The Summer Fun Show!
, illustrated by Aska
Learning intention:
I am learning to experiment with vocal effects and audience interactions so that I can improve my performance skills and confidence.
Success criteria:
- I can recognise the use of language to represent sounds
- I can work in a group to create a soundscape that represents a particular environment
- I can perform as part of a group to instruct, and interact with, an audience
Essential knowledge:
More information about how language can be expressed and represented in different ways according to purpose can be found in the English Textual Concepts video Code and Convention.
Assign roles to students and act out the play as a class. Following this, discuss Stefi’s performance and the concept of a soundscape. Explain that a soundscape is the combination of sounds around us in a particular environment. In the case of Stefi’s performance, she created a beach soundscape to demonstrate a ‘Snapshot of Summer Fun’.
Ask the students to recall the different sounds that Stefi used in her soundscape and what they were representing. Answers may include
- The sea stirring (boom swish swish)
- A fishing boat (putt putt putt)
- People dashing across scorching sand (ow ooh ow ow)
- A shark alarm (whoo, whoo, whoo)
- Seagulls squabbling (me, me, me)
Explain to students that they are going to work in small groups to create their own soundscape. Each group should choose the environment their soundscape will represent. Some ideas may include:
- The school playground
- A park
- A zoo
- The local pool
- A birthday party
- A skate park
Each soundscape should be written using the same structure as Stefi’s, including:
- 6 - 8 sections
- A 3 - 4 line description per section
- An accompanying sound written with words
- Each sound should be written on a piece of cardboard or paper large enough for the class audience to read
Once all groups have written their soundscapes, they should perform for the class, with each member having a role of either reading the description, holding up the card, or using their hand to guide the audience on the correct volume (they may need to take turns depending on the number of students per group).