15 Minutes
The instructors will introduce themselves and their relationship to comedy as well as their favorite school appropriate joke. Then, students will introduce themselves by sharing their names, grades, and favorite school appropriate jokes.
2. Unit overview: 5 Minutes
Where are we going? What do we need to get there? Students will be given a brief overview of what they will be learning and what kind of physical work they will be doing in the gym. They will also be introduced to the classroom rules.
Class Rules: Theses are the rules (in addition to the Crosswinds rules) that we will introduce on the first day and follow consistently throughout the class.
1. Respect
2. Take Risks and Take Care
3. Yes… and (Don’t shoot each other down)
4. Maintain IB learner profile
5. Have Fun
3. Establishing noses off/serious face:10 Minutes
The instructors will explain the importance of trust, respect and safety in the class and explain/practice the classroom management phrase “noses off.” The instructors will additionally introduce the concept of the “serious face” as a visual cue for students that a new concept requires more gravity than other aspects of the class i.e. people really getting hurt from stunting.
4. Waiting for Godot: 50 Minutes
Instructors will distribute vocabulary sheets and the hat scene from Waiting for Godot. They will explain that Samuel Beckett was a playwright famous for incorporating physical comedy into his plays. The instructors will then read the hat scene from Waiting for Godot and ask the students if they thought it was funny/could explain what was going on in the scene. After hearing the student’s opinions, the instructors will demonstrate the hat scene for the students and ask if the physicalization of the text was funny. After the demonstration, the instructors will ask the students if the text now made more sense, or if the text was funny. At this point, the instructors will ask the student’s to mark on their vocabulary sheets that stage directions are “actions that are written down.” The instructors will then briefly comment on the importance of imagining the physical aspects of a text when reading. The instructors will then explain that the scene with the hat in Waiting for Godot is a lazzi. The students will be asked to write on their vocabulary sheets that a lazzi is “is a comedic routine performed onstage.”
After any questions have been cleared up, the instructors will assign groups based on the class numbers and distribute slips of paper with lazzis selected from Lazzi (attached) to the students and ask them to practice performing them based on the stage directions. The instructors will circulate among the students and help each pair work on their lazzis and answer questions. If there is time remaining, students will be given the opportunity to create and perform their own lazzis. At the end of class, students will be asked to turn in their vocab sheet.
Rationale: The instructors have selected the Beckett piece because it is one of the most famous examples of a author directed lazzi. It is also fairly confusing to read, so the exercise both teaches students how imperative visualization is when reading stage directions, and how precise stage directions must be for an actor or director to understand them. After hearing the student’s opinions, the instructors will demonstrate the hat scene for the students and ask if the physicalization of the text was funny. The instructors will then briefly comment on the importance of imagining the physical aspects of a text when reading.
f. Evaluation methods
The formative assessment for this activity will be based on a vocal cue asking the students to define “stage directions” and “lazzi,” an informal viewing of each group’s assigned lazzi to see if they were able to comprehend their stage directions, and the instructors will check to see that all students wrote down the correct definitions on their vocabulary sheet.
To establish classroom community.
To teach students that stage directions are actions.
To have students understand what a “lazzi” is and how they might create one.
b. Essential Question: How do we read the “text” of physical comedy?
c. Standards:
State: 7th Grade Speaking, Viewing, Listening and Medial Literacy Standard 1, parts b-d
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, andissues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
b. Follow rules for collegial discussions.
c. Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed.
d. Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views.
IB: Caring Students: show empathy, compassion, and respect for the environment, and take special care to consider the feelings and opinions of others.
d. Materials: Red noses, vocabulary sheets, pencils, copies of Becket’s hat scene from Waiting for Godot, copies of school appropriate lazzis from Lazzi, objects and costume pieces from the instructors.
e. Procedures:
1. Introductions: 15 Minutes
The instructors will introduce themselves and their relationship to comedy as well as their favorite school appropriate joke. Then, students will introduce themselves by sharing their names, grades, and favorite school appropriate jokes.
2. Unit overview: 5 Minutes
Where are we going? What do we need to get there? Students will be given a brief overview of what they will be learning and what kind of physical work they will be doing in the gym. They will also be introduced to the classroom rules.
Class Rules: Theses are the rules (in addition to the Crosswinds rules) that we will introduce on the first day and follow consistently throughout the class.
1. Respect
2. Take Risks and Take Care
3. Yes… and (Don’t shoot each other down)
4. Maintain IB learner profile
5. Have Fun
3. Establishing noses off/serious face:10 Minutes
The instructors will explain the importance of trust, respect and safety in the class and explain/practice the classroom management phrase “noses off.” The instructors will additionally introduce the concept of the “serious face” as a visual cue for students that a new concept requires more gravity than other aspects of the class i.e. people really getting hurt from stunting.
4. Waiting for Godot: 50 Minutes
Instructors will distribute vocabulary sheets and the hat scene from Waiting for Godot. They will explain that Samuel Beckett was a playwright famous for incorporating physical comedy into his plays. The instructors will then read the hat scene from Waiting for Godot and ask the students if they thought it was funny/could explain what was going on in the scene. After hearing the student’s opinions, the instructors will demonstrate the hat scene for the students and ask if the physicalization of the text was funny. After the demonstration, the instructors will ask the students if the text now made more sense, or if the text was funny. At this point, the instructors will ask the student’s to mark on their vocabulary sheets that stage directions are “actions that are written down.” The instructors will then briefly comment on the importance of imagining the physical aspects of a text when reading. The instructors will then explain that the scene with the hat in Waiting for Godot is a lazzi. The students will be asked to write on their vocabulary sheets that a lazzi is “is a comedic routine performed onstage.”
After any questions have been cleared up, the instructors will assign groups based on the class numbers and distribute slips of paper with lazzis selected from Lazzi (attached) to the students and ask them to practice performing them based on the stage directions. The instructors will circulate among the students and help each pair work on their lazzis and answer questions. If there is time remaining, students will be given the opportunity to create and perform their own lazzis. At the end of class, students will be asked to turn in their vocab sheet.
Rationale: The instructors have selected the Beckett piece because it is one of the most famous examples of a author directed lazzi. It is also fairly confusing to read, so the exercise both teaches students how imperative visualization is when reading stage directions, and how precise stage directions must be for an actor or director to understand them. After hearing the student’s opinions, the instructors will demonstrate the hat scene for the students and ask if the physicalization of the text was funny. The instructors will then briefly comment on the importance of imagining the physical aspects of a text when reading.
f. Evaluation methods
The formative assessment for this activity will be based on a vocal cue asking the students to define “stage directions” and “lazzi,” an informal viewing of each group’s assigned lazzi to see if they were able to comprehend their stage directions, and the instructors will check to see that all students wrote down the correct definitions on their vocabulary sheet.
