WRITTEN BY

JACQUELINE SMITH

INSIDE:- Minds-on activit ies- Role play prompts- Writing-in-role prompts- Choral speaking activity- Writing prompts- Media Literacy activity- Assessment tools- Reflection strategies

Ideal for Grades 6-8

Easy activit ies to

- Engage all students- Provoke high order thinking- Motivate reluctant writers

Mix and match activit ies, or do them all!

Curriculum Links:

- Language (all strands) - Drama- Dance- Social Studies

About the Story

In the allegory, "Riding the Tiger", Eve Bunting tells a story of ten-year-old Danny being seduced and entrapped by something dark and how he f inally escapes. It 's a great book for exploring ideas around empathy, respect, resisting peer-pressure, bullying, gangs, cliques.

CHALLENGE AND INSPIRE BITE INTO "RIDING THE TIGER"

How to eat a poemby Eve Merriam

Don't be polite.Bite in.Pick it up with your f ingers and lick the juice that

may run down your chin.It is ready and ripe now, whenever you are.

You do not need a knife or fork or spoonor plate or napkin or tablecloth.

For there is no coreor stemor rindor pitor seedor skinto throw away.

Instructions: Students sit in a circle with chairs facing inwards. One student is standing. There is one fewer chair than the number of players. The teacher reads a question from the list below. Students run to a dif ferent chair if the answer is yes for for them. They must move to a chair that is non-adjacent to the one they are currently on. The object of the game is to avoid being the person left without a chair.

MINDS-ONMUSICAL CHAIRS

Questions

- Have you ever been to the zoo? - Have you ever seen a tiger? - Have you ever moved from one

neighbourhood to another? - Have you ever felt powerful? - Does your mom or dad have a nickname for

you? - Have you been on a roller coaster?- Do you play any sports? - Have you ever felt terrif ied? - Have you ever regretted a decision you

made?- Are you afraid of heights? - Have you ever seen a homeless person?

Extension

Ask probing questions or prompt for more information. Some examples:

- Tell us what it was like when you moved. - What thought went through your mind when you saw the homeless person? - What makes you feel powerful? What is that l ike? - What sports do you play? Why is it important to you? What does it do for

you?

All of these questions relate in some way to the story.

Modify this activity by having students stand in a circle and step forward if it is a yes.

Instructions: This is a warm-up activity if you plan to use the improvisation prompts listed later on. Tell students that they will work in pairs to enact a scenario at a bus stop - I suggest one below. Allow f ive minutes for this, circulate to listen and give feedback where necessary. Have one or two pairs perform their peice. Ask audience to give feed back - two stars and a wish. Give your feedback and segue into co-constructing or referring to existing success criteria for role playing which might look something like the one below.

BUS-STOP

Scenario

One friend suggests going to the mall together after school. The other friend is worried about displeasing her parents.

Success Criteria

I can

- Adopt the attitudes and point of view of the role (get into role, ?become? the character)

- Shape the character as the drama moves forward- Remain in role throughout performance (maintain focus) - Use language and strong gestures and actions to communicate thoughts

and feelings in a confident and capable way - Reflect on my learning in role in a complex way

Adapted from Drama: Schemes, Themes and Dreams by Larry Swartz and Debbie Nyman

MINDS-ON

Instructions: Read the story aloud. Pause at the end of page 9. Put away the book and use a prop or costume item to indicate that you are in role as someone from the community? a scarf, shopping bags.

TEACHER-IN-ROLE

Script

Teacher-in-role: You know Danny, I bet it feels great riding high and mighty on that t iger, but take a litt le advice from someone who's lived here a long time; it would be better if you got off now. It rarely ends well for anyone who rides that t iger [point at a particular student as signal to adopt role as Danny] What do you say Danny? How about you just climb down off that t iger right now? [Allow several students to weigh in as a collective Danny. Prompt (while in role) for thinking about the implied danger mixed with the thril l of riding the tiger, and how that complicates the decision to get off]

DURING READING

Instructions: Group students in pairs. Hand each pair a slip of paper with a prompt (see next page). Assign each pair a space in the room where they will work. Tell them they have 15 minutes to construct a scene based on the prompt.

IMPROVISATION

Reflection

AFTER READING

Who, what, where

Get students to use strong, meaningful gestures and actions based on the character, the conflict, and the setting.

Danny comes home late and his parent/guardian wonders where he's been.

Danny makes a new friend who is planning to ride the tiger.

The tiger asks Danny for a second chance to be friends. Ferdy confronts the tiger.

IMPROVISATION PROMPTS

After leaving the tiger, Danny goes looking for Mr. Muto.

One of the girls on page 17 states that she doesn't actually think the way the tiger thinks.

Instructions: Give each student a copy of the script fragments on the next page.

Things to do with the script fragments.

