Educational Objective:
Students will be able to apply objectives and tactics by competing in rehearsed improve activities.
Enduring Understanding 1:
Characters are driven by objectives which motivate action.
Enduring Understanding 2:
There must needs be strategy in place to get what we want.
Essential Question 1:
When do we use tactics to achieve objectives in real life?
Materials Needed:
Paper for students to write on, Index cards
Pre-assessment – Pop Quiz:
Take out a sheet of paper. Give them a time limit.
Q1. What is an objective? Q2.What is a Tactic? Q3. Write down 3 good tactics. Q4. Write down 3 poor tactic choices. Q 5. What are the 2 questions you need to ask yourself when deciding between a good tactic and a poor choice?
Hook:
Index cards passed out to students as they walk in the door.
Step 1 – Review: (15 min)
Go over answers to the Pop Quiz after all of the students have completed it. Step 2 –Think: Instruct students to write 2 good tactics on their cards – one on front and one on back.
Step 3 – Pair:
Instruct the students to switch cards with a partner. Each partner is to tell the other student if their two tactics are good tactics or not. If not they need to explain why. If there is a tactic that is not a good one on a card they need to work together as a partnership to come up with a better tactic to replace it.
Step 4—Share:
Each partnership will then share all 4 of their tactics with the class.
Step 5- Modeling:
Continue what we started in the last lesson. Ask for 2 volunteers and give them a setting, relationship, and 2 objectives (or have them come up with those on their own as a class). Tell them to pick out 5 tactic cards, read them and choose 3 of the tactics to use in the scene.
Another example could be Parent/Child in the house. Child wants $10 from the parent to go out with friend, Parent wants child to do chores.
Other Example scenarios:
• Two young siblings late at night in their bedroom
• Standing in line at the coffee shop, and the line is not moving, and you’re both late for work
• A teacher, a student, a needed bathroom break
• A parent and a child in a restaurant
• Two friends in a movie theater
• Two elderly people at a rock concert
Step 6 – Sidecoaching:
Coach the students and work them to make their scene more compelling.
Step 7- Modeling:
Do it again with new students, and this time don’t let the students look at the tactic cards before they perform the scenario. Explain that when their first tactic is running out they can look at the next tactic and move on with the new tactics.
Step 7- Practice: (15 min)
Divide the class up into partners: Someone they haven’t worked with before. Instruct them to come up with their own scenario. (Rehearsed Improv Work) Their scenario must include an identifiable Setting and Relationship between the 2 characters. Each character must have a reasonable objective, and each character must play 3 different tactics. The scene should end when one character gets their objective. 3-5 minute time limit.
Variation: For younger students, give students a list of scenarios to choose from.
Ex. (see scenarios above for ideas.)
Step 5 – Perform:
Students will perform their scenes in partners. As a class we will watch their scenes and discuss. This may need to occur the following class period.
Final Assessment for Lesson 2:
Performance of scenes. Pop Quiz (10 points.)
Homework:
N/a
Rubric:
Setting -5, Relationship -5, Objective (for each) -10, 3 tactics each -15, attitude, rehearsal, effort -15. 50 total points.