Supporting Primary

Dramawith ICT

Malcolm WilsonICT Curriculum Development OfficerFalkirk Council Education Services

Course Outline

• Using Online story texts – “Hot-seating”, “Dilemma Debate”.

• Word Starter – “Thought Shower”, “Body Language”, “Facial Expression”, “Freeze-Action”.

• Mimed Action – “Freeze-action” – Mimed action.

• Pictures / Postcard Starter - “Freeze-action”, “Still-image”, “Thought Out Loud”.

• Moving Image Resources as stimulus – “What Happens Next”, “Improvisation”, “”Forum Theatre”.

• Creating Digital Video – “Living Newspaper”, puppetry.

• Scripted Work – templates and guides.

• Online Drama in Education Resources

Expressive Arts: Drama

AIMS SPECIFIC TO DRAMA • Children from their earliest years use imaginative

play to explore, order and make sense of themselves and the world about them. Drama extends and builds on this natural process. Drama should provide all pupils with opportunities to • reach new understandings and appreciation of self,

others and the environment through imaginative dramatic experience;

• to communicate ideas and feelings through language, expression and movement, in real and imaginary contexts;

• to develop confidence and self-esteem in their day-to-day interaction with others;

• to develop sensitivity towards the feelings, opinions and values of others through purposeful interaction;

• to develop a range of dramatic skills and techniques.

Attainment Outcome: Using Materials, Techniques, Skills and

Media

• In Drama, investigating and experimenting with roles and relationships, • through movement, mime and language • features such as props, materials, sound and light can

stimulate imagination and understanding and enhance the quality of the pupils' experience.

• Pupils communicate through action, by using movement and mime, including gesture and facial expression.

• Through creating and exploring roles and relationships they will learn to observe and listen attentively to others and to use language to communicate effectively.

Attainment Outcome: Expressing Feelings, Ideas, Thoughts and

Solutions• Drama offers pupils opportunities to explore

human behaviour • by creating roles and relationships in a variety of

different contexts and settings. • There are opportunities for pupils to become

involved in designing • for example, where there is conflict which can be

resolved by changing and adapting the various roles they have adopted.

• This process will help to broaden pupils' awareness of the complexities of people's responses to each other and to their environment.

• Drama is based on group co-operation;• communicating and presenting the group's interpretation

and resolution of problems are important aspects of the work.

Attainment Outcome: Evaluating and Appreciating

• In Drama, observing, listening and reflecting are essential elements in developing an appreciation of the value of both personal contributions and those of others • as well as identifying what has been learned through the

process. • Increased appreciation of professional and

amateur performances and a greater awareness of the role of mass media can be gained through this process.

• Pupils can be encouraged to use what they have learned in describing what they have seen and heard and in responding to their experiences.

Contexts for Drama

• Drama provides excellent opportunities for collaborative group work based on pupil interaction as they vicariously explore increasingly complex, and sometimes difficult, attitudes, values and behaviour in the relatively safe, secure and supportive context of the drama activity.

• Many of the contexts for drama activities will relate to other areas of the curriculum and the key place of dialogue in drama creates obvious opportunities for links to be made with work in language.

• Children's natural involvement in acting out provides an excellent starting point for drama in classes at the early stages of the primary school and the provision of plentiful opportunities for young pupils to engage in drama activities, in a variety of contexts meaningful to them, will allow the development of confidence and a greater appreciation and understanding of others and their situations.

Useful Terms, Definitions and Descriptions - 1

• Role: assuming a character other than one's own, from personal observation or from the imagination.

• Role-play: an activity through which pupils explore issues, attitudes, ideas and behaviour. Helps pupils to understand themselves and empathise with the experience and feelings of others in a variety of different situations, past, present and future. Its purpose is to extend pupils' learning in a stimulating way.

• Improvisation: an activity which enable pupils to explore specific problems concerned with interpersonal relationships. Opposing viewpoints expressed in these relatively safe and non-threatening situations can be considered and possibly resolved as pupils later reflect on their experience.

• Mime: the use of movement to communicate meaning or narrative without words.

