Voice and Diction Lesson Plan

Author Iris Joy Canale Classroom Information Subject Area Dramatic Arts Course/Grade Level(s) Speech and Theater Arts students Unit Overview Unit Title Voice and Diction Unit Rationale In recent years, classroom teachers have made a conscious effort to improve the self-image of the speaker whose verbal skills are poor of for whom English is a second language. To accomplish this, voice and diction have been de-emphasized; in other words, what is said is considered of greater importance than how it is said. Other objectives encouragement of the speaker and the building of pride in a cultural heritage have been given priority. Although no one would quarrel with this approach as the first step in language improvement, it is to be hoped that once a degree of self confidence has been achieved, the student will be helped to move on to better habits of speech. Clarity, audibility, and constantly improving vocabulary are still our goals. For citizens in a democratic society, freedom of speech is of little value without the ability to express ourselves clearly and effectively. Today that ability affects almost every facet of life and most jobs. Therefore, the speech arts are more important than ever before, and it is condescending to demand anything less than the best of students in this area as well as in others. The teachers acceptance of a patois or a substandard level of English does the speaker a disservice both now and later. Unit Summary An actors voice is basic to his/her craft. This 3-week unit plan gives students an understanding of various elements of proper speech including identifying and naming the vocal apparatus and familiarizing them with unit terminology. As the unit progresses, the students will be exposed to helpful warm-up exercises and activities to improve the sound and quality of ones voice. The unit contains formative and summative performances (poetry interpretation, readers theatre/storytelling, monologue) used to assess and evaluate student success. Building the Foundation Habits of Learning Taxonomy Thinking skills for this unit plan lie primarily within Blooms Cognitive Domain, requiring students to gain and comprehend knowledge through teacher lessons and apply, analyze and synthesize their knowledge in the creation and production of various storytelling scenarios. Students will demonstrate hierarchical skills of evaluation by passing judgment on peer performances done in class and reflecting upon their experiences in drama journals. Learning Outcomes

Understand the unit terminology.

Identify/label and discuss the proper use of the vocal apparatus Understand the importance of voice and diction in performance, especially in the development of characters for the stage. Understand that the ability to communicate effectively is a skill that is transferable to all aspects of ones life. Identify the various techniques and strategies of well known voice teachers and apply these to

their own work. This unit plan gives students the opportunity to demonstrate achievement of the following expectations of the ADA10/20 course from The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 & 10 The Arts: Theory 1demonstrate an understanding of volume, tone, pace, and intention in the development of expressive speech 1demonstrate an understanding of the basic process of voice Creating 1explain how props, costume, masks, voice and movement communicate a role. identify and apply different language registers in vocal technique associated with a role within a drama (e.g., high, low pitch); create the inner and outer life of a character using a variety of vocal techniques as well as acting techniques demonstrate the ability to take responsibility, both as an individual and as a member of a group, when working in a theatre ensemble Analysis 1evaluate vocal performances (monologue, poetry, stage work) using a variety of strategies identify and evaluate their personal artistic strengths with regards to vocal techniques analyze, through journal writing, discussion and questioning, the significance of what the student has gained from their artistic experiences Essential Question 1What do people gain (not just performers) from studying vocal techniques? Unit Questions Curriculum-Framing Questions 1How can vocal techniques help build communication skills and interpersonal relationships? Content Questions 1How does a performer use his/her voice in delivering the playwrights intended message? What are the various vocal apparatus? What elements of voice must we focus on? Unit Details

Prerequisite Skills 1Prior to embarking upon the vocal unit, students must already have basic performance skills such as tableau, mime, pantomime, non-verbalized communication skills (gestures, facial expression, body expression, etc.) Students must also have a basic understanding of character creation and development. Scene and script work experience would also be an asset before engaging in this unit, especially for reflective purposes.

