05.17.07

WEEK 11 - TEACHING ROUNDS week #3

Posted in Uncategorized at 3:53 am by tubs

Week 3 has come and gone so quickly.  My classes are all going fine, however the behaviour issues are out of control.  The year 9 students are ‘too cool for school’ and are carrying around major attitude problems.  It’s such a shame when you have half the class working really hard and the other half doing all they can to distract and interrupt the class.  I guess that’s all part of teaching and that I will need to work on my classroom management skills.  With that out of the way, I’m really starting to see results in most of the students.  I have introduced a lot of new activities to each class and I can see that each student is taking on all these preliminary skills and using them in their own drama performances.  It’s so interesting to see as a teacher how important and useful warm up games can be.  I have found them to be extremely good in getting the students to think creatively and come up with ideas and concepts without wasting time.  It just such a shame that you come and go so quickly over a three week period and your not sure what’s to come of them when you leave.Lets hope there’s a positive outcome for all.  

Posted in Uncategorized at 3:52 am by tubs

So I’ve just finished week 2 of my three week teaching round.  I have to say, I’m quite happy with the way things have turned out.  I came into these classrooms with a very different approach to what they are used to.  These students haven’t had much variety in their lessons, so for me to come in with something different was a breath of fresh air for them.  Much to my surprise I was able to engage most classes for the duration of the lesson. I mentioned previously that these students were not good at improvisation.  I was correct – It was like clutching at straws.  To over come this I used a lot of hot seating methods to get the students thinking on their feet and engaging in dialogue that arose from the first thing that came to their mind.  I brought in pieces of material that defined groups and characters, and created an atmosphere where thinking outside the square became an enjoyable option.  The year 7’s were very excited by these new activities and were able to use them as a stepping stone for building their own performances.  The year 9’s were still trying to overcome self embarrassment, however attempted all tasks given.  The year 11 and 12’s were very open to these new ideas of thinking and working, however due to a real lack of improvisational skills, found it extremely hard to change their way of working. I was extremely happy with the way most of my classes went, however there is always one or two behaviour issues that I find hard to deal with.  I guess it’s a matter of practice for me.  I feel very comfortable in a drama class, and confident I’m well equipped with the knowledge and experience needed for this level of teaching.  I found myself using methods, activities and classroom practices from a variety of sources – uni drama classes, my acting experience and previous classroom teaching.  It’s interesting when you compare a primary school classroom to a secondary classroom teaching only your methods.  Primary teaching offers variety, secondary became a little too mundane for me.  When you teach four classes of year 7’s and four classes of year 9’s you are essentially teaching only 2 classes repeated four times.  It’s also especially mundane when you have 3 year 7 classes in one day…….. That’s the same lesson taught three times in a row.  The only benefit was that if it didn’t work the first time, you were able to improve it for the second class.    So bring on week 3.  I’m excited and extremely ready for the challenge.  Here is a copy of a couple of my lesson plans I used throughout the week –  

Drama Lesson -Year 7
VEL
STRAND – Level 4
TIME OF LESSON – 75mins                                          CLASS SIZE – 24
Student Learning Objectives and relevant VEL outcomes – Learning in the Arts allows students to communicate their perceptions, observations and understanding of structures, functions and concepts drawn from other areas of the curriculum. The Arts are a vehicle for confronting and exploring new ideas. Students explore experiences, ideas, feelings and understandings through making, interpreting, performing, creating and presenting. Creating and making performing art works involves imagination and experimentation.  In Drama, students role play situations and events whilst sustaining a role or character throughout.  They explore elements of storytelling, improvisation, spontaneous dramatic play, enactment and ensemble work. 
Teacher Focus- Students are able to work co-operatively in small groups and not get carried away with the activity. - Students can take elements of this lesson away and use their skills and ideas in other areas of their learning- Students feel comfortable performing in front of their own classmates.  - Whilst performing, students are focused and on task.   
Resources and Materials

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Classroom OrganisationsGossip Circle – Whole classQuestion circle – Whole classQuick impro’s – Groups of 2 or 3

Aim-          For students to become creative thinkers and use dramatic art as a learning process.-          For students to work coherently as a group, share ideas and bond together to create a piece of work.-          For students to have fun exploring different activities. -          For students to be able to think on their feet and improvise their characters and situations immediately  
Activities The series of activities below are stimulus for the year 7’s to continue with their current “Robbery in the Bank Scene”.  These activities can run over a series of 3 or 4 lessons 
Activity #

