4 Jamestown What better way to learn about what it was like to live in a world of the past than to bring that world back to life onstage? As part of our educational outreach mission, RCT offers SOL-compliant in-school residencies as a theatre enrichment option for schools in our community. These programs come with study guides, in-class instruction by RCT s professional actors and educators, and follow-up materials. These courses can be offered over several days to a class level, or in one day to multiple classrooms. Living is Learning, and that s what RCT Residencies are all about. Students Will Learn All About The New World of Jamestown & The World of Theatre by Putting on a Play! Living is Learning - and that s what RCT Residencies are all about! Jamestown A New World To create the Play in Residency, students will explore the New World they are bringing to life: Why did Jamestown settlers come to America? Where is Jamestown located? What was the importance of the charters of the Virginia Company of London? What was the Virginia House of Burgesses? What was the impact of the arrival of women? What was the impact of the arrival of Africans? What hardships did the Jamestown settlers face? What changes took place to ensure survival? How did the Powhatan people and the settlers interact? Why did these relationships change? Making History - LIVE Onstage! And to create the New World on stage, students will explore the world of Theatre Arts: What is a play? What are professional theatre jobs? And why is a Producer like King James? How do actors prepare? How do you cast a show? And who will be in the show today? What design/technical positions make a world come to life? What inspires designing props and costumes? Experience Rehearsals, Dress Rehearsal and Opening Night! TH
Objective: This 60 minute workshop will stimulate imagination, promote critical thinking, heighten effective listen skills, and strengthen comprehension and learning retention of 4th Grade Jamestown SOL's by involving all the senses in the learning process. Grade Level: 4th Grade / Group Size: Entire Classroom Classroom Set-Up: Students start at desks at the beginning of the workshop. Requires a clear space in the front of the classroom for rehearsal and performance. Procedure: Students will be introduced to theatre and the play production process. The Teaching Artist will guide the students through a series of warm-ups, theatre exercises and games to prepare their voices, bodies, and imaginations for the day s activities. The Artist will engage students in theatre production by creating the hands-on team it takes to bring a play to life. Serving as Producer, the Artist will assign job responsibilities to the students. The students will rehearse the show, create the props, design costume items and ultimately perform the play. Afterwards, the students will engage in a post show talk-back with the Artist, critiquing the work and reinforcing Jamestown standards learned. Virginia Stands of Learning Skills Addressed: VS.1 The student will demonstrate skills for historical and geographical analysis and responsible citizenship, including the ability to b) determine cause-and-effect relationships; c) compare and contrast historical events; d) draw conclusions and make generalizations; e) make connections between past and present; f) sequence events in Virginia history; g) interpret ideas and events from different historical perspectives; h) evaluate and discuss issues orally and in writing; i) analyze and interpret maps to explain relation-ships among landforms, water features, climatic characteristics, and historical events. Colonization and Conflict: 1607 through the American Revolution VS.3 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the first permanent English settlement in America by a) explaining the reasons for English colonization; b) describing how geography influenced the decision to settle at Jamestown; c) identifying the importance of the charters of the Virginia Company of London in establishing the Jamestown settlement; e) identifying the importance of the arrival of Africans and English women to the Jamestown settlement; f) describing the hardships faced by settlers at Jamestown and the changes that took place to ensure survival; g) describing the interactions between the English settlers and the native peoples, including the contributions of Powhatan to the survival of the settlers. Here s what Teachers are saying about RCT: The presentation was a wonderful review and the children were very enthusiasticin their performance! Frances Burkholder, 4th Grade An instructor commented to me that it is so good to see the theatre in some form come to our school as it has been missing for so long. Our students simply love the program. I hope this is just the beginning and that we will be able to continue this educational program and add even more next year. E. Hobson-Hardy, Westside 21st Century Community Learning Center Russ Baskett, Smith Mtn Lake Good Neighbors
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES SOL s: 4.7, 4.8 Pre-Performnce Divide the students into small groups. Assign a topic from history that the students are studying in class. Have the students research the event and then write a short play based on historical fact. Perform the plays for the class readers theatre style. As a class, make a list of careers involved in producing a play. Ask the students to consider which job they would want and why. Have the students write a letter to the Producer, applying for the job. Post-Performance After theatrical productions, theatre companies often hold a meeting to evaluate the successes and failures involved in producing the play. Hold a Post-mortem and discuss with the class the Jamestown production. As a rule, for any critique, students should suggest a means to improve in the future. In our workshop, we had a limited amount of time and resources to produce and perform the Jamestown production. Engage the students in a discussion about what the show could be like if funds and time were no object! Students can build on the discussion by drawing and designing their dream sets and costumes, casting celebrities in starring roles, and creating posters to market the Broadway version of our show! Key Terms Objective: Term used by an actor to describe the thing his/her character wants. Obstacle: The person or thing that keeps a character from what he/she wants. Tactic: Ways that a character achieves their objective. Actor Warm-Up: (voice, body, mind) The exercises conducted by the actor to prepare for a rehearsal or performance. Gender-blind Casting: Term used to describe the casting of a role without concern of the character s actual gender. Curtain Call: At the end of a performance, the acknowledgement of applause by actors; the bows. Property (prop): An object handled by an actor while on stage. Costume: The clothing worn by an actor to indicate character. Set: The complete stage setting for a scene or act in a play. Rehearsal: Practice sessions in which the actors and technicians prepare for the performance. Jobs in the Theatre Producer: The person who oversees all aspects of mounting a theatrical production. Director: The person responsible for conducting rehearsals and staging the play. Lighting Operator: The person responsible for controlling the lights during a production. Sound Operator: The person responsible for controlling the sound during a production. Costume Designer: A person who designs costumes for a stage production. Running Crew: The people responsible for changing the scenery during the production.
4 Jamestown At Home Fun!: Jamestown Crossword Puzzle TH
At Home Fun! Suggested Further Reading The World of Captain John Smith - Genevieve Foster A Lion to Guard Us - Clyde Robert Bulla The Double Life of Pocahontas - Jean Fritz Pocahontas and the Strangers - Clyde Robert Bulla Internet Resources for Jamestown Jamestown Settlement Museum Official Website: historyisfun.org Historic Jamestown Official Website-Archeological Study: historicjamestowne.org National Geographic Interactive Jamestown Videos, Games, and more: ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/05/jamestown/ jamestown-standalone National Geographic Kids- John Smith Adventure Game: kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/ interactiveadventures/john-smith/ National Parks- Jamestown: nps.gov/jame/index.htm Fun Tongue Twisters to Practice! "Greek grapes, Greek grapes, Greek grapes..." "Zebras zig and zebras zag." "If two witches were watching two watches, which witch would watch which watch?" "Red lorry, yellow lorry." Theatre: Parts of a Stage!