Procedures Introducing the Unit Terminology and Vocal Mechanism Bell Work: Begin with yoga warm up. Hook: Show students clips of monologue exams from past students. Allow the class to discuss aspects

of the performance that went well and areas where the performance could have been improved. Teacher must ensure that a discussion on vocal clarity and inflection is begun. Teacher and students engage in a discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of the performances.1 Teach: Performance expectations for all future stage work. Activity: 1. Using a dictionary, students will define the following terms: Rate Audible Diction Pitch Volume Pace Inflection Tone Dialect Mood Articulate Nasality Pronunciation voiceless/voiced Diaphragm Resonators Monotone

2. Using the overhead projector and acetate of the actors vocal apparatus, students will label their own copy of the overhead. (See appendix A) Assessment: Informal visual check that each student labeled their copy of Appendix A. Controlled Breathing and Developing Tonal Quality Bell Work: Begin with yoga warm up from yesterday Hook: Show students clip of Shel Silversteins Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNiaYHZme_U Teach: 1. Controlled breathing exercises. Say: Lie flat on your back with one hand on your abdomen and the other on your chest. Keep the chest still. The abdomen should move out when you inhale and in when you exhale. Now stand up and, with the same diaphragmatic action, pant like a dog, with only the abdomen pushing in and out. Keep chest area motionless. Using diaphragmatic breathing, take a deep breath and see how far you can count as you exhale on one breath. Do not force the count. When you grow tense, breathe, start again, and exhale the air slowly for control. Work until you can effortlessly count up to sixty. 2. Brainstorm a list of known, four-line nursery rhymes such as Mary Had a Little Lamb, or Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Using controlled diaphragmatic breathing, practice saying the complete four lines, from memory, of the nursery rhyme of your choice. Practice until you can say them slowly, two times on one exhalation. Control the output of air so it is depleted as the second jingle ends. Provide students with examples of nursery rhymes if necessary (Appendix B) 3. Rich tone quality in ones voice. NOTE for copying: Quality is that characteristic that distinguishes your voice from any other voice. While basic quality depends to a large extent on the shape and size of your vocal mechanism, you can still learn to produce clear, resonant tones. Unless the part calls for it, actors must avoid harshness and breathiness. A harsh voice is strained and raspy from lack of an open throat. A breathy voice indicates that more air is being used than is necessary. To test your voice for breathiness, light a candle or place a piece of paper in front of your mouth. If the candle flickers or the paper moves, you are using too much air. Try this exercise with students. Say: To relax your throat, try the following exercises: Drop your head forward as though you had suddenly fallen asleep. Let the jaw drop open and become completely relaxed. Keeping the jaw, neck and face relaxed, move your head around slowly in a semicircle. Repeat, rolling it in the opposite direction. Keep your neck relaxed. Never go all the way around. This is not good for your neck. Yawn lazily. Take a deep breath, stretch and yawn again. With your throat open and relaxed, quietly, slowly say the following while prolonging the vowel sounds: a-a-ah, ma; o-o-oh, blow; aw; ah; ay; ee; oo. Yawn again to relax. Activity: Choral reading of the poem Cloony the Clown by Shel Silverstein. (Appendix C) Think the whole text but mouth it with no voice. Really exaggerate each word every ending, every beginning, every middle of every word. Prolong the vowels. When you have silently mouthed the whole text, go

