Date: April 5, 2017 Title of the Lesson: Walkerton and Laramie

Grade: 12 Subject(s): Drama (ADA4M)

Material(s): Quotes from The Laramie Project (Kaufman & Members of the Tectonic Theater Project, 2017)
1. and my parents werent there.
2. I promise I wont slap you.
3. Run for the roundhouse Minny.
4. I knew him as Choo Choo.
5. It had nothing to do with his sexuality.
6. Hate is not a Laramie value.
7. I dont care one way or the other as long as they dont bother me.
8. Halloween is coming up, must be Halloween.
9. They were two kids.
10. I found out what the hell Im doing in Wyoming.
11. Imagine if more gay people stayed in small towns.
3 screens
3 stage lights
Chart paper and markers
Background Information:
There are 11 students in this grade 12 drama class in Walkerton. They will be creating a docudrama along the
Saugeen River near their school about their experiences in Walkerton and other experiences based on
information (news articles, court documents, radio announcements, first-hand accounts, etc.) from the
Walkerton Water Tragedy for their final assignment in June. They have been working together since February
and 10 students have lived there all of their life while one student has been in the small town since grade 10.
Accommodations/Modifications:
Students will be given extra time if needed.
Students will have plenty of opportunities to read/hear/see the text they are working with.
Students will be performing where they have practiced.
Students will not be asked to share if they dont want to and can pass when sharing lines.
Learning Expectations:
Drama
- construct personal interpretations of drama works, connecting drama issues and themes to their own and
others ideas, feelings, and experiences (B2.1)
- select and use a variety of technological tools to help convey mood, create tension, and suggest universal
connections (A3.3) (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2010)
Learning Goals
By the end of this lesson, I will be able to design images using technology to help convey the meaning of text.
Minds On 10 minutes

1) Artifact: Students will each be given an envelope and told not to open it.

2) Role on the wall: I will draw a water tower that says Walkerton on the board (as that is what is used to
represent Walkerton on postcards). Students will be asked to write on the board what they think represents
Walkerton on the outside of the tower and how they feel in Walkerton on the inside. Students can also say the
words if they dont want to write and a classmate or I can write it. This will be written on chart paper and kept
hanging up in the classroom for the rest of the term.

Assessment
For formative assessment of what the students are sharing about Walkerton to establish their prior knowledge.
We will spend time talking about this as a class.

Action 50 minutes

1) Emotion walk: Students will be asked to move around the room according to certain emotions. When I say
anger 1 the anger is small, but anger 10 would be the angriest they have ever been. I will give students
examples. Students are encouraged to use their voices and bodies.
People in Walkerton during this water tragedy may have felt some of the emotions we just went over. Find a
spot in the room by yourself. Now open your envelope and read your line. I want you to think of who could have
said this line. How they might have been feeling.

2) Walk around reading: Students will then be encouraged to walk around the space reading aloud neutrally
after I tap them on the shoulder. They will keep reading until the I say freeze. (This is to ensure each student
is comfortable reading the text and understands the text).

3) Exploring the Line: Students will be asked to move around the room exploring different ways to say the
line. They can whisper, yell, talk like a robot, sing, etc. the line. Students will then be asked to think of their
favourite way to say the line and when I point to them theyll share it.
This is your line. When we see The Laramie Project this Friday, I want to you listen for this line. Think about
who said it and why it was said.

4) Exploring the lines through shadow: After hearing all the lines, students will be put into two groups of 4
and one group of 3 to create an image that represents their lines. Students will be using shadow theatre with
lights and a screen in the classroom to create four images representing their lines. They can use anything in the
room to create their shadows like their bodies, props, costumes, chairs, etc. We will first create an image as a
group for the single line Run for the roundhouse Minny. Music will be playing while they rehearse.

Example
Students will be asked to think of four words that associate with the line run for the roundhouse Minny like
joy, fear, anger, accomplishment.
They will then create four images using shadows (using movement and/or tableau) to portray these words.