- Have the students take turns reading a line, echoed by the rest of the class. Draw attention to variations in pitch, tone volume and tempo.

- Select two or three lines and have students volunteer to read them, placing emphasis on a dif ferent word each time.

- Have the students walk around the room reading aloud each line. They should each start at a random line, so that they are not reading in unison. Encourage them to vary pitch, tone volume and tempo.

SCRIPT FRAGMENTS

AFTER READING

Elements of choral speaking:

- pitch- tone- volume- tempo

Example of Drama in the Curriculum

There's a Bill Nye video in which a girl repeats the line "hot air rises" several t imes, applying the elements of choral speaking. What a great memory aid!

Script Fragments from Riding The Tiger

1. A bit bored? A bit lonely?

2. That?s how it is when you?re new in town.

3. Why don?t you hop on my back and we?ll take a ride?

4. Well? I?ll have to tell my mom where I?m going.

5. Too bad you?re not wearing my colours, maybe next t ime.

6. Man, I thought you?d be older.

7. Look at me, everyone! I?m riding a tiger!

8. That Muto is nothing but a wimp.

9. You don?t want to start off by riding that t iger.

10. Once you get up on that t iger?s back, it?s hard to get off .

11. He doesn?t want to get off , right Danny?

12. Do you think the way I think?

13. Because anyone who isn?t for us, is against us.

14. He works at giving kids options.

15. You didn?t tell me I couldn?t get off whenever I felt l ike it.

16. I don?t tell everything.

17. That means we?re in tiger territory.

18. Now that?s respect.

19. Move it!

20. Wait! The man?s hurt. He needs help.

21. Stay where you are.

22. Don?t come whining and begging to me when you need help.

23. It?s ok, I?m not with him.

Instructions: Review what makes a good monologue: there is something that the character badly wants or there is some signif icant conflict, tension or high stakes. The character might experience some important change, or make a decision. The character speaks in a voice that is appropriate to their identity.

MONOLOGUES

Prompts

- As Danny, recall the experience of riding the tiger. Incorporate your ref lections about the experience.

- As the tiger, express your reaction to Danny's decision to leave.

- As Ferdy, express your reaction to seeing the new kid riding the tiger. What will you do? Tell about other kids who have ridden and how their stories turned out. Tell about why you try to give kids ?options?.

- As a police off icer, tell about your experiences with the tiger.

- As Muto, tell about what it is l ike living in this part of town with the tiger prowling around.

Reflection

AFTER READING

There are two monologues from literature on the next page. These are great models that will help students to be successful. When I did this activity with my grade 7/8 class, I referred to the Emily Murphy Heritage minute with which they were already familiar.

https://www.historicacanada.ca/content/heritage-minutes/emily-murphy?media_type=41&media_category=27https://www.historicacanada.ca/content/heritage-minutes/emily-murphy?media_type=41&media_category=27https://www.historicacanada.ca/content/heritage-minutes/emily-murphy?media_type=41&media_category=27

Huck Finn from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

HUCK: Miss Watson told me to pray every day, and whatever I asked for I would get it. But it warn't so. I tried it. Once I got a f ish-line, but no hooks. It warn't any good to me without hooks. I tried for the hooks three or four times, but somehow I couldn't make it work. By and by, one day, I asked Miss Watson to try for me, but she said I was a fool. She never told me why, and I couldn't make it out no way. I set down one time back in the woods, and had a long think about it. I says to myself , if a body can get anything they pray for, why don't Deacon Winn get back the money he lost on pork? Why can't the widow get back her silver snuffbox that was stole? Why can't Miss Watson fat up? No, says I to my self , there ain't nothing in it. I went and told the widow about it, and she said the thing a body could get by praying for it was "spiritual gif ts." This was too many for me, but she told me what she meant--I must help other people, and do everything I could for other people, and look out for them all the time, and never think about myself . This was including Miss Watson, as I took it. I went out in the woods and turned it over in my mind a long time, but I couldn't see no advantage about it--except for the other people; so at last I reckoned I wouldn't worry about it any more, but just let it go.

Alice from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

ALICE: [Angrily] Why, how impolite of him. I asked him a civil question, and he pretended not to hear me. That's not at all nice. [Calling after him] I say, Mr. White Rabbit, where are you going? Hmmm. He won't answer me. And I do so want to know what he is late for. I wonder if I might follow him. Why not? There's no rule that I mayn't go where I please. I--I will follow him. Wait for me, Mr. White Rabbit. I'm coming, too! [Falling] How curious. I never realized that rabbit holes were so dark . . . and so long . . . and so empty. I believe I have been fall ing for f ive minutes, and I stil l can't see the bottom! Hmph! After such a fall as this, I shall think nothing of tumbling downstairs. How brave they'l l all think me at home. Why, I wouldn't say anything about it even if I fell off the top of the house! I wonder how many miles I've fallen by this time. I must be getting somewhere near the center of the earth. I wonder if I shall fall right through the earth! How funny that would be. Oh, I think I see the bottom. Yes, I'm sure I see the bottom. I shall hit the bottom, hit it very hard, and oh, how it will hurt.