back and voice the entire piece. Gather into groups of four and divide the poem into four sections. Prepare to perform the reading for the class. Assessment: Students perform in their groups. Notice how your vocal mechanism has been taught to move and work during the silent exercise? Journal about this activity for homework. What did you learn about your own speaking voice during this exercise? What did you learn about delivering the message of this text (or any text) during this exercise? How can you ensure that your audience understands the basic message of a piece? What did your group decide to highlight from the text? How did you divide the text? Why did you make the decisions that you did? Learning to Pronounce Bell Work: Begin with vocal exercises/warm up from yesterday. Hook: Show students clip of vocal warm up and engage in activity http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=Q5CWsFaVnWM Teach: Introduce students to a list of commonly mispronounced words. (Appendix D) Activity: Have students create a short paragraph incorporating at least five of the mispronounced words from the list. Students must practice this paragraph for delivery by the end of the period. Students are to concentrate on controlled breathing; rich, clear tone quality; variety of pitch, volume, and rate to convey meaning and feeling; clear articulation and proper pronunciation. Assessment: Students deliver their paragraphs on stage at end of period. Teacher assesses for controlled breathing, tone, pitch, volume, rate, pronunciation and articulation. Students peer/self assess and journal about the activity for next day. Inflection and Pitch with Onomatopoeia Bell Work and Review: definitions of pitch and inflection ask students to use each word in a sentence and hand it in to be checked. Vocal warm up from day previous and new exercise here: Hook: View Whos on First video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sShMA85pv8M Discuss how inflection and pitch influence the message. Teach: Note for copying: Vocal quality or tone is a valuable tool for expressing personality. As an actor you should find the tone that best conveys your character and should practice using that tone throughout rehearsals, so that by performance, you can reproduce it without strain. Tone conveys emotion even when words are not distinguishable. Say: Say each of these words, oh, yes, well, really, possibly, conveying each of these emotions: happiness, pride, fatique, fright anger, suspicion, innocence, pleading, sorrow. Say oh with the inflection that conveys the meaning indicated: that hurts! how lovely! so what. well, perhaps. look out! dont be so rude. do you expect me to believe that? Reproduce the tone colour of these words by making your voice sound like the meaning of the words: bang, crackle, swish, grunt, tinkle, roar, coo, thin, wheeze, bubble, buzz, splash, clang, gurgle. Activity: 1. Ask students to write this sentence in their notebooks: I didnt say you had an attitude problem. Students are to inflect/stress each word individually as they repeat the sentence eight times. Students are to write out the subtext/unspoken meaning for each version of the sentence. 2. Choral reading. In groups, practice one of the following poems for delivery in front of the class. Be sure to divide the poems into interesting arrangements. (Appendix E)

Assessment: Using the rubric provided (Appendix F) students assess themselves for their contribution to the assignment. Volume and Rate Bell Work: Vocal warm up from day previous or yoga. Hook: Show the following clip from youtube about fast talking. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=cNLHuKEyFIE&feature=related Teach: As an actor, you should aim at a general rate that is slow enough to be understood and yet rapid enough to keep the audiences attention. Rate is influenced by (a) pause, which gives emphasis to the word it follows or draws attention to the word it precedes, and (b) duration of sound which means that vowels and consonants can be prolonged or clipped short. Do the following exercise by varying the rate as the meaning suggests: a) They climbed slowly, wearily up the summit. b) What an exquisite formal you are wearing. c) This shrimp pizza is delicious! d) Hurray! We won! e) I am proud to accept this honour. f) Hurry up; were late. g) Im so tired; I can hardly move h) Dont tell me weve got to listen to that again. Activity: Using a Shakespearean passage (Appendix G), students will experiment with pauses and rate to see how many different meanings they can convey. They then will go over the passages a second time deciding where the thought groups divide. They will then read the passages aloud to the class, watching for pauses and rate. Students are to hold the important words longer than others and slip rapidly over the unimportant ones. Students are to thoughtfully allow the idea to speed their delivery or slow it down, feeling the emotion and mood of the piece. Assessment: Teacher will check for understanding and interpretation of the message by discussing what might be happening in the selected pieces. Choral Reading and Readers Theatre Bell Work: Vocal Warm ups Hook: Teacher shows the video of high school students participating in a Readers Theatre performance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEDZTb86JFA Teach: Teacher and students engage in a discussion about strengths and weaknesses of the video performance. Talk about the message and how it was delivered. Students and teacher discuss layering of voices and the use of vocal techniques in creating the final product. Working together, students come up with a definition of Readers Theatre. Activity: Teacher divides the class into casts and assigns roles from one of the scripts (Appendix H). Voices in each cast should have a variety of sound while being appropriate to the material. Students read the selection silently to get an overall feeling and idea about the authors intent. As a cast, students discuss the material and (with teacher assistance) decide the materials dominant mood and basic idea. Identify phrases or words which are significant and need to be emphasized with the voice. Individually, students fill out Activity sheet. (Appendix I) As a cast, students repeatedly rehearse the selection aloud. Students suggest, with the voice, the experiences that are being read. For example, if a line says, he was afraid, rehearse various vocal ways to suggest fear. Some of the selections call for the entire cast to say parts together. In rehearsing these sections, listen to the other cast members as you say the line, so the phrase can be read in unison with the proper feeling. As a

