Tag Archives: drama presentation

The Impact of Highways and Vehicle Traffic

Teacher Note: Depending on the length of class time available, this lesson may take 2-3 sessions to complete.

Learning Outcome

Students evaluate the human impacts on local ecosystems.

CONNECT

Goal: Students will discuss and evaluate the effects that highway construction and vehicle traffic have on local animal populations.

Activate Prior Knowledge: With a partner, students complete a T-chart comparing the pros and cons of highway construction. Conduct a class discussion on how the construction of highways affects local animal population and migration patterns.

Key vocabulary to discuss: air pollution, noise pollution, displacement, traffic, traverse, confused, vibrations, strewn, society.(Definitions)

Predict and Question: Ask the students what questions they may still have regarding the construction of highways and the impact on local ecosystems. Predict the most significant effect of local highway construction.

Task: Students will demonstrate their understanding of the impact of highway construction on local ecosystems through independent projects.

PROCESS

Reminder: It is important to stop throughout the video and give students (A/B partners) the opportunity to talk or respond to the video. Students can track ideas on the T-chart during the video.

Video

Screen Shot 2015-04-30 at 1.18.10 PM


(Video Length: 2 mins)

A/B Partners – Students complete their T-chart sheets and share their ideas with both their partners and class.

TRANSFORM

Students then complete one of the following options to demonstrate their understanding and extend their thinking of how highways and traffic affect local animal populations.

  • Write a letter to the regional government authority detailing the effect of highway construction on local wildlife.
  • Create a poster which takes a position either for or against a proposed new highway being built near the community.
  • Create a television/radio commercial promoting a side for or against a proposed new highway being built near the community.
  • Write a play/dramatization of how a new highway will affect local animal populations from the animals point of view. (ie. Writing in role of a deer/bear etc…)
  • Write a newspaper article which covers the construction of a new highway being built in the community.

(Consider allowing 2-3 classes to complete these activities.)

REFLECT

On the back of their T-chart sheets, students write two new ideas they learned in the discussion around the human impact of highway construction on local animal populations.

Extend learning or next lesson

Students contact their local governmental authority and access an aerial map of their community to select the best location for a new highway corridor.

Lesson One Writing and Representing

Writing and Representing

Child of Tears

Learning Outcomes

  • develop personal responses to materials and support their responses with reasons, examples, and details.
  • demonstrate pride and satisfaction in using language to express their thoughts, ideas, and feelings in various written, oral, visual, and electronic forms.

Steps to the Lesson

  1. Conduct a Place Mat activity on what social responsibility looks like.
  2. Watch Raven Tales episode ‘Child or Tears’.
  3. Write a journal reflection, create a poster, or drama presentation.
  4. Reflect on the process.

CONNECT

Goal:

Students will develop a better awareness of their personal actions and being socially responsible.

Task:

Students will write a journal reflection, create a poster, or drama presentation to demonstrate their understanding of what it means to be socially responsible.

Activate Prior Knowledge:

Students break into groups of two to four students and do a Place Mat activity on what being socially responsible looks like (ie. showing respect, accepting other ideas). If their school has some schoolwide themes on social responsiblity, teachers should try to highlight them in the discussion.

Predict and Question:

Teacher explains to the students they will be watching a video of Raven Tales called ‘Child of Tears’. Ask the students to predict, given the title of the video, what the story will be about? What are the students wondering?

PROCESS

Video

Students watch the Raven Tales epsidode titled ‘Child of Tears’. (Video length: 25 mins)

raven_tales

(Note: Teachers can book the episode of Raven Tales from their district Resource Centre)

Viewing Notes: Depending on the class or teacher preference, students can either watch the video completely through and then discuss, or the teacher can stop throughout the story and give students (A/B partners) opportunity to talk or respond to the story.

Once the video has been viewed, student groups review their Place Mats and, with a highlighter, highlight words and connections they feel were represented in the Raven Tales episode.

TRANSFORM

After highlighting various social responsibility themes in the episode ‘Child of Tears’, students complete one of the following transformation tasks:

  • Students write a journal reflection on what it means to be socially responsible in a school setting or in their local community. One possibility for reflection is students can give an example of an event in their lives when they took responsibility for their actions or, in contrast, avoided responsibility and regretted their decision.
  • Students create a drama presentation that focuses on the social responsibility themes identified in the Raven Tales episode. A written script should be created and, once completed, students present their drama creation in class or at a school assembly.
  • Students create a poster for display in their school. The poster should contain a message and images of how to act socially responsible in school and in their community. Themes for the posters should derive from themes identified in the Raven Tales episode.

REFLECT

In their journals or on a separate sheet of paper, students reflect on the lesson and consider the following:

  • What did I like/dislike about the Raven Tales episode Child of Tears?
  • Has my thinking changed about being socially responsible in my school, home, and community? How? Why? Why not?

Extend learning or next lesson

Students develop a personal action plan on how to be more socially responsible in their personal lives. The action plan can consist of a weekly/monthly plan where students monitor their actions and evaluate them according their action plan goals.