Minds On

Let’s warm up!

Don’t forget to do your safety check!

Warm Up

Warm up

Let’s take three big breaths in and out, together, counting to three to breathe in, and counting to three to breathe out.

If possible, this activity can be done standing up.

Access this audio recording entitled “Three Big Breaths” to follow the exercise.

Three Big Breaths

Drama game

Let’s pretend!

Take an everyday object (such as a chair, a scarf, or a book) and pretend it is something else entirely!

For example, a book might become a bird with its wings flapping. Use your imagination!

Let’s get started!

Explore these images and think about the following questions.

  • What do you notice?
  • What is similar?
  • What is different?

Action

Get ready, get set…

What is setting?

In drama, the setting is the place where the events in the story happen.

Why is setting important?

Setting is important because it helps give the audience clues about what the story will be about. The setting is also connected to the lives of the characters.

Think about the settings in your life.

You probably have different places where things happen. If you wrote a story about your adventures at school, your school would be the setting.

Or if you wrote a story about fun you had at home, your home would be the setting.

Task 1: Settings in What’s My Superpower?

Let’s explore the settings in the story, What’s My Superpower?

The story starts with Nalvana riding a bike in her town. Explore a part of the story through the following images.

Page 2: An illustration of a landscape with houses in the bottom left corner, next to grass. There is a winding road leading from the houses to the mountains in the background.

In a little house in the very middle of a small town where winter is always longer than summer, a little girl named Nalvana lived with her mother.

Nalvana loved everything about her small town. She loved the quiet roads with lots of space to play hide-and-seek, and tag, and street hockey. She loved to ride her bike without worrying about cars coming down the road like big monsters.

Page 3: A little girl, Nalvana, wears a cape and a helmet while riding her bike by a house. A dog runs beside her.

Check out this audio recording entitled “Setting Inuktitut” to explore the story in Inuktitut and think about the setting in the story.

Setting Inuktitut

Now access this audio recording entitled “Setting English” to explore the story in English and think about the setting in the story.

Setting English

Pause and Reflect

Pause and reflect

Let’s take a moment and reflect on the following questions.

  1. What is the setting in the story?

Press ‘Answer’ to learn about the setting in the story.

The town.

  1. How would you describe the setting in the story?

Press ‘Answer’ to learn about describing the setting in the story.

Small, lots of winter, quiet roads, lots of space.

Settings can change in drama stories. Explore the following pictures and try to identify the settings.

Page One and Two: Children watch on the playground as a little girl swings high on the swingset.

Pause and Reflect

Pause and reflect

Let’s take a moment and reflect on the following questions.

  1. What are the settings in the two images?

Press ‘Answer’ to learn about the settings in the two images.

  • The first setting is the playground.
  • The second setting is Nalvana’s home.
  1. Do the characters change when the setting changes?

Press ‘Answer’ to learn if the characters change when the setting changes.

Yes. At the playground, Nalvana is with her friends. At home, Nalvana is with her mother.

Let’s explore the story some more through the following images.

Page One and Two: A group of children playing in the swimming pool. They are holding their breath and pretending to be fish.

Pause and Reflect

Pause and reflect

Let’s take a moment and reflect on the following questions.

  1. What is the setting now?

Press ‘Answer’ to learn about what the setting is now.

A pool.
  1. How does the setting help you understand the story?

Press ‘Answer’ to learn how the setting helps you understand the story.

The setting is a pool. This helps me understand the story because now I know why Nalvana said her friend was a fast swimmer. It also helps me understand that the setting is still in her town, rather than a big ocean far away.

Task 2: Spotting the setting

Check out this video entitled “16 Hudson: Picture Perfect” and make note of all the settings you find in it.

Pause and Reflect

Pause and reflect

Let’s take a moment and reflect on the following questions.

  1. What settings did you find in the video?

Press ‘Answer’ to learn about the settings in the video.

  • outside of the school/playground
  • in the school
  • at home
  1. Do the characters change when the setting changes?

Press ‘Answer’ to learn if the characters change when the setting changes.

Yes. At home, Lili was with her parents; at school, she was with her friends.
  1. How does the setting help you understand the story?

Press ‘Answer’ to learn how the setting helps you understand the story.

One of the settings was Lili’s school. It helped me understand the story because without showing the school, talking about school picture day would make no sense.

Task 3: Match setting to character

Complete the following matching activity. For each setting, select the corresponding character.

Consolidation

Go!

Your turn

Check out a screenshot from the video entitled “16 Hudson: Picture Perfect” that you explored in Task 2 and answer the following questions.

A screenshot from the video 16 Hudson: Picture Perfect with two children sitting on a bench outside. There is a lunchbox between them.
  • What is the setting? Now imagine these characters in a completely different setting. Maybe they are eating their lunch while on the beach or on the moon.
  • How does changing the setting change how the characters think and act? Would any parts of the story have to change?
  • Would it make it harder to understand what was happening in the story?

Record your ideas using the method of your choice. Consider adding your work to your drama portfolio.

Portfolio

Drama portfolio

Consider adding the answers to the following reflection questions to your drama portfolio.

  1. Why is setting an important part of drama stories?
  2. Why do you think setting can change how a character thinks or acts?
  3. Why is setting important in the story What’s My Superpower?
  4. How might it be different if Nalvana lived somewhere different?
  5. What would change in the story if the setting was different?
  6. Name one thing you learned about drama today.

Reflection

How do you feel about what you have learned in this activity? Which of the next four sentences best matches how you are feeling about your learning? Press the button that is beside this sentence.

I feel…

Now, record your ideas about your feelings using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.

Press ‘Discover More’ to extend your skills.

Think of your favourite story.

Who are the characters in the story?

Now, change the setting of your favourite show, movie, or book to the following:

  • a planet in space
  • a cave underground
  • under the ocean

Did that change the story? Did it change how the characters think and act?