ROLE PLAYING LESSON PLAN
TEKS: 2.19 Social Studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms.
Subject Area: Social Skills Specific Content: Tattling
Grade Level: 4th grade Length of Lesson: 30 minutes
Instructional Objective(s): The learner will participate in role plays that illustrate effective ways to deal with tattling.
Previous Lesson: There is not a specific lesson that preceded this lesson, but yesterday resulted in many episodes of tattling. The fourth graders seem to be having an increasing tattletale problem this year.
Following Lesson: After this lesson students should have some time to think about and practice what they learned from Role Playing. A discussion should occur the next day about their Role Playing and what they learned about tattling.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Behaviors Needed:
Concepts:
Role Playing - The students will need to know the rules of role playing and have an understanding of what role playing is and know that it is just acting.
Tattling – In order to role play and have a proper discussion about tattling, students will need to know what tattling is and when and why it occurs.
Behaviors:
Listening to others - This lesson includes dialogue and discussion, so the students will need to be able to listen to each other.
Taking turns – This lesson requires student participation through both discussion and role playing and students will have to be able to take turns and understand that not everyone can talk or role play at the same time.
Materials:
Chalkboard
Chalk
Model of Teaching: Role Playing
Procedures:
PHASE 1: WARMING UP THE CLASS
Warming Up the Class
Review and discuss with students what happened yesterday and why the teachers were so angry in the afternoon (tattling).
Who can tell me why I was so angry yesterday afternoon?
How many of you had students tattle on you this week?
What do tattletales sometimes tell their teachers about other students?
What are the kinds of things students will tattle about?
Are there any other examples of tattling?
Let the class brainstorm episodes of tattling for a few minutes and write responses on the board.
PHASE 2: SELECT PARTICIPANTS
Choosing the First Set of Participants
After a few minutes of brainstorming, choose one episode of tattling that you feel is best to role play first.
We have had a lot of trouble with _______ (i.e. cutting in line) this week. Let’s use this as our first role play. We need two players. Who would like to role play first?
Pick the first set of volunteers and have them come up to the front of the room.
PHASE 3: SET THE STAGE
Establishing the Problem, Characters, and Setting
Before the players can begin role playing, the characters and setting need to be described and explained to the students. Review the characters and setting with the class and make sure they know who is who is the scene and when and where it is taking place
Who are our characters?
Where is this scene taking place?
When is this scene taking place?
PHASE 4: PREPARE THE OBSERVERS
Preparing the Observers
Set the expectations for the students observing and explain what you want them to look for during the role play.
As we watch the role play, remember to look at how they choose to handle the situation and deal with tattling. Remember not to call out or interrupt during the role play. We will have a chance to talk about what we saw when the scene ends and I call, “Cut!”
PHASE 5: ENACT
Role Playing the First Scene
Once the scene is set up and the characters and setting are described, let the chosen participants improvise and role-play the situation. Remind the students that the scene should reflect how they would normally react when someone tattles.
Ok, our first two players are ready to role play. I’ll tell you when to stop the scene. Right now, just do and say what you might under these circumstances. Here we go.
Let the students role play for a few minutes until the first solution has been illustrated.
PHASE 6; DISCUSS AND EVALUATE
Stopping Action for Discussion and Evaluation
After the first solution has been acted out, stop the action to discuss what the students heard and saw in the role play. Lead the discussion by asking the students thought-provoking questions.
Did our players set up this problem well?
Did they leave anything out?
What do I usually say when someone tattles?
How else could this problem have been handled?
Let the students talk for awhile about what they saw and heard as the scene played out. Encourage the students to think of alternative solutions to deal with tattling.
PHASE 7: REENACT
Revising Scene with New Players
After the students have discussed for awhile and brainstormed alternative solutions, choose different students who have proposed new solutions to come up and role play the scene. Encourage students to think about ways that they could solve the problem before someone tattles. The scene will need to be set for these new students by reviewing the characters and setting.
Where are you?
What are you doing as the scene begins?
What will you need to say to show how your solution works?
What will you need to do to show how your solution works?
Let the new students role play the situation until the revised solution has been illustrated.
PHASE 8: DISCUSS AND EVALUATE
Stopping Action Again for Discussion and Evaluation
Once the second solution has been acted out, stop the action to discuss what the students heard and saw in this role play.
What was different about how the players handled it this time?
Do you think what the players did this time helped?
Do you think that this solution worked better?
Did anyone threaten to tattle?
Are there any other ideas?
Encourage students to continue brainstorming new ideas and solutions and then have the students role play the new solutions and discuss them. Depending on the time available, this cycle may be done several times with alternative solutions.
PHASE 9: SHARE EXPERIENCES AND GENERALIZE
Generalizing About the Experiences
Once the students have exhausted all the solutions, guide the students in deciding what they learned as a result of the role play by asking the following questions:
Which of the solutions to this problem do you think is best?
Why is this best?
For whom is it best?
Who will be unhappy with this solution?
How do you choose if you can’t make everybody happy?
If you were _____ (a person in the scene), how would you choose?
If you were _____ (another person in the scene), how would you choose?
Closure: To bring this lesson to a close, tell the students that they all did an excellent job today during the lesson. Briefly recap what happened during the lesson, “By role playing, we found many solutions that worked out well without any tattling, and the observers paid careful attention to what was happening in each scene.” Remind the students that you will expect them to use what they learned today and think more carefully about what they say and do about tattling from now on.
