Lesson Overview:
Students create a historical timeline and an important personal event timeline based on the historical fiction book and play, A Light in the Storm. Students write to inform about events represented on the timeline. Students compare events in the book and the play. Students improvise a scene from the book not already dramatized in the play, and write to persuade the playwright to add his/her scene to the play.
Length of Lesson:
Three 45-minute periods
Notes:
This lesson is particularly suitable for grades 4 - 6.
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- compare events in the book and the play.
- create a timeline of important personal events in Amelia Martin's
life as told in the book, A Light in the Storm.
- research and create a historical timeline using historical
events in the book and/or play, A Light in the Storm.
- improvise new scenes based on Amelia's journal entries to add to the play in a group setting.
- write to inform why the personal events were chosen to include
on the timeline.
- write to persuade the playwright to add his/her scene to the play.
Supplies:
- Projector
- Video Camera
- One copy of A Light in the Storm per student.
- Simple props, such as a pencil, lantern, paper, pencils, pens, markers, and notebooks or journals.
- Costumes for the scenes, such as a shawl and long skirt.
- The following books (authors and publishers listed in teacher references) are but a small amount of Civil War reference books available. These are to be used as references to check facts.
- Prelude to War, A Sourcebook on the Civil War
- The First Battles, A Sourcebook on the Civil War
- The American Civil War—A House Divided
- Scholastic Encyclopedia of the Civil War
- Slavery and the Coming of the Civil War
- Why Fight? The Causes of the American Civil War
- For Home and Country, A Civil War Scrapbook
- A Nation Torn, The Story of How the Civil War Began
- 8" x 11" posters depicting the following historical events:
- South Carolina secedes from the Union.
- Jefferson Davis elected President of the Confederate States of America.
- Lincoln arrives in Washington to become the President of the United States.
- Lincoln calls for 75,000 state militia troops to crush the rebellion.
- Fort Sumter fired upon.
- The first battle of Bull Run fought.
Instructional Plan:
Day One
Warm Up:
Using a Web site such as the American Civil War, solicit from the class real historical events in the book/play A Light in the Storm.
Record responses on the board or overhead.
Introduction:
List the following events on "8x12" posterboard (these events are noted in A Light in the Storm):
- South Carolina secedes from the United States.
- Jefferson Davis is elected President of the Confederate States of America.
- Abraham Lincoln arrives in Washington to become the President of the United States.
- Lincoln calls up 75,000 state militia troops to crush the rebellion.
- Fort Sumter is fired upon.
- The first battle of Bull Run is fought.
Mix up the events and ask for students to volunteer to come to the board or overhead. Tell the volunteers to prepare to act as a part of a living timeline. This means that once the timeline is arranged in order, the volunteer actor must become the event and describe its importance to the class.
Have the volunteers arrange themselves in historical order, and explain why their events are important.
Have the class record the correct event order.
Guided Practice:
Have students use the Internet and/or Civil War reference books to identify correct dates for the five events just put in order.
Have students create a historical timeline for the Civil War related events in A Light in the Storm.
Independent Practice:
Discuss why students think Amelia records South Carolina's secession on December
31, 1860 and not on December 20,1860 (isolation of lighthouse, poor communication from South Carolina, she received the journal on December 24, etc.).
Amelia recorded many personal events in her journal. Have students put eight of Amelia's personal events in a timeline. The timeline should include a minimum of four events from the book. Others may come from the play.
Students should give the timeline an appropriate title.
Events shoudl be recorded by date, and what happened on each date briefly summarized.
Have students write a paragraph to inform why the events selected for Amelia's
personal timeline were chosen and what their importance is in Amelia's life.
Day Two
Warm-up:
Discuss events the students chose to include in the timelines from the previous lesson.
Inquire why Karen Hesse, the author of A Light in the Storm, chose the historical
events she did for her book. Why do students think she chose to put the lighthouse in Delaware? Take time for discussion or written reflection.
Mary Hall Surface, the playwright of A Light in the Storm, chose events from Hesse's book to dramatize in her play. Why do students think she chose the events she did? Can students think of instances where she took dramatic license and put events in a different sequence? (William's death and the school boys' deaths stands out.) Take time for discussion or written reflection.