1 – Gossip Circle

To continue on from previous lessons, the teacher tells the story of a robbery that has occurred in their local town.  No one in town knows exactly what has happened; they’ve only heard circulating rumours.  In a circle, students improvise a character (any character) based on someone that lives in the town.  Each student must introduce their character and their role within the community.   Each student tells the rest of the circle what they have heard happened before, during or after the robbery.  The gossip can come from any perspective.  They may have inside knowledge or their story may have been exaggerated through several sources.  Some examples of characters the students could explore are, the lady at the coffee shop next door, the parish priest, the bank tellers sister, the town police officer etc.   
Activity #

2 – Question Circle

Students pass a ball of energy around the circle (much the same as the game ZIP) Students can stop this energy at any time and ask any student in the circle a question.  Students do not have to answer the question truthfully; however they must answer the question within 2 seconds.  The student who has just successfully answered the question continues the ball of energy around the circle until another student stops to ask a question.  Some example questions students might have are;-          What’s you favourite colour?-          What’s your mum’s name?-          What did you have for breakfast?-          What are you doing after school? 
Activity #3 – Quick ImprovisationsStudent are paired into groups of two or three and given a line to start their improvisation on.  Student are given no time to work out a storyline, or to define characters between the group.  The students objective is to stay focus and in the scene the whole time.  The improvisations are only expected to go for approx 1 minute each.  The teacher calls out the line which then starts the scene.  Example lines might be: --          Oh no, I’ve forgotten the…………………?-          Is this your’s, it looks scary………………?-          So what was it, and how did it blow up……………….?-          Well, I heard she was……………………..?-          From the moment I saw it, I freaked out………………? 
Activity #4 – Robbery SceneStudents continue with their bank scenes by developing the scene where the robbery takes place.  Student must consider certain drama elements and conventions during their scenes.   

Drama Lesson -Year 9
VEL
STRAND – Level 5
TIME OF LESSON – 75mins                                          CLASS SIZE – 24
Student Learning Objectives and relevant VEL outcomes – Learning in the Arts allows students to communicate their perceptions, observations and understanding of structures, functions and concepts drawn from other areas of the curriculum. The Arts are a vehicle for confronting and exploring new ideas. Students explore experiences, ideas, feelings and understandings through making, interpreting, performing, creating and presenting. Creating and making performing art works involves imagination and experimentation.  In Drama, students role play situations and events whilst sustaining a role or character throughout.  They explore elements of storytelling, improvisation, spontaneous dramatic play, enactment and ensemble work. 
Teacher Focus- Students are able to work co-operatively in small groups and not get carried away with the activity. - Students can take elements of this lesson away and use their skills and ideas in other areas of their learning- Students feel comfortable performing in front of their own classmates.  - Whilst performing, students are focused and on task.   
Resources and Materials

  • Strips of material in 4 different colours
  •  
Classroom OrganisationsDeveloping a gang – Whole class and small groupInteraction between gangs – Whole class and small groupsIndividual interactions  - Whole class and individualScene building – Small groups 

Aim-          For students to become creative thinkers and use dramatic art as a learning process.-          For students to work coherently as a group, share ideas and bond together to create a piece of work.-          For students to have fun exploring different activities. -          For students to be able to think on their feet and improvise their characters and situations immediately -          For students to be able to use these activities as a stimulus for their own Romeo and Juliet pieces.  This class is based on a place building process that can examine the different types of gangs and situations from different points of view.  Students can choose to use these types of activities as a stepping stone for creating and writing their own scripts.  
Activities The series of activities below are stimulus for the year 9’s to continue with their current “Romeo and Juliet Scenes”.  These activities can run over a series of 3 or 4 lessons 
Activity #1 – Developing a gang The Class is divided up into 4 groups.  This is done by handing out different coloured pieces of material as colour identification.  Each of the 4 groups becomes a gang.  The group have no time to discuss exactly what type of group they are.  The group is then hot seated in front of the rest of the class.  They are asked a series of questions of which they must instantly answer without discussion or clarification from the rest of the group.  If one member answers the question, the rest of the group must accept what they have said, and go along with their offers.  Here is an example of the questions that the gang must answer.-          What is your gang’s name?-          Do you have a tag? / Where do you wear your scarf?-          How are you identified?-          Where do you hang out?Then ask the group to display a still photo of what the gang looks like in action.    Teacher notes:  If the first couple of gangs are exactly the same you can give each group a key word or situation that is the key to defining what type of gang they are.  They don’t all have to be street wise thuds.  You can give the students ideas such as-          Chess-          Prom King / Queen-          Surfers 
Activity #2 – Interaction between gangsAfter each gang is established, choose two groups at a time to come together and interact, just as if they have bumped into each other on the street.  Without physically touching anyone students must improvise what happens between the gangs.  Is there a leader?  Is there built up tension between the two?  Are they familiar with one another?  As in the previous activity, the gangs must stick together and learn and develop their gang as you go along. Each member must accept all offers that are put forward. 
Activity #3 – Individual interactionsStudents walk around the room in the character established from their gang (students are still wearing their coloured scarf).  Students must try and make eye contact with as many people as possible; however they need to react according to their character. Students are then given task to complete whist walking around the room.  These may include: - -          Introduce your self to someone-          Ask for directions to the nearest bus station -          Ask someone for the time 
Activity #4 – Scene buildingIn small groups, students can continue working on their Romeo and Juliet scenes.  Students need to establish their characters and plot and progress the drama sequentially.   Students are working on a scene by scene basis and should therefore be able to perform certain piece to the class at the end of each lesson.    

