Curricular Resources > 1983 Volume V > Unit 2 (83.05.02) > Section 4

Drama

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 83.05.02

Unit Guide

Acting Out or “As the School Turns”

Richard Canalori

Tools for this unit:

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SAMPLE ACTIVITIES

I have chosen to present three one-day activities related to the study of A Raisin in the Sun . The activities would be helpful in analyzing the structure of the play and in better understanding its characters.

Sample Activity #1

Each exchange between characters in A Raisin in the Sun is necessary for the plot to develop. In Act 1—Scene 1 there are several exchanges which help to set the stage for the action that follows.

Objective The students will determine and list the ways in which author is able to get characters on and off the stage at each moment in Act 1—Scene 1. Second, the students will note the reasons why it is important for certain characters to be present or absent during a particular exchange.

Procedure

1. Read through Act 1—Scene 1 a minimum of twice.
2. Answer the following questions:
____ What character is on stage at all times during this scene?
____ How does the author use the bathroom to add or remove characters within the scene?
____ What purpose does the discussion over fifty cents for Travis play in this scene?
____ List the major conflicts introduced in this scene. When is each problem introduced and by whom?
3. Using the information from the answers to the above questions, outline the major exchanges in the scene and the reason each is important.

Sample Activity #2

A great deal of the action in A Raisin in the Sun occurs outside of the play and is never seen by the audience. Willie Harris, for example, plays a very important role in the play and yet he is never shown.

Objective Students, using information implied within the play, will describe a conversation between a character from the cast and a person or group of people discussed but never shown. In completing this activity, students will stress the importance of such unseen action in helping to form a complete picture of each character by including personality characteristics which may not be present in what we see on stage.

Procedure Each student is asked to describe a meeting between one of the following pairs of characters:

1. Walter and Willie
2. Walter and his boss
3. Mama and the realtor
4. Beneatha and her teacher
5. Travis and a friend

This assignment may be completed in story form or using dialogue. Once completed, the students should be asked if this assignment changed the way they felt about a particular character. If so, how?

Sample Activity #3

Many of the conflicts introduced in A Raisin in the Sun are left unresolved. Other problems are only partially resolved. Also, new questions arise at the conclusion of the play. As very little is settled at the play’s end, what happens in the future is an important consideration and the topic of this activity.

Objective Students will review many of the conflicts presented within the play and give predictions for the future based on available information and the personality of each character.

Procedure Complete the following chart. What will be the outcome of each conflict? Will it be resolved or will it continue to exist? If it is resolved, what will be the resolution? If it is not resolved, does the question go away, become more of a problem, or change in some other way? Discuss your answers with others in the class. How are your predictions different from those of your classmates. Upon what information is your prediction based?
Complete the following chart.

Future Reason for

Characters Conflict Prediction Prediction

Mama and Beneatha importance of

religion

Beneatha and Walter importance of

education

Walter and his boss over job pay

and responsibility

of being to work

on time

Beneatha and herself deciding between

George, Asagri

or neither

Walter and Mama over decision

making power

within the family

Walter and Bobo what to do in

the future to

escape poverty

Ruth and Walter the loss of

communication

between the two

The Younger family prejudice

and their new
neighbors

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				Future	Reason for
Characters	Conflict	Prediction	Prediction
Mama and Beneatha	importance of
		religion
Beneatha and Walter	importance of
		education
Walter and his boss	over job pay
		and responsibility
		of being to work
		on time
Beneatha and herself	deciding between
		George, Asagri
		or neither
Walter and Mama	over decision
		making power
		within the family
Walter and Bobo	what to do in
		the future to
		escape poverty
Ruth and Walter	the loss of
		communication
		between the two
The Younger family	prejudice