group, decide where each will stand or sit. For this assignment, movement or gestures arent necessary. Concentration should be on the voice. As each cast takes the stage, a cast member should be selected to read out the title and the author of the selection being performed. Students should look up from the script as much as possible during the performance. Focus on vocal intention, pronunciation and appropriate rate, pitch, inflection etc. Assessment: Teacher evaluates the group effort using rubric. (Appendix J) Identifying Readers Theatre Bell Work: Vocal Warm ups Teach: Students read together pages 9-11 of RT Fundamentals (photocopies are needed for the class) and make notes on the following terms: Continuum identity overt conventional theatre layman stage trappings double entendre offstage focus symbolic voicing. plasticity excitability dialogue lectern onstage focus

Activity: Keeping in mind the new terms, students will form groups of two and write their own introductory scripts to explain to a novice audience just what the art form is. This script can be performed for an audience if time allows. The script must epitomize Readers Theatre. Students can use (Appendix K) page 218 for specific instructions. Assessment: Teacher will use the attached rubric (Appendix L) to evaluate the scripts that the students have written. Students write drama journal entries reflecting upon the unique qualities of RT and make comparisons to conventional theatre. Day 8 The Presentational Approach Bell Work: Vocal Warm ups Teach: Students read pages 13-15 of RT Fundamentals (photocopies are needed for the class) and will make notes on the following terms: picture overlay, localized space, acoustic space, offstage focus, mirror technique, presentational vs representational style, verbal vs behavioral synecdoche. Activity: Students form groups and, after choosing one of the short selections, divide the reading parts amongst the group members. Students read the scene and decide the flavor and mood as well as the types of characters and the important ideas to be communicated. Students rehearse the scene aloud to make the words and characters come alive vocally. Then practice using offstage focus. Try to use a mirror during rehearsal so that the students can see how they look while they are rehearsing. Students read lines looking at each other and then meet together in the playing area and continue the technique of placing the scene in the middle of the audience until offstage focus is established with ease. Students decide how the action of the scene will take place and how the action can be condensed into one or two symbolic movements that will encourage the audience to fill in the gaps. Students are not to do the whole action. Symbolize it and offer it to the listener. Assessment: Students write drama journal entries comparing presentational style with representational style in theatre. Students will explain picture overlay and distinguish the differences between localized space and acoustic space. In their journals, students must also relate offstage focus to the mirror technique and give examples of both verbal and behavioral synecdoche. What is the use and value of synecdoche in Readers Theatre? Selecting the Material Bell Work: Vocal Warm ups Teach: Teacher provides a list of criteria for selecting an appropriate piece for performance:

compelling content, creative language, conflict, clear characterization, and camaraderie. After viewing the above performance, students and teacher discuss the piece using terminology from the lesson and from the entire unit. Was the selection chosen by this ensemble effective? Why? Why not? What textual material is most appropriate for a Readers Theatre performance? What qualities must the text have in order to be a good choice for this art form? Activity: Using the library (books, computers, internet), students will research, in groups of three to five, a textual piece to use as a performance piece. Once located, the students will seek teacher approval for the piece and then will begin preparing and rehearsing Assessment: Teacher will approve each groups selection by assessing whether the criteria was used in making the selection. The piece must have enough lines for each group member and must be five to seven minutes in length. Readers Theatre/Storytelling Rehearsal and Performance for an audience. Bell Work: Vocal Warm ups The remaining days in the unit will be devoted to rehearsal and preparation for the culminating performance. Essentially, time each day can be spent rehearsing and memorizing lines. Furthermore, students must seek out costumes and engage in set design for their respective pieces. They may also be experimenting with lighting and sound. Unit Culminating Task - Readers Theatre Performances Now that students have mastered many of the elements of proper vocal technique as well as choral reading and Readers Theatre, they will be required to perform selected pieces for audience members. Students will be required to take the role both as players and as audience members. Placed into minimum groups of four by the teacher, students will select a piece for performance similar to those presented throughout the unit. Groups will be evaluated according to the attached rubric. (Appendix M) This performance task gives students the opportunity to demonstrate achievement of the following expectations of the ADA10/20 course from The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 & 10 The Arts. Theory 1. Describe the conventions of different forms of drama as well as elements of proper vocal performance. Creating 2. Create the inner and outer life of a character using a variety of strategies 3. Apply appropriate voice and movement techniques in rehearsal and performance 4. Demonstrate the ability to take responsibility, both as an individual and as a member of a group, when working in a theatre ensemble 5. Demonstrate an understanding of the dynamic role of the audience in a live performance The audience evaluation component of the above performance task gives students the opportunity to demonstrate achievement of the following expectation of the ADA10/20 course from The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 & 10 The Arts: Analysis 6. Evaluate their dramatic performances, using a variety of criteria Accommodations for Differentiated Instruction Although this unit plan appeals to a variety of learner types and multiple Resource intelligences, many accommodations or supports could be integrated to aid resource Student/Engli students, English Language Learners or even create extensions to make the unit sh Language more challenging for gifted students. Learner/Gifte Resource students and/or ELL students could be assembled in multi-leveled d Student groupings to ensure that they are helped and supported by more capable students.

