Racism in Canada
OE: B1, B2
SE: B1.1, B2.1
This resource addresses racism present in Canada. Students participate in role play activities that help them to understand racism within their everyday context. This lesson plan is localized and contextually relevant. Teachers are given four lessons on racism where they role play to explore and address issues of racism.
Grades 4-6
Sit-In: How Four Young Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down
OE: B1, B2
SE: B1.1, B2.1
This is a role play activity that will allow students to begin discussions on racism and segregation. This activity is a good starting point for a larger unit or string of lessons focusing on racism. This resource is cross-currcular.
Teachers will need this link, or a copy of the book, in order to complete this lesson.
Grades 4-7
Funny, You Don’t Look Autistic: A Comedian’s Guide to Life on the Spectrum
OE: B1, B3
SE: B1.1, B1.4, B3.2
This lesson plan focuses on Language Arts (reading a memoir), however, it has an activity following reading that requires students to participate in comedic monologue writing. Teachers could alternatively choose snippets from the book to demonstrate monologues as a larger unit on such. The monologues in this book address invisible disabilities such as autism. This lesson also focuses on the use of comedy in drama while addressing hidden disaibilities.
Grades 7-8
Race Bridges: 12 Theatre Games for Building Bridges and Finding Common Ground
OE: B1, B2
SE: B1.1, B1.3, B1.4, B2.1, B2.2
This resource includes twelve theatre games that range from warm ups, to community building excercises, to allowing for the opportunity for issues of race and culture to be discussed (p. 1). This resource also provides a short booklist that guides teachers to like games for addressing race and other issues for social justice in the classroom.
Grades 1-8
DODEM - The Clan System Activity: I Am Responsible
OE: B1, B2
SE: B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B2.1
In this lesson plan, students will begin to explore responsibility as it relates to the clan system and the animals associated. Students will use dramatic play to develop stories that demonstrate responsibility as they relate to their chosen animal of inquiry.
Grades 1-3
Rabbit and Bear Paws: Sacred Seven Readers Theatre and Lesson Plan
OE: B1, B3
SE: B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B3.2
These two documents accompany one another to allow students to begin exploring the Seven Grandfather Teachings through dramatic play. In the Readers Theatre document, students can read short scripts and engage in role-play to learn about the Seven Grandfather Teachings. This Readers Theatre is accompanied by lesson plans that are geared toward each teaching, with some arts components included.
Grades 1-3
Sharing the Seven Sacred Teachings Through Puppetry: A Teachers Guide
OE: B1, B3
SE: B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B3.1
This resource guide helps teachers address the Seven Sacred Teachings through puppetry. In this guide, teachers will find a glossary of terms, additional resource links, and a guide for creating a puppet play to demonstrate learning. Teachers are given a guide for types of puppets students can make, what should be included in their role play, information on the seven teachings, sample scripts, post-activity reflections, and more.
Grades 4-8
BC History in Action: A Guide to Teaching History Through Drama
See attached document for curricular connections on a lesson to lesson basis
This resource focuses on teaching British Columbia's history through Dramatic Arts. The resource outlines that it is a K-7 document; however, Ontario curriculum guidelines for Social Studies become more broad in grades 6-8, including the focus on learning about other communities in Canada and around the world rather than local communities. This is why this document is categorized at grades 6-8. In the document there is background information, full lesson plans, follow up activities, and more.
Grades 6-8
ThinkB4YouSpeak - Lesson Plans and Activity Guide
See attached document for curricular connections on a lesson to lesson basis
This document addresses issues of gender, sexuality, and oppression. In this guide you will find activities, both arts connected and not, that will help students increase their understanding of the impact of homophobic language in their school, community, and the world. Students will explore homophobia through role play, debates and other activities to help them organically understand the effects of homophobic slurs. This resource can be used in its entirety as a unit, however, the curriculum connections outlined here are only those from lessons that connect to arts related outcomes.
Grades 6-8
Newspaper Theatre: Engaging Art in The Classroom
DRAMA
OE: B1, B2, B3
SE: B1.1, B1.3, B2.1, B3.2
VISUAL ARTS:
OE: D1, D2
SE: D1.1, D2.1
This lesson plan will help teachers cover social justice and art as activism through Augusto Boal’s “newspaper theatre” practice. Students will address themes in art and discover how art can be used to provoke change in society. This lesson addresses both drama and visual arts, while discussing topics such as anti-war, race, violence, etc.
Grades 5-8
Theatre of The Oppressed: A Manual for Educators
OE: B1, B2, B3
SE: B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B2.1, B2.2, B3.1
In this document, background information on Theatre of The Oppressed is addressed to help teachers understand its impact and effect in the classroom as well as some points of reference for teaching. In addition, 10 “sessions” or lessons are provide with warm-up and closure activities for students to participate in.
Grades 6-8
Instant Replay - Lesson Plan
OE: B1, B2
SE: B1.1, B1.3, B1.4, B2.1
In this lesson, students use role-play to address the harmful effects of bullying. The objectives include helping students develop ways to address their own needs when being name-called and give students practice responding to such scenarios.
Grades 6-8
Standing With Standing Rock: A Role Play on the Dakota Access Pipeline
OE: B1, B2
SE: B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B2.1
This website link discusses how teachers can use role play to discuss the topic of the DAPL. Although this is not an exact lesson plan, it guides teachers to help initiate an exercise such as this on their own. This is a role play activity addressing issues of climate justice, Indigenous communities, imperialism, and more. This article has guiding questions, students roles, and more.
Grades 6-8
Circle Sculpture Activity Outline
OE: B1, B2, B3
SE: B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B2.1, B3.2
This activity outline uses Theatre of the Oppressed methods to address an important topic of their choice in their community. Theatre of The Oppressed is used to address social justice topics in a non-violent way.
Grades 6-8
Facilitating the Difficult Dialogue: Role Plays
OE: B1, B2
SE: B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B2.1
This short activity outline gives teachers an idea of how to facilitate a beginners role-play activity on topics of social justice. The creator notes that since social justice topics are difficult to discuss in class, role-play allows students to share with ease.
Grades 6-8