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COMPONENT OBJECTIVES: Creative Expression: The students will develop vocabulary words through dialogue. The students will use pantomime and verbal interaction while dramatizing a story.

Historical and Cultural Context: The students will reflect on and discuss the story, Jane and the Dragon, and portray their understanding of "stereotyping" through the actions of their character.

RATIONALE: According to the Visual and Performing Arts Framework for California Public Schools, "Theatre is a collaborative art that enhances communication." Through the use of legends and folklores from various cultures, drama can be used to educate understanding for other peoples feelings. By giving students the chance to participate in theatre, we allow them to explore their creative potentials. We also give them the opportunity "to define personal and cultural insights and historical understanding as well as develop knowledge and skills about theatre."

STRATEGY: A combination of direct instruction and guided discovery will be used.

VOCABULARY (Relating to drama):

Characters: the people in a play or story.
Actors: the people who portray the characters.
Setting : the time or place of a play.
Set : the arrangement of the characters on the stage.
Scene : a division of a play.
Stage : the area or platform upon which plays are presented.
Stage Presence : the way the actor comes across to the audience -- position, voice, facial expressions, and body movement.
Script: the copy of the text of a play, movie, TV show, etc.
Voice Projection: to throw one's voice out to the audience effectively.
Pantomime: a drama without words, using actions and gestures only.
Impersonating: to mimic; to assume the role of a character in a play or story.
Ad-lib: to use words and actions that aren't in the script.
Verbal Interaction: acting out a play using words.
Dramatize : to present a play.

Relating to the story:
King: the male ruler of a state usually called a kingdom.
Queen: the wife of a king.
Prince: the son of a king and queen.
Lady-In-Waiting: a woman attending, or waiting upon, a queen or princess.
Court Jester: a professional fool employed by the court to amuse the king and queen.
Scribe: one who copied manuscripts before the invention of printing.
Knight: a man raised to an honorable military rank and pledged to do good deeds.
Majesty: a title used in speaking to or of a king or queen.
Dragon: a huge, fierce animal in old stories that is supposed to look like a winged lizard with scales and claws and is often supposed to breathe out fire and smoke.
Sword: a metal weapon with a long, sharp blade fixed in a handle or hilt. Armor: a covering, usually of metal or leather, worn to protect the body in fighting.
Helmet: a covering to protect the head that is worn by a knight.
Courtyard: a space enclosed by walls that is near or in a large building.
Castle: the home of the king and queen during the Middle Ages that has thick walls and towers to defend themselves from attack.
Lair: a den or resting place of a wild animal.
Stereotyping: categorizing people or things based upon a fixed idea or popular conception.

PROCEDURES

Introduction: I will read the story Jane and the Dragon to the students, pausing to discuss vocabulary words from the book that may be unfamiliar to them. Then I will pose the following questions: How did Jane feel about the kingdom's expectations that she should be a lady-in-waiting? How did Jane feel about the Prince's reaction to her desire to be a Knight? What did Jane and the Court Jester have in common? Why didn't the Dragon hurt Jane? Did you expect him to? Why did the dragon steal the Prince? What did the King and his kingdom do at the end of the story? Next, I will discuss the term "stereotyping." What kind of stereotyping took place in this story? After a general discussion of student responses, I will tell the students that I have written this story into a script and I will walk them through it. Then they will choose their characters and act out the script. If they like, they can later perform it for another class.

Pupil Activity Sequence:

1. Have the students take turns silently acting out a character, of their choice, from the story. Encourage them to use broad actions and facial gestures. Let them know this is called pantomime.

2. Have the rest of the class guess which character the student is impersonating.

3. Choose a scene from the script and ask the students for volunteers to take turns acting it out. Be supportive of their work by applauding and using "I-messages." Ask for more volunteers to act out the scene.

4. Have the students democratically vote for those who they felt best captured a character. These students will then portray that character in the class play.

5. Give students the character identification signs to wear. The remaining students will be the People of the Court.

6. Explain to the class how to project their voices so that the audience can hear.

7. Explain how to read the portion of the script marked "Set" so that they know where to stand during the play.

8. Explain that the "People of the Court" can say their parts in unison or the students can ad-lib similar phrases to be said at the same time.

9. Pass out the scripts with the appropriate character parts highlighted for each actor.

10. With your guidance, have the students act out the play.

CLOSURE: Once the play is over, ask the students if it was easier for them to use pantomime or verbal interactions to dramatize the story. Ask the students if they can think of any stereotyping that might occur today?

EVALUATION:The teacher will evaluate the students' understanding of the vocabulary words learned by their ability to use them correctly during the pantomime and verbal dramatizations of the story. The teacher will determine the students' understanding of "stereotyping" by seeing how they portray it through the actions of their character and by listening to the group discussion on how it is used in today's society.

MATERIALS/PREPARATION:
character identification cards
Copy ofJane and the Dragon, by Martin Baynton (London: Walker Books Ltd., (1988)
Scripts of Jane and the Dragon for each actor, with appropriate character parts highlighted, developed by Carol Brown for third graders.

CLEAN-UP: Have the students return any desks and/or chairs that may have been moved to make room for the play. Also, have the students return their scripts and identification cards to the teacher. This lesson can be adapted for 4th - 6th graders by having the class write their own scripts. It can be utilized in cross-curriculum lessons, such as language arts.

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