Lesson Plan #:AELP-SPS0006

Science Role Plays

An Educator's Reference Desk Lesson Plan

Submitted by: Janet Weaver
School or Affiliation: Rosary School Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Endorsed by: These lesson plans are the result of the work of the teachers who have attended the Columbia Education Center's Summer Workshop. CEC is a consortium of teacher from 14 western states dedicated to improving the quality of education in the rural, western, United States, and particularly the quality of math and science Education. CEC uses Big Sky Telegraph as the hub of their telecommunications network that allows the participating teachers to stay in contact with their trainers and peers that they have met at the Workshops.

Date: May 1994

Grade Level(s): 5, 6, 7, 8

Subject(s):

Overview:

Small groups of students use their imagination in cooperative efforts to role play processes in Science. Each student in the group 'plays' the 'part' of one part of the process. The other groups then watch as each group acts out their version of the process.

Purpose:
To reinforce knowledge level information on processes in Science, several times for each child and in a 3-D format. To encourage creative thinking. To encourage cooperative efforts between students. To engage the students in whole body learning, using all their senses and imagination, in order to better integrate the information into themselves.

Objectives:

  1. The students will be able to demonstrate the scientific process studied.
  2. The students will be able to identify the different parts of the process and the correct order of each of those parts in the process.
  3. The students will be able to work cooperatively with other students.
  4. The students will be able to create a new way of looking at a scientific process.
  5. The students will enjoy learning science.

Resources/Materials:

None - I don't allow labels or tags to be used because they take time to make and without them each member must explain their part of the process. Also sometimes a guessing game begins with spectators guessing the part name from what it is doing or where it is in the process.

Activities and Procedures:

For use only after the basic process has been explained, read, or in some way studied.

Divide the class into groups. Groups should be small enough so that each student can be an important part of the process, but large enough so that the process can be complete. Tell them to create a creative and entertaining way to show the process just studied using everyone in the group.

Set a time limit (8-10 minutes) for the groups to 'get it together', then have each group perform for the rest of the class.

Sample Process: Circulatory System of the Body

  1. Cast of characters:
  2. Blood (carries 2 wads of paper to represent the blood cell and carbon dioxide)
  3. Toe
  4. 2 Capillaries
  5. Vein (use arms, or extra student, as one-way valves)
  6. 4 chambers of the heart (use arms, or extra student, as one-way valves)
  7. Vessel from heart to lungs
  8. Lung (with wad of paper to represent Oxygen)
  9. Vessel from lungs to heart
  10. Artery

Begin with Blood inside Capillary which is inside Toe (students can stand close to each other with the Vessel's arms around the Blood) Blood moves into Vein, thru one-way valve up to Heart Atrium.

Blood then goes thru one-way valve to Heart Ventricle and out thru Vessel From Heart to Lungs.

When in Lung the Blood goes into a Capillary and gives the Lung the Carbon Dioxide (paper wad) and the Lung gives the Blood the Oxygen (paper wad) - this is all done thru the wall of the Capillary.

Blood then moves into the Vessel From Lungs to Heart and goes into the other Heart Atrium, thru the one-way valve to the Heart Ventricle. The Ventricle then pushes the Blood thru the Artery back down to the Capillary in the Toe, where the process begins again.

This can also be used as a way to explain the process, especially at the beginning of the year to get them use to the format. When I am using it as a demonstration I choose the students to play each part as I come to them in the explanation of the process. Afterwards I divide the class into small groups and ask them to devise "another way" to show the process using the people in the group to play the parts.

Tying it all Together:

Discussion following the performances centers on completeness of the process shown, and the creativity displayed in showing the processes. After all the performances I ask the students to draw or diagram the process in their notes, labeling each part.

Processes I've Used this to Reinforce:

  1. All systems of the body
  2. Earth Cycles - air, water, soil, rock, food
  3. Photosynthesis Plant Reproduction
  4. Air mass movements/front formations
  5. Glacial movements and features
  6. Land & Sea Breezes
  7. Erosion of streambeds
  8. Mountain Formation
  9. Electrical Circuits
  10. Changes in states of matter