EXAMPLE MONOLOGUES

WRITING ABOUT THE TEXTPrompts

- What is this story about? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

- In what ways is this story true to life? In what ways is it not true to life?

- What does this story remind you of?- What are some options that Ferdy might offer

to youth Danny's age? What options are offered/ lacking in your community?

Reflection

AFTER READING

Instructions: Have students work in small groups. Each member of the group selects a movement word and creates a phrase based on it. Instruct them to select words that communicate ideas about the prompt. Each student teaches his phrase to the other group members. They sequence all the phrases in a way that f lows to create a full pieice. They add an entrance and an exit. Review rubric (on the page that follows) with students. Here is a useful l ink.

DANCE

Prompts

Create a movement piece that depicts

- Danny's entrapment and his escape - Alternating between feeling powerful

and feeling powerless

Reflection

AFTER READING

- push- pull- soar- fall- shrink- grow

Sample movement words

- crawl- leap- look- reach- march- roll

http://www.pnb.org/community/teacher/pnb-movement-activities.pdfhttp://www.pnb.org/community/teacher/pnb-movement-activities.pdfhttp://www.pnb.org/community/teacher/pnb-movement-activities.pdf

Beginning Satisfactory Proficient

Effort Participates only with strong

encouragement.

Is easily distracted and f inds it dif f icult to maintain focus.

May distract others.

Participates in dance. Frequent reminders are needed to maintain focus on the

dance.

Participates in dance with a positive attitude. Needs to be reminded to focus at t imes. Can stay focused and follows

instruction well.

Level and Space Uses litt le of the space possible for

movements.

Student movement experiences only one

level.

Uses some of the

space provided.

Movement is l imited

to only two levels.

Attempts to use most of the space

provided.

At times uses varied levels within their movement

experience.

Patterns and

Pathways Pathways and patterns are not apparent in the dance

composition.

Uses one or two pathways and patterns in their

dance.

Attempts various pathways in their

movement.

Basic patterns are included in their

dance composition.

Excellent

Participates in dance with enthusiasm, and encourages others to

participate.

Is consistently focused and on task and encourages others to remain

focused.

Uses all space provided, vertically as

well as horizontally.

Uses all levels within their exploration of

movement.

Uses an extensive variety of pathways in

their movement.

Incorporates well-def ined patterns in their dance

composition.

Creativity and

Interpretation Uses common and stereotypical patterns borrowed from

others.

Uses familiar patterns

and movements.

Re-uses a simple pattern borrowed

from others or media.

Adapts some options from others in their

movement

Goes beyond the familiar to take a

small risk.

Movements repeat l imited common

patterns and themes.

Explores a variety of

creative options.

Takes some risks in

their exploration.

Movements show unusual patterns and

fair variety.

Explores numerous

creative options.

Willing to take risks

in their exploration.

Movements are highly original and

carried out well.

Movements highlight the music in an

interesting way.

DANCE RUBRIC

Adapted from Elaine Hanson, LTTA

Task: Create a trailer for the (imaginary) movie "Riding the Tiger".

Learning goal: we are learning to explain how individual elements of various media forms combine to create, reinforce, and/or enhance meaning.

MEDIA LITERACY

Success Criteria

I can

- choose music that matches the mood of the story

- create/ choose images, drawings or videos that depict important ideas of the story

- introduce the main characters (Danny, The Tiger) in a compelling way

- add motion graphics or voice-over that adds information about the story

- keep my trailer between 1-2 minutes long

- avoid giving away too many details- justify the technical choices I made

AFTER READING

Links

- imovie planner - epic drama

- imovie planner - blockbuster

- sample trailer made with imovie

- Seinf ield/Douglas "In a world" spoof

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/50eca855e4b0939ae8bb12d9/t/5421b416e4b02579387b5715/1411494934101/Epic+Drama+Trailer.pdfhttp://static1.squarespace.com/static/50eca855e4b0939ae8bb12d9/t/5421b416e4b02579387b5715/1411494934101/Epic+Drama+Trailer.pdfhttp://static1.squarespace.com/static/50eca855e4b0939ae8bb12d9/t/53ed3022e4b0c5c5cf398dab/1408053282483/Blockbuster+Trailer.pdfhttps://vimeo.com/61177938https://vimeo.com/61177938https://vimeo.com/61177938https://vimeo.com/61177938https://vimeo.com/61177938https://vimeo.com/61177938https://vimeo.com/61177938https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIILUKJ74r0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIILUKJ74r0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIILUKJ74r0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIILUKJ74r0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIILUKJ74r0