Trading Card #3: Props as Metaphor

For my third trading card, I decided to focus on the props as metaphor exercise.  My group used the dowel to create a metaphor of the cycle of plant growth.  Between the four members of my group, we represented a seed, the sun, the rain, and a flower (which was myself).  The dowel represented the stick that is sometimes used to support a growing plant – to help it grow straight.  My trading card, therefore, has a seed, a flower, the sun, and a cloud with raindrops to reflect our roles in the props as metaphor activity which my group personally created in class. 

I decided to focus on grade one Prescribed Learning Outcomes for this write-up, as I am doing my practicum in a grade one classroom.  I found PLOs connecting with the props as metaphor activity in different subject areas. 

Drama: B2 – Use movement and their bodies to explore a range of ideas, feelings, and actions.  Students learn how to use the movement of their bodies as another way to express ideas – an excellent alternative to pencil and paper activities.  

Drama: B3 – Represent ideas and feelings through a variety of drama forms.  Students can represent ideas from other subject areas by using drama, such as this props as metaphor activity.  Students could also use this exercise to demonstrate how events in history affected various people groups.   

Drama: D1 – Participate in and share drama work.  Students would demonstrate their participation while creating their movement with their group, and sharing their drama work would occur when they present what they have created with the class. 

Science: Life Science – Describe the basic needs of local plants and animals (e.g., food, water, light).  Students can use the props as metaphor exercise as my group did, and show that food for plants comes from sunlight and water – that these are essential for plants to grow.  Students could also use props to show what animals require for food.   

I think it could also be useful for grade one students to use the props as metaphor exercise in an illustrative way, because they are building lots of new connections and illustrative techniques could be a way for them to gain some concrete understanding.  Alternatively, students could first start with an illustrative movement, and then for the next activity, the teacher could demonstrate a non-illustrative movement and students could try that afterwards.  Especially in grade one, it may be helpful to actually do an illustrative movement first, so that students can more clearly differentiate the difference between illustrative and non-illustrative movements.  For example, a student could first act as an animal drinking water (illustrative), and then next show a movement of how important water is to an animal (non-illustrative).  This would be cross curricular as it meets some of the life science PLOs for grade one.  By using movements in drama, students could also gain a greater understanding in other subject areas, such as science.