Subject Area: Social Skills Specific Content: Tattling
Grade Level: 4th grade Length of Lesson: 30 minutes
Instructional Objective(s): The learner will participate in role plays that illustrate effective ways to deal with tattling.
Previous Lesson: There is not a specific lesson that preceded this lesson, but yesterday resulted in many episodes of tattling. The fourth graders seem to be having an increasing tattletale problem this year.
Following Lesson: After this lesson students should have some time to think about and practice what they learned from Role Playing. A discussion should occur the next day about their Role Playing and what they learned about tattling.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Behaviors Needed:
Concepts:
Role Playing - The students will need to know the rules of role playing and have an understanding of what role playing is and know that it is just acting.
Tattling – In order to role play and have a proper discussion about tattling, students will need to know what tattling is and when and why it occurs.
Behaviors:
Listening to others - This lesson includes dialogue and discussion, so the students will need to be able to listen to each other.
Taking turns – This lesson requires student participation through both discussion and role playing and students will have to be able to take turns and understand that not everyone can talk or role play at the same time.
Materials:
Chalkboard
Chalk
Model of Teaching: Role Playing
Procedures:
PHASE 1: WARMING UP THE CLASS
Warming Up the Class
Review and discuss with students what happened yesterday and why the teachers were so angry in the afternoon (tattling).
Who can tell me why I was so angry yesterday afternoon?
How many of you had students tattle on you this week?
What do tattletales sometimes tell their teachers about other students?
What are the kinds of things students will tattle about?
Are there any other examples of tattling?
Let the class brainstorm episodes of tattling for a few minutes and write responses on the board.
PHASE 2: SELECT PARTICIPANTS
Choosing the First Set of Participants
After a few minutes of brainstorming, choose one episode of tattling that you feel is best to role play first.
We have had a lot of trouble with _______ (i.e. cutting in line) this week. Let’s use this as our first role play. We need two players. Who would like to role play first?
Pick the first set of volunteers and have them come up to the front of the room.
PHASE 3: SET THE STAGE
Establishing the Problem, Characters, and Setting
Before the players can begin role playing, the characters and setting need to be described and explained to the students. Review the characters and setting with the class and make sure they know who is who is the scene and when and where it is taking place
Who are our characters?
Where is this scene taking place?
When is this scene taking place?
PHASE 4: PREPARE THE OBSERVERS
Preparing the Observers
Set the expectations for the students observing and explain what you want them to look for during the role play.
As we watch the role play, remember to look at how they choose to handle the situation and deal with tattling. Remember not to call out or interrupt during the role play. We will have a chance to talk about what we saw when the scene ends and I call, “Cut!”
PHASE 5: ENACT
Role Playing the First Scene
Once the scene is set up and the characters and setting are described, let the chosen participants improvise and role-play the situation. Remind the students that the scene should reflect how they would normally react when someone tattles.
Ok, our first two players are ready to role play. I’ll tell you when to stop the scene. Right now, just do and say what you might under these circumstances. Here we go.
Let the students role play for a few minutes until the first solution has been illustrated.
PHASE 6; DISCUSS AND EVALUATE
Stopping Action for Discussion and Evaluation
After the first solution has been acted out, stop the action to discuss what the students heard and saw in the role play. Lead the discussion by asking the students thought-provoking questions.
Did our players set up this problem well?
Did they leave anything out?
What do I usually say when someone tattles?
How else could this problem have been handled?
Let the students talk for awhile about what they saw and heard as the scene played out. Encourage the students to think of alternative solutions to deal with tattling.
PHASE 7: REENACT
Revising Scene with New Players
After the students have discussed for awhile and brainstormed alternative solutions, choose different students who have proposed new solutions to come up and role play the scene. Encourage students to think about ways that they could solve the problem before someone tattles. The scene will need to be set for these new students by reviewing the characters and setting.
Where are you?
What are you doing as the scene begins?
What will you need to say to show how your solution works?
What will you need to do to show how your solution works?
Let the new students role play the situation until the revised solution has been illustrated.
PHASE 8: DISCUSS AND EVALUATE
Stopping Action Again for Discussion and Evaluation
Once the second solution has been acted out, stop the action to discuss what the students heard and saw in this role play.
What was different about how the players handled it this time?
Do you think what the players did this time helped?
Do you think that this solution worked better?
Did anyone threaten to tattle?
Are there any other ideas?
Encourage students to continue brainstorming new ideas and solutions and then have the students role play the new solutions and discuss them. Depending on the time available, this cycle may be done several times with alternative solutions.
PHASE 9: SHARE EXPERIENCES AND GENERALIZE
Generalizing About the Experiences
Once the students have exhausted all the solutions, guide the students in deciding what they learned as a result of the role play by asking the following questions:
Which of the solutions to this problem do you think is best?
Why is this best?
For whom is it best?
Who will be unhappy with this solution?
How do you choose if you can’t make everybody happy?
If you were _____ (a person in the scene), how would you choose?
If you were _____ (another person in the scene), how would you choose?
Closure: To bring this lesson to a close, tell the students that they all did an excellent job today during the lesson. Briefly recap what happened during the lesson, “By role playing, we found many solutions that worked out well without any tattling, and the observers paid careful attention to what was happening in each scene.” Remind the students that you will expect them to use what they learned today and think more carefully about what they say and do about tattling from now on.