Our Thoughts on Drama
Posted by Alysha Downham
I’ve just spent some time watching the Drama and Literacy Video at:
http://www.schoolsworld.tv/videos/ks1-ks2-english-drama-in-the-classroom
And also the Drama and Maths Video at: http://www.schoolsworld.tv/videos/ks1-drama-in-maths-drama-for-learning
These are two videos that we are expected to watch in week 2. While I often struggle to find time to watch every video that is posted for my classes, I am so glad that I watched these. And I already feel that I’m developing an understanding of how to use drama in my classroom.
As I’ve gotten older, I guess that I have simply forgotten what it is like to have such a vivid imagination, where anything and everything is possible. It reminded me of when I was a child and would play with my Barbies or teddies; I would play a role and I would give them a role. I remembered how much I loved drama.
I really liked what the teacher from the Drama and Literacy video says about teaching drama “You don’t have to be a good actor at all. You have to feel confident with what you’re doing and you have to feel secure with your class. But definitely not a good actor”. I really understood what she is saying and believe that a teacher has to feel comfortable with their class all the time. For example, when I was on placement and reading my students a story, to make it enjoyable for myself and for them, I needed to feel comfortable enough to put on accents or scary voices. It took me a few lessons to really feel comfortable in myself as a teacher and story teller, but once I could immerse myself in the role of teacher it was more enjoyable for everybody and students were more engaged.
Watching these videos has changed my past understanding that drama was simply about taking on a role and pretending to be somebody else. These videos have helped me recognise that drama can be incorporated into so much of what we teach and has made me excited to test some out on my next placement.
Chapter 7: Question 1 - By Tucker
What strategies would you use in teaching a drama workshop like Fox to primary children?
This would depend on the text. I might even start by working with the children to first to write their own story. I’m thinking grades 3/4/5. Artifacts, such as stuffed toys from the opp shop, or photos from a magazine could be used as starting points for characters with a story built around these characters: their profiles formed collaboratively. We would give our characters a ‘space’ such as a home environment, perhaps send them on a journey – decide where and why etc. and gradually build our storyline together. Alternatively, the story could come out of some current issue i.e. behaviour in the playground etc.
After the story was written (this initial part of the process would probably take part in literacy lessons – we would need at least two), we would then start to explore it as a piece of process theatre. The freeze frame strategy
(found in this Drama and Literacy Video ) could be very useful for breaking the story up into its main parts/scenes. The concept of a storyboard could be discussed. This could also be added to with music/sound effects.
Following this we could have a brainstorming of the sort of things the characters might think/feel and say.Then small groups could improvise scenes, with the teacher leading the session and recording responses on the board, or it could be done in groups with students responding to a series of set questions (such as the examples given on pages 60-61 of the Sinclair et.al text (2010) . Depending on the story, decision alley , found at
this Drama and Literacy Video, could be used. This idea strongly resonates with me as I think it really links up with how children make decisions (such as Mum’s voice versus peer pressure). Writing in role is another powerful tool. Perhaps as a formal writing exercise, students could be required to either write the story in the form of a series of letters (each student taking on one scene), or alternatively they could have a go at writing a script from the improvised dialogue previously created and recorded.
Work would then be shared and issues discussed. It could be further developed into a performance piece, a musical score, a series of paintings, put into a storybook form, comic strip – or simply finish there!
Possible difficulties:
Difficulties in carrying out such workshops/lessons can often arise when several children have strong opinions about what they want to convey – and the teacher is left in the unenviable position to make the decisions as to whose contribution will be included and whose will be left out at each step of the journey. One way I have found to tackle this problem is to give individual student ownership, or ‘decision making rights’ as it were, to different sections of a story. The group is encouraged to share ideas and opinions, but ultimately the student of the moment is given the ultimate say. Although it does take time to successfully establish such working relationships, I believe this is a very powerful way of sharing ownership – and the students, when supported this way with group guidance, are usually capable of making very discerning decisions.
That said, it is very hard to do this when faced with a large group of students. In fact, all strategies employed by the teacher must take into consideration the size, age, experience and dynamic of the class.
Another issue here is in the nature of improvisation – in my experience, some people think faster than others in such situations and can tend to dominate such sessions, making other students feel alienated. Other students may think of what to do/say (often very witty/entertaining/profound) but can’t seem to let it out in front of the group, and some students, once you ‘open the door’ to improvisation, become so completely involved that they become carried away, finding it difficult to ‘come back’. It is important to be aware of these issues when teaching drama in the classroom.
References
Sinclair, C., Jeanneret, N., & O'Toole, J. (2009). Education in the Arts: Teaching and learning in the contemporary curriculum. South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press.
Schools World TV. Accessed, July 27, 2011
http://www.schoolsworld.tv/videos/ks1-ks2-english-drama-in-the-classroom
de Bono, E. (1972). Children Solve Problems. Victoria, Australia: Penguin Books Australia.