Instruct students to use the Venn Diagram handout to compare/contrast events in the book and the play. They should show at least three differences and three of the same events.
Guided Practice:
Authors and playwrights chose events, to dramatize in their work, that move the story forward or that contain conflicts. Based on the timeline of important events for Amelia, have students choose three possible events (not dramatized already in the play) from which to make an improvised scene.
Have students share their choices, and create groups of four. The groups should share a knowledge of the event, its importance, and their desire to present it.
Assign each student in the group a job. Put job descriptions on the board for all to see. All students may act in the scene. Not all students need to act but, all must be actively involved in the preparation of the scene.
- Playwright - puts the action in sequence, writes ideas for lines
- Director - guides the actors in their understanding of their roles and how the scene will be staged, and when, how, and where the actors will move.
- Designer - gathers the costumes and props, sets the stage for the scene
- Stage Manager - records the decisions made by the others, reminds others what was done before, records jobs and members of group.
- Actor - interprets the playwright's ideas, listens to the director's guidance, and moves through the designer's universe.
Distribute a set of worksheets to each group. These give guidance
and ideas for each group member. Have students should record on them, and collect them at the end of the lesson.
Independent Practice:
Give students 40 minutes to plan and rehearse a short scene. Grade on team work and presentation.
Have students present the scenes to the class. Videotape each presentation.
Have students turn in all written records of the group's scene.
For homework, have each student, write a letter to persuade Mary Hall Surface to add the scene they improvised to her play. It should include details of the scene, including a summary of events, characters, conflict, and setting. The students should justify its importance in the book and its need to be added to the play.
Assessment:
Use the Assessment Rubric to assess your students' works.
Extensions:
Take another historical fiction book, play, or movie and create timelines.
Justify choices for including certain events.
Take other works of fiction, historical fiction, or history and create improvised
scenes of events.
Sources:
Print:
- Bolotin, Norman and Herb, Angela. For Home and Country—A Civil War Scrapbook. Lodestar Books, 1995.
- Brzoska, Deborah. "Assessment: Strategies to Transform Arts Instruction: Rubrics". Professional Development for Teachers. The Kennedy Center, 1995.
- Clinton, Catherine. Scholastic Encyclopedia of the Civil War. Scholastic Inc., 1999.
- Collier, Christopher and Collier, James. Slavery and the Coming of the Civil War, 1831 - 1861. Benchmark Books, 2000.
- Dolan, Edward F. The American Civil War, A House Divided. The Millbrook
Press, 1997.
- Erickson, Karen. "Integrating Creative Drama and Social Studies". Professional Development for Teachers; The Kennedy Center, 1999.
- Kelner, Lenore Blank. A Guide for Using Creative Drama in the Classroom. InterAct, Inc., 1990.
- Kelner, Lenore Blank. Drama in the Classroom. Heinemann, 1993.
- Layne, Sean and Flynn, Rosilyn. "Helping Students Become Knowledgeable Audience Members". Professional Development for Teachers. The Kennedy Center, 1997.
- Lindquist, Terry. "Why & How I Teach with Historical Fiction". Instructor Magazine.Scholastic, Inc.,2000.
- McCaslin, Nellie. Children and Drama. David McKay Company, Inc., 1975.
- McCaslin, Nellie. Creative Drama in the Classroom. David McKay Company,
1975.
- McCaslin, Nellie. Creative Drama in the Intermediate Grades. Players Press; 1987.
- Nolan, Corrine J. and Blue, Rose. Why Fight? The Causes of the American Civil War. Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers, 2000.
- Novelly, Maria C. Theater Games for Young Performers. Meriwether Publishing, Ltd., 1985.
- Ray, Delia. A Nation Torn, The Story of How the Civil War Began. Lodestar
Books, 1990.
- Smith, Carter. Prelude to War, A Sourcebook on the Civil War. The Millbrook Press, 1993.
- Smith, Carter. The First Battles, A Sourcebook on the Civil War. The Millbrook Press, 1993.
Web:
Authors:
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Mary Beth Bauernschub, Teacher
Kingsford Elementary School
Mitchellville, MD