Consolidation 15 mins

1) Presentation: Students will be asked to show what their shadow images are so far. Music will be playing as
they perform. Students will talk about what they saw.

Next Steps
Students will go and see the play with their lines in mind.
How did the lesson go? (What worked and what didnt? What would you do differently in the future?)

Date: April 7, 2017 Title of the Lesson: Walkerton meets Laramie

Grade: 12 Subject(s): Drama (ADA4M)

Material(s):
Inquiry Story
A few days ago, I took my daughter to the hospital because she had bloody diarrhea, was throwing up, and
had huge stomach pains. As a single mom, I want to do everything I can to support my daughter, but Im scared
because I felt the same way. I didnt know what was happening to me or my daughter. A doctor told me to get
her to drink more water, so I did. She said she didnt want to, but I told her too. Her school was shut down
today because we found out e-coli was contaminating our town. My daughter went to the fountain to get a
drink and caution tape was all over it. The doctors told me to give my daughter more water and I did. I was
poisoning my daughter. I want to know what you, as our town council, are going to do about this. I demand to
get support for my family for all the struggles we have gone through. Who did this to my family? Who almost
made me kill my daughter?
Chart paper and markers
Background Information:
There are 11 students in this grade 12 drama class in Walkerton. They will be creating a docudrama along the
Saugeen River near their school about their experiences in Walkerton and other experiences based on
information (news articles, court documents, radio announcements, first-hand accounts, etc.) from the
Walkerton Water Tragedy for their final assignment in June. They have been working together since February
and 10 students have lived there all of their life while one student has been in the small town since grade 10.
Accommodations/Modifications:
Students will be able to hear and read the text.
Students will have the opportunity to share their opinions about the play or pass.
Students will have a chance to write down prompts for the interview if they wish to help guide them.
Learning Expectations:
Drama
- construct personal interpretations of drama works, connecting drama issues and themes to their own and
others ideas, feelings, and experiences (B2.1) (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2010)
Learning Goals
By the end of this lesson, I will be able to defend and support my opinions in an inquiry and interview setting.
By the end of this lesson, I will be able to compare my personal experiences in Walkerton with someone elses
experiences in a small town.
Minds On 15 minutes

1) Role on the wall: I will draw a symbol to represent Laramie as chosen by the students. Students will be asked
to write on the chart paper what they know about Laramie. We will do this in a talking circle and spend time
talking about what we saw.
How did Laramie cope with tragedy as a town? How did Walkerton cope with tragedy?

Assessment
For formative assessment of what the students are sharing about Laramie to establish their knowledge obtained
from the play.

Action 45 minutes

1) Inquiry: I will read the story from a survivor of the Walkerton Water tragedy to the class written by a girls
mother. The students will also be given a copy of the story to follow along.
We are the town hall that is discussing what we are going to do for this mother. Does anyone know what roles
we should be?
Possible roles: mayor, investigator, treasurer, etc.

2) Characters and questions: As a town, we will discuss what we will do to support this family. The mother
character will come in once we have reached a decision to hear our verdict.

3) Interviews/Interrogations: (Neelands & Goode, 1990, p. 25) Students will be split into groups of two or
three. One person will be a person applying to be in charge of testing Walkertons water weekly and the
other(s) will be interviewing this candidate for the job. Students will have a chance to form questions and
choose their role while I go in the hallway to talk to the people applying for the jobs to talk about their roles.

Consolidation 15 mins

1) Presentation: I will talk to students about their performance in June. They will be creating a docudrama
theatre piece that we will perform in an environment in the community (near the Saugeen River) to honor the
lives lost during this time. These students were born the year of this tragedy and we will explore the theme of
life and loss. We will talk about what this might look like and start our research.

Next Steps

The next lesson will be continuing our research in the computer lab and conducting interviews of community
members who were in Walkerton during that time. Students will then be writing and performing important
poems about the idea of life and loss. Their shadow images, important poems, and interview scenes will come
together for the final script.

How did the lesson go? (What worked and what didnt? What would you do differently in the future?)