Drama Lesson -Year 11/12
VCE – Ensemble Performance
TIME OF LESSON – 75mins                                          CLASS SIZE – 24
Student Learning Objectives and relevant VEL outcomes – Learning in the Arts allows students to communicate their perceptions, observations and understanding of structures, functions and concepts drawn from other areas of the curriculum. The Arts are a vehicle for confronting and exploring new ideas. Students explore experiences, ideas, feelings and understandings through making, interpreting, performing, creating and presenting. Creating and making performing art works involves imagination and experimentation.  In Drama, students role play situations and events whilst sustaining a role or character throughout.  They explore elements of storytelling, improvisation, spontaneous dramatic play, enactment and ensemble work. 
Teacher Focus- Students are able to work co-operatively in small groups and not get carried away with the activity. - Students can take elements of this lesson away and use their skills and ideas in other areas of their learning- Students feel comfortable performing in front of their own classmates.  - Whilst performing, students are focused and on task.  - Students are able to discuss and explore ideas as a class and use these ideas for their own performance.  
Resources and Materials

  •  

Classroom OrganisationsAll activities are done in front of the whole class.  All activities require class discussions and input at the completion of the task.   

Aim-          For students to become creative thinkers and use dramatic art as a learning process.-          For students to work coherently as a group, share ideas and bond together to create a piece of work.-          For students to have fun exploring different activities. -          For students to be able to think on their feet and improvise their characters and situations immediately -          For student to be able to use the warm up activities as a springboard for creating a dramatic scene within their own performance 
Activities These activities are for student to use as ideas and inspiration when they are developing their own ensemble performances.  Students are all familiar with the topic and have done previous research into certain aspects of Brocks life. 
Activity #1 – Thought ProcessOne student sits on a seat a role plays Peter Brock driving in a car.  Behind this, one student represents the positive thought processes going through Brocks head.  This can be set at any stage in Brocks life ie, just before he died, just after his first marriage break up, just after a win at Bathurst. The positive thoughts can be structured around anything.  They are just a series of words or sentences that are based on the positive stages of Brock’s life.Next, a student is added into the thought process as the negative force of Brock’s brain.  Again, they begin to express internal thoughts, all with a negative slant.  At this stage there is no interaction between the positive and negative sides of the brain.A third person is then added in which displaces an indecisive thought process.  Again, works, situations or scenarios are explored without any interaction from the others.The last stage is for the three parts of the thought process to engage in a conversation together which explicitly displays the three different characteristics of Brocks brain.  Afterwards, student can discuss the validity of a something like this in their own pieces and the themes and issues a task like this can display.   
Activity #2 – Random MeetingStudents explore and improvise a random meeting between Brock’s ex wife and his current wife.  Students are given a motive or objective that they want to get from the opposite person.   This could be a piece of information, or just a reaction of some degree.   
Activity #3 – Parts of the CarStudents explore the idea of becoming a part of a car rather than a person or human figure.  Students establish their role within the car and relate that to their role in the conversation.  Students can use this as a vehicle to expressing or exploring certain stages in Brock’s life, or relationships he’s had with various people or objects.        

