Creative Writing in History Class

The following lesson plan integrates creative writing into history class to help students understand the Revolt of 1857 and connect the actions of its revolutionaries to their own lives. This lesson is part of an entirely arts-integrated history unit spanning 5 weeks that I created with my Teach For India Fellow, which is outlined in the second chart.

Our unit will begin early November so I look forward to posting any observations and lesson assessments!

Content Area	History Standard 5
Overall Week Objective What are the content/value objectives of the overall unit?	SWBAT: Discuss and understand what makes a successful leader Identify their own strengths and weakness Analyze how life would have been different had revolutionaries not existed in India through creative writing and drama/movement
Lesson Objective(s)	Week 5, Lesson #17 SWBAT Think critically to understand how revolutionaries have shaped our lives by envisioning how life would have been without them Understand the importance of keeping governments and leaders acting in the best interests of their people
Materials	5 of Ghandi’s well known quotes printed out on poster paper or written up on the chalkboard  Examples of creative stories written from different points of view
Key Vocabulary	Revolutionary Checks and balances Creative writing Point of view
Intro Activity 5 min	Opposites: Walk = Stop Stop = Walk Jump = Clap Clap = Jump Instruct the students to begin walking around the room. Explain that when you say “walk” they must stop, when you say “stop” they must walk, when you say “jump” they must clap and when you say “clap” they must jump.
Spark 7 min	Prompt the students to read all the quotes posted around the room. Ask them to sit underneath the quote with which they most relate and to discuss the meaning and message of the quote within their groups.
Deepening Activity 5 min	As a whole class, create an idea map of what life would be like had Mohatma Ghandi never existed.

Main Activity

Allow the students time to review their notes on the revolutionaries of the Revolt of 1857 and then ask them to choose one revolutionary they admire most.  Now that the students have worked as a whole and in smaller groups to brainstorm what life would have been like without Ghandi, ask them to brainstorm individually what life would have been like had their favorite revolutionary never existed.  Instruct the students to write a creative story set in this fictitious world based on their brainstorm lists. Provide different examples of creative stories written from different points of view to give the students different approaches to this activity.

Assessment

Walk around and make sure the students understand the assignment as they are working. Assign a minimum of 5 pages. Instruct the students to finish the stories as homework as they will be using them to create movement tableaus next class.

Week Number	Objective
1	SWBAT: Understand the events that led to the Revolt of 1857 Make an integrated timeline in groups through drawing, poetry, etc Speak about the major events that occurred during the Revolt of 1857 through the presentation of their timeline to the class
2	SWBAT: Identify the values that were showcased during the Revolt of 1857 by both the Indians and the English Show their understanding of the revolt through drama Speak about the outcomes of the Revolt of 1857
3	SWBAT: Understand and identify revolutionary leaders during the time of the Revolt of 1857 Create a character sketch of a revolutionary by drawing portraits, writing poems, etc
4	SWBAT: Discuss and understand what makes a successful leader Identify their own strengths and weakness Analyze how life would have been different had revolutionaries not existed in India through creative writing
5	SWBAT: Leverage their own strengths and weaknesses in order to be a leader in their community Analyze and identify a problem or conflict in their community (neighborhood, school, India)  Creatively present a plan of action to overcome the identified issue through dance/movement, theater, creative writing, visual arts, etc

I Hope You Dance...To Learn Shapes and Patterns

I developed this lesson plan after my time teaching dance at Shanti Bhavan, a boarding school for children living under the poverty line in southern India, with my co-instructor, Ally. The lesson is geared toward teaching shapes and patterns in elementary math. 

To get the children’s bodies warm for class, Ally introduced a warm-up routine that snaps out Rudulph Laban’s 27 points. Laban was a pioneer in modern dance, developing formulas for movement analysis and dance notation. Laban marked 27 points around the body that compose our kinespheric space, or the directions in which we can extend our extremities. Playing off the idea of this dance warm-up, I have adapted the warm-up to be a lesson in shapes, patterns and 2- and 3D forms.

I hope any teachers who see this will adapt if for their class, and if you do please post any results!

