After watching without sound, students write a plot summary of the excerpt from Pinocchio. Students then review the video with sound and compare perceptions.
Grades: 5-7
Resource:
Pinocchio
Teaching Concepts:
- Observation is an integral part of creating.
- Students can infer meaning while viewing a scene without sound.
Academic Content
- Drama Elements: technical and performance elements
- Drama: non-verbal expression
Lesson Idea
- Ask students to recall or imagine a time when they watched people interact without being able to hear what was being said (e.g., through a window or from a distance).
- Show the excerpt from Pinocchio with the volume turned completely silent.
- Have students write a story line (plot summary) to go along with the action they observed.
- Now show the same video excerpt with sound and have students compare their assumptions with the actual performance.
- Have students assess how close their assumptions were to the meaning of the actual scene, focusing on the observation skills/intuitions that led them to their interpretations (elements of production, elements of performance, etc.).
Author: Mary Henson