WEEK 9 - TEACHING ROUNDS week #1

Posted in Uncategorized at 3:49 am by tubs

So this is my first week of my first lot of teaching rounds for Secondary School. I hate to say it, but everything I feared about my rounds are correct and are still of great concern to me. The school does not have an overly high standard of academic results and has, what I would say, a problem with behaviour. The students seem very unmotivated, which is proving to be a very big struggle within the drama class. I haven’t yet taught a whole lesson and I’m somewhat fearing the day I do. I’ve got some great ideas up my sleave however I’m just not sure how the students will respond to it. From what I’ve seen, their response so far has not been overly inviting. They are not very good at improvisations, therefore for them to come up with a 2 min piece on something will, in most cases, take them a whole class. To overcome this, my aim is to do a lot of instant work with them as a whole class (ie, groups warm up games, hot seating, teacher in role etc.) and to avoid the students retreating to their small groups where they just sit around and chat, and not actually prepare anything.
I guess, that when I look back at some of the fantastic activities we’ve done in class 98% of the time they’ve ran really smoothly. This is probably due to a number of factors. One, is that we have great teacher, who always seems to be prepared, two is that us (the students) are very accepting of each task and embrace each activity fully, and three, is that we have chosen to be there, and therefore are aiming to learn something from the lesson. When you transport these activities into a Secondary school classroom, factors two and three are often not valid. This is where I, as the teacher, need to find different ways of motivating and grabbing the students attention so they find some validity in what they are learning. I have to tap into their interest and lives, and connect as much of my lesson to their way of living and learning. Somewhat simple in theory, however challenging in practice.
I’m never one to shy away from a challenge………. I’ll be trying my hardest in the next couple of weeks to successfully run a drama class that students are engaged in for 99% of the time. I’ll let you know how I go!!!

04.25.07

WEEK 8 DRAMA AND MULTI-LITERACIES

Posted in Uncategorized at 7:40 pm by tubs

Ok, so in class on Monday we looked at ‘The Great Bear’. It was the first time I’d seen or read the book. Hmmm… I must be honest and say that my initial reactions were not very inviting. I thought the ending was very morbid as such, and perhaps not appropriate for students. It’s not that I don’t understand it’s possible meaning and intention, it’s just that my first reaction was one of death and sadness.
This is not to say that I’m not open to the use of this book as a pretext for a drama class. And for the purpose of this blog, I am in fact going to explore the possible classroom activities and learning that can take place through the eyes of the book….. So here goes –

Discussion – After reading the book students can discuss relevant themes and issues presented in the story - For example, Hope, Letting go, animal cruelty. From this discussion, many of the activities will evolve.

Storytelling / Tableaux - What happened next? Student can create the story of what happened to the bear after the final page of the book. This takes its form as a still picture or tableaux, to compliment the other illustrations in the book.

Game – A good warm up game might be something like cat and mouse. This games has a student (mouse) trapped inside the circle of students who is trying to find its way out of the circle without another student (cat) catching them. This game can evoke feelings of entrapment. This could be a theme that can be further explored from the book.

Meeting – There are several towns folk shown in the book. The citizens (students) could conduct a meeting about the circus coming to town. This could involve people discussing the use of animals in the circus and the moral issues associated with it. This activity may have to be set in the modern times as the ‘animal activist’ may not have existed in medieval times.

Art / Writing – Students could write an article or design a poster that relates to animals performing in the circus. Students can choose to take a side in the issue, or be neutral in their approach.

Interview - Students can pair up and conduct a hot seat type interview with the bear itself. One student is a reporter hot on the scene, and the other is the bear hanging from the pole. The purpose of the interview is to evoke an emotion from the bear – one that may or may not have been seen in the illustrations of the book.

Movement – Students could display the thoughts of the bear through an expressive action or piece of movement.

I was trying to think of some other children’s literacy books that would be good as a pretext, and I suddenly realised that I didn’t actually know a whole lot of children’s books. I definitely think I need to do a bit of research in to Children’s literacy’s and what is out there these days. I’m sure there are 1000’s of books however I can’t manage to think of one. I’m certainly going to have to pull up my sock if I’m going to be a primary school student. Either that, or get down to the library asap!

OK, So Jenny Simons
When looking at the Jenny Simons article I can’t help but find parallels between her ways of teaching and ‘Inquiry based’ learning as a pedagogy. For me, the whole basis is that the students take responsibility for their own learning and development of knowledge, through a creative and explorative way. I realise that Simons ‘craft knowledge’ refers to the use of drama for learning however I feel if an inquiry unit was heavily drama based, they would be of almost the same structure.