	Laban 27 Points Around the Body for Math - 2 Part Lesson;  1st Lesson
Academic Standard:	Grade 4 - Geometric Patterns
Academic Objective:	SWBAT identify patterns in their immediate environments SWBAT identify shapes in patterns SWBAT create different patterns
Activity Overview:	Lesson 1:  Since the beginning of the 20th century and thanks to Rudolph Laban, modern and contemporary dance use some mathematical and conceptual tools that allow us to generate movement by the exploration of some of its own basic components, such as the body and space.  Kinespheric space: it surrounds the body until the limits that our extremities can reach and travel with us across the scenic space. Dance composition tool: kinesphere Encouraging dancers to view themselves as 3-dimensional and explore movement as such, Laban defined that there are 27 main directions towards which we can move within the kinesphere: 1: Downward 2: Upward 3, 4, and 5: To the left: low level, middle level, high level. 6, 7, and 8: To the right: low level, middle level, high level. 9, 10, and 11: Backward: low level, middle level, high level. 12, 13, and 14: Forward: low level, middle level, high level. 15, 16, and 17: To the left diagonal backward: low level, middle level, high level. 18, 19, and 20: To the right diagonal backward: low level, middle level, high level. Using an extended arm and a “snap” of the hand, hit all 27 points defined by Laban. You can do this to the rhythm of a song. Have the students do it with you. It will likely take multiple times of repetition before the students feel comfortable with the sequence. Follow up:  What different 2D and 3D shapes are we creating from the pathway of our snaps? If we were to go in a different order could we create different shapes?
Ways to make activity more basic:	Only teach half of the 27 points so there is less sequencing for the students to remember.
Ways to make activity more advanced:	Put students in pairs. Have student A think of a sequence of snaps using some of the 27 points that creates a 3D shape. Once they have it in mind, instruct student A to show student B. Then ask student B to draw the 3D shape created by student A.

I Hope You Dance...in Math Class

The following is an arts integrated lesson plan I created to teach fractions in math class. I had some great results when I recently taught this lesson during rehearsals for MAYA the musical, an original musical being put on by 30 Teach For India students.

I was working with  the kids to help them find their center and engage their core, so naturally I taught a turns class. One of the young girls, S, is known for being a space cadet, often daydreaming and off in her own world. As I taught the class, S shocked me with active participation and excitement in answering my questions on fractions, continually raising her hand first or even bursting out with the answer before I could finish speaking. Before losing her back to the daydreams, I asked S if math was her favorite subject. She looked at me like I had asked if she liked to eat dirt, and replied, "No didi, but what we were doing just made sense."

I hope any teachers who see this will adapt if for their class, and if you do please post any results!

	Basic Ballet Turn Combination for Math
Academic Standard:	Grade 4 - Fractions
Academic Objective:	SWBAT identify half and quarter of regular shapes such as rectangle, square, circle, etc. SWBAT create half and quarter of a set of objects or a shape in more than 1 way SWBAT create equivalent fractions of fractions with denominators of 2,4, and 8 SWBAT compare fractions with same denominator SWBAT arrange fractions in ascending, descending order
Activity Overview:	First show students what a dance turn looks like - you could do it with the right foot to the left knee with the raised knee turned in or you could do it with the right foot to the left knee with the raised knee turned out. The turn does not need to be on a raised bottom foot, you can keep it as a spin on a flat foot. Instruct students to face the front of the room. Tell them to do a quarter (1/4) turn to the right, which means that they will turn to face the right wall. How many quarter turns do we need to do to end up facing front again?  Once the students are facing front again, instruct them to do a half (1/2) turn, meaning the students will turn to face the back wall. How many half turns do we need to do to end up facing front again? Now you can play with 1/4 and 1/2 turns, asking the students to do different fraction turns, such as a 3/4 turn or where would you end up facing after a 5/2 turn.  Which has more turns, a 6/2 turn or a 12/4 turn?  Introduce 1/8 turns into the activity. Call out any fraction and have the students do the turn, somewhat like a “Simon says” call and movement response. Choose four volunteers and assign each a different fraction without letting the other students know. Instruct the students to get into ascending order without speaking, in other words they can only show their fraction by representing it in a turn(s). Repeat with different volunteers. Choose six volunteers. Assign them fractions making sure there are three pairs of equivalent fractions (1/2 and 2/4, 1/8 and 3/24, 3/4 and 6/8). Then instruct the students to find their match without speaking, only through their turns.  Partner students up and have student A pick a fraction and represent it though a turn. Student B then must identify the fraction, write it numerically, and draw it in terms of regular shapes, such as half a circle, etc.
Ways to make activity more basic:	Do the activity with jump turns rather than pirouette turns if the students do not seem coordinated or balanced enough to do the turns.
Ways to make activity more advanced:	Add 1/3 turns and other odd-denominator fractions.
Notes:	You can think of any other movement games with fractions that gets students guessing what the fractions are or how they relate to each other.

Arts Integration Take One

I spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this past week in a 5th grade classroom in Narayan Peth, Pune, India. Artists Striving to End Poverty (ASTEP) works with Teach for India (TFI) to partner artists with teaching fellows to incorporate arts education into academic education. Students learn in many different ways, whether visually, orally, kinesthetically, etc, so it only follows that teachers should teach in a variety of ways to reach as many students as possible. 

Education in India is in a state of crisis. 4% of Indian children never go to school, 42% drop out before they finish primary education and 90% drop out before they finish 10th grade. TFI hopes to combat these dire statistics starting classroom by classroom, then involving the school’s local community, and ultimately nationally through their alumni network that moves on to jobs in media, government and business.