Journal entries could be handled differently for students with communications exceptionalities or language barriers by allowing such students to write their journals in their first languages and then translating them into English. Alternatively, journal reflections could be presented to the teacher for assessment in the form of an oral interview, rather than a written product. Furthermore, adaptive technologies such as Dragon Naturally Speaking speech recognition software could help students compose drama journal entries who have difficulties writing. Finally, as students develop their performance/vocal skills in isolation, which is the design of the unit, some gifted pupils may want to proceed more quickly through the development process. These students could be grouped together and asked to workshop/practice together and, on subsequent days, they may even be integrated as moderators. Materials and Resources Required For Unit Individual lessons for this unit require photocopies of material for students. The teacher must prepare in advance for each day, ensuring that materials are ready for distribution as the lessons progress. Students should have access to printed texts for additional reference as they are embarking upon this theatre unit. Teacher needs to have access to various nursery rhymes, short stories, as well as poetry for use in these lessons. When particular textual material is referenced, these are provided as appendices at the end of this unit. 1) The Introductory lesson will require access to previous students taped exemplars of monologues/vocal performances. Therefore, a teacher wishing to execute this lesson will need a computer, screen and LCD projector as well as video of last years pieces. Technology: Hardware, Software & Internet Resources 2) Since clips demonstrating breathing exercises are embedded into many lessons within this unit plan, the teacher should have daily access to a laptop with internet access, a projector and a screen with which he/she can show the clips. Please note that most of the clips are generated through Youtube (links to urls in the day-to-day descriptions above) which is often blocked by boards of education. An alternative way to present this clips would be for the teacher to convert these streamed videos using a tool such as www.mediaconverter.org , switching the files to DVD format using a program such as VSO Divx-DVD conversion tool (downloadable from http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/video_encoders/vso_divxtodvd _free.cfm) and burning them to disc using an engine such as Nero. Then, the clips should play on a standard TV+DVD player or laptop + projector.

Printed Materials:

Supplies:

Student Assessment Plan Assessment Summary This unit plan allows for various types of assessment. The subject area of drama is unique in that students are usually provided with immediate feedback from a variety of sources (self/peers/teacher). Specifically, as students perform breathing exercises and build their vocal skills throughout this unit, their performances will be reflected upon and their functionality will be assessed by themselves, their peers and the teacher. In addition, students are asked to write three drama journal entries (artifacts of student learning) throughout the unit plan. Each entry is designated for students to reflect upon specifics within the form and function of voice and diction as well as choral reading and Readers Theatre. These entries should be assessed for completion by the teacher, as well as for level of knowledge and clarity of communication. At the units mid-point, the teacher should meet with each student individually to give specific feedback regarding performance and generate ideas concerning next steps. The teacher could consider using a chart such as the Teacher Observation Chart (Appendix N) to organize comments. Finally, students are evaluated on their summative (product) or

culminating task using the rubric provided (Appendix M).