Moving on, I’m very excited that teachers (especially non drama specialist) are open to the idea of Drama as a learning tool. The activities set out by Simons for the three different groups were a great example of how drama can explore different things not seen in an original text. It also goes to show how if you are a willing teacher and opened to ideas and offers from the class, the drama can be taken in a direction not predicted by the teacher. I guess too, the teacher’s intentions for the learning still need to be acknowledged and not taken too far beyond.

When asked to think about another literacy text with a particular historical context that would be good to explore prior to learning I kept thinking about my ‘Learning through Drama’ assignment on the stolen generation. I think an issue of this nature would really benefit from a literacy pre-text just because the content is rather deep for students to take in. Again, without specifically thinking of a book or song, my focus for the pretext would have something to do with ‘missing you’ or ‘something lost’. I would try and have the pretext connect to the student’s current worlds as a way of paralleling the history to them losing their favourite gadget or something equivalent. When I think about it, many songs would be great for unit as a pretext.

Also when I think of the stolen generation, I can’t help but think of “Stolen” the play, and “Rabbit Proof Fence” the movie. These literacy’s could actually be units themselves, but if you look at the unit as a learning through drama task (of which I am for the purpose of the assignment) I think it needs to be dealt with differently. Actually, I think these two literacy’s serve more as a ‘post text’, if there’s such a thing, so as students don’t take on these dramatic roles and stories whilst exploring the unit.

On that note, I’m off to the library…….. Kiddies section of course!

04.17.07

WEEK 7 – ADULTS, LEARNING AND DRAMA

Posted in Uncategorized at 3:27 am by tubs

In class today, Jo raised the question “Have you seen a piece of theatre that has really left an impression on you”. As soon as she asked the question my mind went into total overdrive. I attend theatre almost once a week – this may vary from a high school show, big budget musical, children’s shows or a community straight play. It baffled me that I couldn’t immediately think of something.
Off the top of my head if I had to pick something now, I would have to say the musical ‘Miss Saigon’ had affected me in some way or another, however I’m not sure if I’m saying that because it’s fresh in my mind as a show that I’ve recently seen and loved. I originally saw ‘Miss Saigon’ is Sydney in 1995 and fell in love with the music, characters and story of the show. Since then, I’ve also always wanted to visit Vietnam as a way of perhaps furthering my relationship to the show. On the surface, yes perhaps it has had a lasting impression on me (I’m seeing the show again on Saturday for the 3rd time), however when I compare it to other stories I’ve heard I question the depth of my connection.
I asked a theatre colleague of mine whether he had ever seen a piece of theatre that has left a lasting impression on him. (like me, he has seen a great array of theatre) He proceeded to tell the story of when he went to see RENT in NY and how after seeing the show, he cried for hours. He had a direct relationship to the show, as his life at that stage was parallel to one of the character’s in the show.
So really, what I’m saying is, things can affect you in different ways. I have fallen in love with heaps of shows or plays over the years… but do they hold a lasting impression on me? Or is it just simply that I like it and find it highly entertaining. I have performed in 2 versions of A Chorus Line, directed and choreographed it once, and probably seen about 6 different versions of the show throughout my years……….. Yes I love it……. But have I truly connected with it?? I’m not sure. And I’m not sure if anyone can answer that for me!
When you look at modern theatre today, you would have to say that the balk of it is directed at adults. If we are to look specifically at theatre to educate adults I think we need to look at the purpose and objective of the writer and director. As Zoe said in class, she’s thinks it inevitable that every piece of theatre has a moral lesson or story to tell, whether it was intentional or not. Let me just think of a few random shows I’ve seen –
Miss Saigon – Educates adults about the Vietnam War and the effects it had on both the American soldiers and the Vietnamese people
West Side Story – Educates adults about Racism and the need for societies to live as one.
Closer – Educates adults about relationships and infidelity.
Stolen – Educates adults about the stolen generation
So, are these pieces of theatre educational for adults???? I’m not sure – yes they can teach you a thing or two about life, however it’s not for me to say whether that was the direct intention in the first play. The intention of ‘Miss Saigon’ could have been to be the first theatrical piece to showcase a real life helicopter on stage???? I’m not sure…. I think the only theatre you can comfortable say is there for educational purposes is “Theatre in Education”. Their aim, objective and obstacles are all centred round specifically educating their audience.