• Scripted work: the acting out of a pre-determined scenario. It can emerge from the pupils' own Drama activities and is often a 'polished' presentation of previous activities. It can also be the acting out of a poem, text or commercial script.

• Space: a working area which can 'become' any place pupils imagine or need, at any point in lime, with minimal assistance from props, costume, lighting, sound, etc.

From National Guidelines for Expressive Arts 5-14 www.ltscotland.org.uk

Useful Terms, Definitions and Descriptions - 2

• Tension: a point in a dramatic event when something unusual or unexpected happens which propels the action forward (a sense of time, focus, pace, surprise).

• Props/Costume/Lighting/Sound/Make up/Set Design: devices and theatrical conventions which can be used when appropriate to enhance presentation and communicate meaning. Puppets and masks in particular can be used to good effect, particularly with younger or less confident pupils.

• Presenting: part of a natural progression in some Drama activities when groups wish to share their work with the teacher, with another group, or with the rest of the class or a wider audience. This activity can heighten group co-operation and commitment, as well as offering others the opportunity to evaluate what has been done.

• Context: may be the created Drama situation in which pupils participate largely in role; or it may the normal learning situation in which pupils interact as part of the creating and designing process. Such contexts will often relate, for example, to investigating personal, social and moral issues; or situations relating to the lives of others.

From National Guidelines for Expressive Arts 5-14 www.ltscotland.org.uk

Using Online story texts• Make use of texts online, these are usually out of

copyright, as starting points for:• “Hot-seating” – pupils read story then each takes a

character and when interviewed by other pupils take on the role of that character and improvise answers based on their understanding of that character.

• “Dilemma Debate” – at turning points in stories, where a decision has to be taken, split the class into two groups with each group arguing case for one decision choice, each pupil in turn giving their view to the pupil who has taken on the character role.• Storybook Online – a storytelling community for children

where children add stories.• http://www.storybookonline.net/Default.aspx

• Online texts library - http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/lists.html

• Kidspace @ The Internet Public Library – click on Reading Zone link -

• http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/

Word Starter• Use interactive whiteboard to Thought Shower

a word – perhaps using mind-mapping program Kidspiration or diagram tool in Microsoft Word (Insert – Diagram – radial diagram):• What does the word mean? Use the in-built dictionary

in Microsoft Word to find meanings or internet reference websites:

• www.wordcentral.com/• www.dictionary.com• www.encyclopedia.com• www.infoplease.com

• In what different contexts can it be used? Use Microsoft Word thesaurus or online search for word in context or synonyms.

• www.quoteland.com• http://encarta.msn.com/

• Each pupil to use Body Language and Facial Expression develop four freeze-action mimes that illustrate the word.

Mimed action• Use a music track on the computer (use an Internet search

engine and enter “free royalty-free music” in the search box for free download music files from online sites) as stimulus (to download files right click on each download link and “save target as” – choose where to save to – save).

• www.koumis.com/music.htm for free royalty-free music and video clips

• www.partnersinrhyme.com for free royalty-free music, sound-effects.

• www.incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/ for free royalty-free piano, orchestral, contemporary music.

• www.freeaudioclips.com – for free short sound clips from movies.• pupils to combine a sequence that moves from one freeze-

action mime to the next on a signal from the teacher.• Pupils use a digital camera to take photographs of freeze-

action of groups, to show on computer / data projector – pupils to reflect and evaluate in group discussion.

• www.bobsedulinks.com/digital.htm - resources on using digital camera.

• Pupils create mimed action mirroring actions of character shown on a short clip on the computer

• www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/webplay/clips/index.shtml• www.bbc.co.uk/history/multimedia_zone/audio_video/• http://www.historychannel.com

Pictures / Postcard Starter• Choose pictures from the Internet:

• historic still pictures of people, objects or places – • www.scran.ac.uk• www.historybuff.com• www.historytoday.com• http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/

• constantly updating location webcam images• http://www.bbc.co.uk/webcams/

• panoramic images• www.avirtualdominica.com/360degs/ - Dominica• www.360portugal.com/ - Portugal and Spain• www.czechbyclick.com/vt/index.cfm - Prague• www.bbc.co.uk – type panorama into the search box

• Show the class a selected picture and together establish a few facts observed from the picture using prompts Who, What, Where, Why, When?