I spent my first three days getting to know the classroom norms, observing the students’ behavior, and assessing education and artistic skill levels. On a scale of 0 to 5, with 5 being the highest level of achievement, some of my students are at a 0.2 english reading level and others are at a 3.5. This vast span of skill level makes it hard for my fellow to bring the below grade level students up to grade level while still challenging the top students.

On Wednesday I had a 1.5 hour session with my class to introduce them to my artistic discipline, dance, within an educational context. TFI stresses the teaching of values, such as kindness, compassion, courage, and respect in the classroom, and since Sneha, my TFI fellow, has divided her classroom into the Superman team, Batman team, Captain America team and the Hulk team, I decided to ground my lesson within the framework of values and make it relatable to the students through their superhero teams.

Objective: SWBAT (Students/superheroes will be able to) create their own movement to communicate an intention or motivation

Vocabulary Words:

-Intention

     -Synonym: Motivation

-Values

-Abstract 

     -Antonym: Literal

-Imagination

Opener: energetic warm-up to get students’ muscles warm and to provide them with movement ideas

Hook: Discussion of the Dandiya Raas dance we did the day before for a school festival (a traditional Indian dance done with sticks) and the reason and meanings behind the dance

Activity: Gather in a circle and inform the students they will be doing a series of call and responses

I. Name + Movement - For the first part tell the students to think of their name and what it means to them and to then create a movement to match. Start with your own example: say your name and do your movement and have the students all respond back with your name and movement. Then go around the circle to each student. There will invariably be hesitations due to fear and vulnerability, so remind the students “first thought, best thought.” It is often helpful to go around the circle a second time once the students have gotten over the anxiety of the first round.

II. Superhero + Movement - For the second part tell the students to think of their favorite superhero and a movement to match. It is helpful to introduce the ideas of abstract versus literal representations and encourage creativity. Then once again do a call and response around the circle.

III. Value + Movement - For the third part have the students think of the value they most identify with and a movement to match. At this stage students tend to imitate the movements chosen by students before them, so it’s helpful to discuss abstract representations again and that there are limitless possibilities for movement choice.

Follow up: Discussion of having intention and motivation behind movement choice and how intention and motivation play a role in other aspects of the students’ lives. 

At the end of our session, Sneha asked the students to write a reflection to the question, “What is your intention behind coming to school every day?” Since retention and roll-over are such problems in India’s education system, it is important to stress the benefits of returning to school day after day, year after year.

During our debriefing of the lesson, Sneha shared some encouraging observations. For example Sneha has trouble getting one of the boys, we will call him A, to actively participate in academic lessons and can be a bit of a bully as he is quite a bit bigger than the other students. During my session, though, he was volunteering to start off the different movement call and responses and was going around the circle helping the other students to understand the exercise. 

See You Later Shanti Bhavan

About three days ago four of my fellow volunteer artists and I left the magical land that is Shanti Bhavan and headed north to the city of Pune, India. It was very difficult leaving the students of SB. After eight full days of camp we had prepared a two hour show with about 120 students that showcased performances in dance, theatre, film, music and visual arts that all formed from the exploration of “Imagine your possibilities, and gift them to the world.” Needless to say, the children performed beautifully. However, it was not simply their performance skills, but more so their willingness to explore deep themes, unveil vulnerabilities, and improvise in front of their friends and family that blew us away. 

Watching the performance it was clear the students craved the artistic release. In our dance classes, Allie and I incorporated student improvisation and student choreography into both of our classes’ performances. The motivation for our younger students’ improvisation was a value or attitude with which they associated, including courage, joyful, and friendship. The students recorded their words over the instrumental music that played during their improvisation section. Thinking of their individual motivations, the students’ movement varied in dynamics and grew in creativity. Our older class actually choreographed their own four 8-count phrases that transitioned in and out of the teacher choreography and which were created from the intention of abstractly represent their names and personality through movement. In both classes, a clear trajectory of growth was evident in confidence, creativity, and dance skills throughout the week.

The students further explored their selves, and what they possessed within themselves to share with the world, in theatre, film and visual arts through theatre improvisation, student-written monologues and self-portraits to name a few.

The student reflections written after the performance solidified our understanding of how valuable this week of arts camp was for the students. The following are just a few examples:

“After this one incredible week there are many things that I have discovered about myself and will be able to carry on for the rest of my life. 

1. I have discovered that I can act;

2. I have discovered that I have more courage than I think I do;

3. I discovered that in order to achieve something, if you cooperate and work as a team you will surely succeed.”

“The second and my toughest challenge is being transparent and open to everyone. I keep things within my close friends. Now when I remember those past moments, I think I was stupid. With the help of Film and  Theatre classes, I am able to express my ideas and be more open to others. I am able to do this because of the motivation and courage given by the ASTEP volunteers to me.”

“Something that makes me unique is my creativity. Without creativity the world would be boring. Without creativity there would be nothing invented. I used to be scared to be creative, but last year while camp was going on I learned to not limit your talents but show them to the world and share it with people.”