The Adults, Learning and Drama article by John O’Toole gives plenty of examples where drama is used to educate adults. This usually takes place in or around the workplace where adults play out possible scenarios or role play different situations. I think that adults might not be as receptive to drama as children as they don’t seem to be able to let go of their inhibitions as easily. Children have the cunning ability to be able to talk without thinking first, for adults, it’s a lot harder. My fear with teaching drama to adults is that they want to analyse everything too much and not just open their minds and bodies to the magic and possibilities that drama bring.
On the flip side of things, adults do bring with them a wealth of experience, knowledge and deep inner thoughts that can all be wonderful tools in drama education. These are the areas that I would tap into if I was in a position to teach adults drama.

After doing a quick search, I found a book that deals directly with Creative Play and Drama for Adults. There is a blurb about the book on the web. It’s interesting that they talk about adults perspectives that ‘Creative Play’ is childish and that where their hesitation to join in Drama stem from. Anyway, have a look if you like -

http://www.speechmark.net/speechmark/New_Titles/creativeplayadult.htm

04.02.07

WEEK 6 – DRAMA AND SOCIAL EDUCATION

Posted in Uncategorized at 10:13 pm by tubs

Drama is a fantastic element to explore when dealing with social issues as it allows students to both experience and view first hand what is happening and how it’s happening. When focusing on Bullying, students are able to experience (in a dramatic sense) what it feels like to be a bully, and what it feels like to be bullied. The workshop bought up many different instances where bullying occurred, whether it be physical, emotional or otherwise. We also looked at how a bully is defined and how their victim’s often react.

Although these activities are amazing in their portrayal, I found that more often than not we were exemplifying the “stereotypical bully” rather than emphasising the diversity of people who bully. It was mentioned through our discussions, however every time we were to portray a bully, they were all loud speaking, physically powerful people. Contrary to this, the victims were all shy, quietly spoken and timid people.

After participating in each activity, it was extremely clear as to the purpose and message behind it. In most cases, it wasn’t until we’d finished the activity and viewed examples from other groups that we fully understood the concept behind the activity and it’s rational. Every single activity we did would certainly create valid discussions for a group of school students.

Using drama as your vehicle for teaching and learning allows students to vent their feelings and opinions on the issue through their performance. Most activities relied on us, as the students, to create a scenario in which bullying occurs. If students were experiencing bullying in their own life, they could use this drama piece as a form of identification or therapy – regardless of their place within the bullying experience.

During last years Health Education unit, we looked quite closely at mental health issues, with particular focus on the Mind Matters resource. I looked at Self Esteem as an issue in schools (for both students and staff) and the use of a dramatic performance to overcome these issues. It was driven by the notion that if children feel good about themselves they will have an easier time handling conflicts and resisting negative pressures. Self Esteem also deals with the need for inclusion both within the immediate surrounds of school and the wider community. A self esteem health education program was implemented by creating a dramatic experience for students that encouraged cooperation rather than competition. This was done through the J Rock program where students perform a story or theme through drama, dance and music. J Rock’s philosophy is non competitive, professional, educational and accessible. The J Rock performance piece also becomes an educational tool for parents, staff, peers and the wider community. By producing an 8 minute dramatic piece on a moral issue or subject, it also becomes a form of visual literacy. The performance can be shown at information evenings to generate discussions on the topic or issue, and create thinking amongst the community. Therefore this piece actually serves as an added educational tool with a purpose beyond its initial health program.

In terms of looking at health issues in a dramatic sense, here are a few things I found -

http://www.thefa.com/NR/rdonlyres/5A26EE52-902C-442B-945C-C7B0B0BEBFCB/55250/Schools_TacklingRacism.pdf

This link looks at tackling racism in sport through the English and Drama curriculum. This is not a solid drama process, however many of the task are drama related…… have a look, there are some good ideas in there. I particularly like that they are looking at racism through sport – so immediately they are engaging the student’s interests. They refer to “Sport” as either a player or a spectator, therefore including most students.

http://www.dramamagazine.co.uk/docs/makebelieveforreal.pdf

This article describes a drama process about racism in regards to the civics and citizenship curriculum. It’s not actually a step by step account of how it was done, rather a reflective article on the process. This article has some great reflective comments from the student’s perspective.

http://www.winwinresolutions.org/WinWin-A/Win-Win_Home.html

This website is a company that run workshops about conflict, through drama. They have several different workshops for students depending on the year level and they also explore conflicts between teachers and students and parents and students.

http://www.royalarmouries.org/extsite/view.jsp?sectionId=2607

This site looks at dealing with family conflict by using the pre text Romeo and Juliet to students aged 11-14 years.

There are many more sites on the internet that deal with social issues through drama but I won’t bore you with them all. I will however leave you with this quote from a report I found that was based on teaching the war through drama.

