Arts Integration In Action At Desert Harbor Elementary Peoria, AZ 4th grade teacher Mrs. Shaver leads a Character Interview lesson Arts Integration Lesson: Reading and Theater Students infer and make judgments through character dialog, actions, and feelings by acting as one of the characters from the book “Brighty of the Grand Canyon”. Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

1. recall facts: Who was at the camp? 2. sequence events: What happened just before the sheriff and Uncle Jim entered the tent? 3. make predictions: What might happen now that Brighty is sick? (this can be confirmed by subsequent reading) 4. make inferences: Jake, now that you’re in the same room as Uncle Jimmy, what you will say to keep your identity hidden? Mrs. Shaver chooses and becomes familiar with The purpose of the interview questions is Independent or Guided Reading- Students read the text, characters, motives, setting, plot, and clarified by Mrs. Shaver—this time, questions from “Brighty of the Grand Canyon”. their relationships. asked will be open-ended to help children develop inferential thinking. Step 4 Step 5 Step 6

Mrs. Shaver facilitates a discussion of the In small groups, students determine and Mrs. Shaver, posing as T.V. talk show host Ella characters’ traits, and how we infer and make practice characters’ voices and body gestures Stration, leads improvised responses through judgments through character dialog, actions, for the character interview scene. high level questioning. Students remain in and feelings. character throughout interview.

Teacher Name: Mrs. Shaver

Learning Objectives Student Reflections Language Arts - Reading Concept 6 Comprehension: Employ strategies to comprehend text. SPO6 Use reading strategies (e.g., drawing conclusions, determining "It takes away your stage fright." cause and effect, making inferences, sequencing, questioning, determining importance, monitoring, evaluating, connecting, summarizing, visualizing) to "You get a good picture of what the story is about, what the characters comprehend text. are like and their personalities." DPO2 Analyze author’s, speaker’s, presenter’s purpose, intent, motives, feelings, and point of view. "It's good for others who don't have a good picture in their minds and good for the other kids who do have a picture because then they can Concept 1 Elements of Literature: Identify, analyze, and apply decide if they have enough (of a picture)." knowledge of the structures and elements of literature. SPO5 Describe a character’s traits using textual evidence (e.g., dialogue, "It refreshes my memory." actions, narrations, illustrations). "It's like a lesson that helps us stay in character." Learning Objectives "It gives us a better point of view of the story." Arts - Theater Strand 1 Create "It's like a painting you draw with a pencil, you know, with a regular Concept 1 Collaborate pencil. And now (with character interview) you have color." PO 204 Collaborate in informal performances. Concept 2 Acting

PO 201 Work to create characters for theatre PO 202 As a character, play out her/his wants by interacting with others, Teacher Reflection maintaining concentration, and contributing to the action of classroom improvisations PO 203 Demonstrate mental and physical attributes required to Character Interview allows for immediate assessment. I can see communicate characters different from themselves right away who has a broad understanding of the characters and their relationships as well as the setting and how it affects the Strand 2 Relate story. When students respond to questions, their imagination and Concept 1 Collaborate creativity are brought out for everyone to see. Paper and pencil PO 203 Discuss how participation in theatre benefits other life skills and questions don’t allow for that opportunity. other content areas. Concept 4 Playwriting PO 204 Discuss a class improvisation or performance’s storylines, characters, dialogue, and actions, and how they relate to real life situations.

Strand 3 Evaluate Concept 2 Acting PO 201 Describe physical and vocal attributes appropriate to characters

Teacher Name: Mrs. Shaver