Drama

Week 11

Thursday 24^th May 2012

In our drama lesson, we listened to the story book, Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne. One of the activities I really liked was the role on the wall/word bank, where we had to come up with adjectives to describe a character in the story. This is really good to use after a literacy lesson of reading the book, learning about adjectives and highlighting the adjectives from the story. In the lower stages, students could write describing words on post-it notes and stick them to the outline of the character on the whiteboard. And in the more advanced stages, such as Stage 2 and 3, students could also write adjectives as well as metaphors or similes for different characters. This allows the students to use their current word bank as well as build on their vocabulary as they hear what other students have commented. This activity also enables students to consider and appreciate multiple perspectives and discuss the reasons and purpose behind the characters actions and decisions Gibson (2011, p.56).  

Week 12

Thursday 31^st May 2012

This week I learnt about other ways the world in a story could be explored through drama and linked to the English syllabus. With the myth of the Green Children, I thought it was great how we could develop characters not mentioned in the story to build belief and role. One of the activities was to draw up a map of the town, either with the class or in groups. And infrastructure of the town was created along with some potential characters. This is great to use in the classroom because it helps students build on the story and develop characters. By mapping out the hypothetical town, the dramatic context is established. As the Board of Studies NSW (2006, p.14) explains, “The fictional, sometimes referred to as the imagined, setting refers to the place where the drama is set… which is distinct from our everyday situation and can be derived from a variety of sources such as familiar experiences, fantasy, observations, student interests and ideas, other key learning areas, or cultural practices”.

Week 13

Thursday 7^th June 2012

In our last drama lesson, we learnt about Teaching in Role. This is where the students become the experts and the status and power of the teacher changes. The teacher comes into the classroom in character with a prop and presents a situation or problem for the students to solve and discuss. This activity is used to engage and build on prior knowledge and used to stimulate the imagination. As Cusworth (1997, p.24) explains, teacher in role is organising students’ learning from within the drama world and using the character the teacher adopts to place an emphasis on significant issues that occur. If my class was doing the topic of underwater and sea, I would use the teacher in role and come into class with fins or flippers to portray a fish who needed the students’ help with his friend who had gotten stuck in a human net and suggesting the class to use their tentacles, sharp teeth and strong fins to help. This activity would be aimed for Stage 1 students and the KLA’s: Environmental Science and Geography. The student’s would have already researched and/or gone on an excursion to the aquarium.  This is a great activity also because I could assess students informally on what they know about the topic.