Theatre enables us to observe ourselves and by so doing to “discover what is not and imagine what we could become.”
Arendshorst, T, 2005 Drama in Conflict Transformation
http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/drama/ (accessed 03.04.07)

04.01.07

WEEK 5 – PROCESS DRAMA IN ACTION

Posted in Uncategorized at 4:06 am by tubs

This week we went out to Essex primary school to put our process drama into action. Jo was kind enough to write up an extensive lesson plan so when we arrived we felt comfortable in knowing exactly what was going on.
We’d all brought along with us a few costume items or props that helped define the characters we were going to be playing… it’s amazing how a character can just come to life with a small article of clothing.
To get the students into the mood, we played a few warm up games that related to print journalism. I nominated myself to run the first warm up. I was confident in running the game, however it makes for hard work when you don’t know the students you’re working with, and they don’t know you. We were not given any prior information on the students in the group, which can be a hard experience if you’re dealing with special needs students. This aside, everyone was very responsive to the activity which proved to be a great introduction to their journalism task.
The body of the drama began with Deakin teachers in role as newspaper editors. We then progressed to play suspects in the missing snake saga. The students responded quite well to us “playing” characters and approached us in an appropriate manner. I must say that when I was playing Jason, the troubled school boy, I had to hold my tongue a few times as I needed to use language that was appropriate for grade 6 students and appropriate for the character himself. Hot seating can bring up some interesting topics that can at times become exaggerated. I think I painted quite a negative picture of Gemima which was not my initial intension, however somewhat evolved from the student’s questions.
The students were then given instructions to go off and write a newspaper article about the snake incident. This was a huge task for the students to tackle, especially as they’ve just gone from a drama environment straight into a literacy task. They were only given 15 mins to complete this task, which again was quite an ask. These students were not really used to quickly jotting down some words on a page. They were used to brainstorming then planning their reports, before actually sitting down and writing one up. Having said that, most groups managed to write a decent story. It was especially good to see the ESL students writing well in excess of what their teacher expected.
I guess that using drama as a way of facilitating literacy, taps into some students way of learning and really allows them to shine, when often they struggle to even understand. It would be really nice to be able to extend this activity with the students and really develop their literacy skills through drama. It’s a pity this was a one off activity…….. I would love to get my teeth into some thing like this when I start teaching!

03.21.07

WEEK 4 – PROCESS DRAMA

Posted in Uncategorized at 2:44 am by tubs

This week’s class had a really different feel to it. We were able to just sit around and share ideas rather than place ourselves in the traditional classroom setting. It was a great collaborative learning experience where the five of us could focus together to achieve the same outcome – A lesson plan for a grade 6 class centred around the print media.
Ideas were thrown every which way - from the life cycle of the newspaper, to stereotypical journalist movements, to newsworthy stories to animal cruelty. It’s amazing to reflex on a lesson such as this and realise just how important and valuable brainstorming can be. It’s one of those things that can lead you to places that you just wouldn’t be able to get to.
I really enjoyed listening to other people, collaborating ideas and working through problematic situations as a team. You always have a vision of the end result, however at the time, you’re just not sure how you’re going to get there. That’s the beauty of process drama.
So here’s what we came up with:-

Students Role
Students play the role of cadet journalist who need to investigate a particular story. Before they set out on their way, they are briefed by two very different newspaper Editors. One is very straight down the line, the other a very excentric editor who will do anything to sell a story…..

News Story
Word comes in that a wild snake as been let lose in the local primary school. It was spotted in the morning by several students, and then captured by the school care taker ready to be handed over the appropriate animal authorities. Whilst waiting for the authorities to arrive, the snake somehow escapes and is running wild around the school……….. What happen? Did someone let the snake out of the bag? Who was it?

Suspects
Student # 1 – Jason.
A problematic students who is always getting himself and others in to trouble.

Student # 2 – Gemima
An intelligent students whom seems to know a little too much about snakes

Teacher
A animal activist teacher who sometimes seems to care more about animals than her students

Care Taker
He was last seen capturing the snake – was he negligent in his job?

Parent
A distressed parent who is always trying to blame the school for everything

Task
Students must interview each of the suspects (played by Deakin students) and in pairs write a report based on what they think happened to the snake. They can either choose to write an informative piece which incorporates viewpoints from all involved, or a colourful piece that may embellish the truth somewhat.

