Gender roles
Arizona Essential Standards
Demonstrate mental
and physical attributes required to communicate characters different from
themselves.
Cooperate in an
ensemble to rehearse and present improvisations and scripted scenes involving
themselves as invented characters.
Describe and compare
responses to their own works and works by others.
Explain and justify
the meanings constructed from theirs and others’ dramatic performances.
Period - 55 minutes
Materials
brain teaser
paper for student responses
Activity #1
Brain Teaser (at the bottom of
the lesson plan)
read aloud once to the class and ask
students to write responses on a piece of paper - students do not
need to write their names on the paper
collect papers and read responses to
the class
Discussion
Talk about how people
of all ages carry stereotypical images. Discuss responses - what made the
teaser so difficult, what stereotypes do we cling to, why do we often avoid
the most obvious answer, etc.
Activity #2
Have students write
responses to two words on provided sheet of paper.
Ask students to write
the first two things that come to mind when they hear the word
feminist, then ask
the first two things they think of when they hear the word feminine.
Ask students to honestly
write the first things they think of not the politically correct
answers, students
should not write their names on the papers.
Collect the papers
and write student responses on the board under the column headings
feminine and
feminist.
Activity #3
Improvisation
Pair up students in male/female duos as often
as possible, and offer an improv scenario. **For the purposes of
this class I provided two person scenarios, but students could be in small
groups and could create scenarios and/or conflicts if time allows.
Ask students to choose a characteristic or trait listed on the board from
the feminine/feminist lists. Have male students choose a trait from
the feminine list and female students choose a trait from the feminist
list to use in the upcoming improvs.
Scenarios:
Family discord
Stay at home dad
and a working mom
possible conflicts
- dad wants more help around the house, dad is ready to go back to
work
Crowded bus
A man is boxed into
a window seat by a woman on a crowded bus
possible
conflict - the woman is attracted to the man and will not take no for an
answer
An office affair
A female boss and
a male secretary
possible
conflicts - the secretary is uncomfortable with the boss’s overly affectionate
behavior
and wants to discuss his feelings with the boss, the secretary wants a
raise
and the
boss agrees but expects more than the secretary is willing to give in exchange
for the
raise
Corporation blues
A female CEO
of a large corporation and a lower ranking male executive
possible conflict - the executive has been passed over for promotion three
times even
though he is more qualified and has been with the company longer than the
women
given the position
Give students 5-10 minutes to work on their
improvs and then share improvs with the group.
Discussion
After improv, ask
performers how they felt, empowered, oppressed, etc. What was it like to
be taken advantage of? Did you want to fight back? Did you
trait or position allow you to? How appealing was power and did you
abuse it? What was it like to be ignored? And so on...
Discuss societal expectations of women and
men and the subsequent oppressions.
Brain Teaser
A man and his son
are traveling 70 miles an hour in a blue toyota corolla when their car
hits an icy patch in the road, spining out of control, flipping over a
guard rail, and coming to rest in a ditch. They are both taken by
ambulance to the hospital. The boy is rushed into an operating room
for emergency surgery. A surgeon, who has just finished stiching
up a man with a knife wound, looks at the boy and refuses to operate on
him. When asked why, the surgeon replies, “Because he is my
son”.
How is this possible? Please write
your response on the provided sheet of paper.
Plan designed by S.R.
Brain Teaser - origin unkown
