04.25.07
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!
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04.17.07
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 youâ€. 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 Educationâ€. 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
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04.02.07
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)
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04.01.07
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!
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