This is the lesson in a nutshell, however as this is a topic that relies on the students input, things may change along the way, which is something that we as teachers will allow and follow. I’m really excited to see how this task works, and the kind of response we’ll get from the students. The more engaged they are, the easier it will be for us to carry out our part of the lesson. This is also a great opportunity for us to build on our improvisation stills, and perform in front of an audience that have the ability to change our direction.

Keep posted for news on how the class goes………

I found a useful website that looks at process drama and gives several examples. It connects wonderfully with what we’ve been discussing in class and can prove to be a useful reasource for when we’re in the big bad world of teaching

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view_printer_friendly.asp?id=269

Enjoy

03.12.07

WEEK 3 - “DRAMATHINKING”

Posted in Uncategorized at 10:04 pm by tubs

Animals                             Spears                     European Settlement 
Hunting                             Weapons                  White Australians  
Food
 
                                                Government              Stolen Generation                   Plants
                                                                                                                                                                 Sorry 

          Land             Landrights                Geographic Boundaries 

          Bush                        

                                                            Generations                        Grandparents / Elders

          Lifestyle                                                                  
                                                                                                           Parents                                                                                                            Children          

                                                INDIGINOUS AUSTRALIANS
 
Adventures                                                                                                                              Family
  History                                                                  Traditions                         Dance  Explorers                                                                                                          Make Up

                                                                            
                                              Language                                                                          

                                                                                                                                     Song
Culture                   Tribes                                                                                                                         Drawings/Paintings
  
                                                         Dreamtime                                                       Storytelling

Ahhhh….. none of the connecting Lines came out on my mind map…… hopefully you can get the idea!!!!

Example ideas for Indigenous Australians

  • Have an Indigenous Grandfather tell a story of when the first white settlers came into Australians…… Ask the class to ask questions on how he felt about the changing conditions of Australian

 

  • Pair up the students – One is Indigenous, one white settlers.  Allow them to converse either with a positive or negative view on their situations
  • Act out a current day parliament setting with the topic of the day being either Landrights or the Stolen Generation (Sorry debate)

Teacher as the role of the mediator. 

 

WEEK 2 - MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

Posted in Uncategorized at 9:10 pm by tubs

I find the study of Multiple Intelligences very interesting and something that I can really relate to. This study somehow allows differences in peoples learning to be recognised and in a way celebrated. I was always the student who struggled to sit and write, or learn through reading and comprehension. Allow me to visualise or present the information and I’d be flying. I always knew where my strengths lie, however I’m not quite sure all my teachers knew. I love that these MI’s are more widely recognised in schools nowadays so all student get to explore all their strengths and weaknesses.

If I were to predict my MI test, I honestly think it would have been exactly the same as my final results. As a teacher I would love for my students to also know where they stand in terms of MI. This allows student to work on their weaknesses but also celebrate and embrace their strengths and be proud of the type of learner they are. I think it’s also good for students to know they are not the only one who isn’t mathematically inclined, or musically based. Within my own strengths as a teacher, I can also lead the class in ways that many other teachers may not be comfortable in doing.

If you were to look at Drama on its own, not across the curriculum, you would assume it is filled with only right brain activities - And for the most part I think that’s true. But what inspired me, were the amount of examples and activities that were listed and suggested in the readings that catered for both Left and Right Brain students. I think Drama brings an exciting element to the curriculum by allowing several of the MI’s to be at work during the one task. Take for example some of the environmental issues we were discussing in class. When Jo asked if someone could explain how states of matters work, one student was able to give a brief lecture on the in’s and out’s of liquids turning into solids and so on. For some, this explanation was enough. Through words and text, they were able to comprehend what was being taught. For someone like myself – a Right Brainer – that information kinda went over my head. However, when it was explained again using our bodies, we were given another way of explaining the content which was perhaps more suited to our MI’s and learning styles.

Seeing these teaching styles back to back really excited me. I would probably have never thought to explain scientific information in a dramatic way. It’s not something I’ve seen a lot of, however I definitely want to explore it further as my teaching career develops. Had I only have thought of doing something like this last year when I was stuck in a science lab with grade 6 students studying plant structures!!!!

I would just like to finish by adding….I have sat at my computer for about 6 hours today trying to write two blogs. There have been welcomed distractions, a lot of procrastination, and not much motivation. This is most probably because I find it extremely hard for me to sit and write! If we had the option to present this blog as a visual diary of some description I think I would have done it in a second! It’s interesting that at a university level they often teach us about “different ways of teaching and learning” however whenever they put it into practice, there’s only one option!
Just some food for thought!

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