• “Still-image / Freeze frames” - in groups the class re-create the picture with each pupil taking on the role of one of the people in the photograph. Each pupil will be asked to speak when the teacher clicks fingers above pupil’s head. They will say their name and what they are doing

• “Thought Out Loud”- each pupil in character will describe their feelings about the situation the picture shows them in.

• “Cross-Cut” – one group starts with action – then cut to next group action of what they think happens next, then on signal from teacher cuts to next group.

Moving Image Resources as stimulus

• Use online resources of film clips, news stories or movie trailers as starting point for “What happens next” improvisations (right-click on film clips – save target as – choose location to save on your computer - download).

• http://heritage.scotsman.com/videos.cfm - video clips from Scotsman news archive.

• www.scran.ac.uk – Scottish archive of photographs and film.• www.mediaed.org.uk - UK Movie Image and Media Education.• www.scottishscreen.com – Scottish Screen – includes resources and

links.• www.bfi.org.uk – The British Film Institute.

• “Forum Theatre” – a group starts the improvised action watched by the rest of the class. It can be “frozen” by any other pupil or the teacher and other pupils add to the situation or replace characters.

• News sources:• http://news.bbc.co.uk• http://news.google.com• www.newsindex.com

From the National Guidelines Expressive Arts 5-14:“As they acquire skills and strategies for communicating, interpreting and evaluating their own ideas, pupils

should be enabled to: explore their own responses to the images conveyed by the mass media; appreciate the diversity and range of the mass media;understand how visual and sound images in the media are constructed;

appreciate the ways in which the mass media can influence their own and other people's lives.”

Creating Digital Video• http://tre.ngfl.gov.uk (enter “drama and digital video” into the search

box) - Teachers Resource Exchange - example animations on how to start using digital video with pupils www.atomiclearning.com/storyboardpro - free film-making storyboarding software and tutorials

• www.mightycoach.com/articles/mm2/index.html - free tutorials and resources on using free Windows Movie Maker 2.

• http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/nisa/moviemaker.htm - Georgia Movie Makers – resources and tutorials on using Windows Movie Maker 2.

• Creating a “Living Newspaper” – record a report on an event in the news, historical or current, with pupils taking on roles of interviewees, reporter and people in character.

• Stimulus may be story from the news or a headline.• Create a puppet show – pupils devise scripted puppet show and

record on video.• www.childdrama.com/puppets.html

• Contains directions for making different kinds of puppets, including templates.

• www.fastq.com/~jbpratt/education/theme/puppet.html• Contains links and resources for making and using puppets

Scripted Work

• BBC Writer’s Room free Microsoft Word templates for Screenplay; TV Taped Drama; TV Taped Sitcom; Radio Drama; Radio Sketch; Stage; Comic Book. Also has archive of scripts from broadcast BBC plays, animated films, television sitcoms.• www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scriptsmart/

• Nuts and Bolts Film-making – free scripts and resources• www.cvisual.com/film-techniques/default.asp

• Making Movies - A Guide For Young Filmmakers by The Film Foundation and Directors Guild of America, provides free step by step

lesson plans, workbooks and activities for making a movie with pupils • www.scenariosusa.com/educators/makingmovies/

• Independent Film makers - Sonnyboo free resources including script templates, storyboarding templates• www.sonnyboo.com/downloads/downloads.htm

Online Drama in Education Resources• 5-14 Online from Learning and Teaching Scotland

• www.ltscotland.org.uk• Contains 5-14 Guidelines, and example resources from schools and

local authorities.

• Creative Drama and Theatre Education• www.creativedrama.com/

• Contains classroom ideas for games and warm-up exercises to develop specific drama skills.

• Tag Theatre – Scottish touring company• www.tag-theatre.co.uk

• Contains background notes, teaching resources, lesson ideas, drama activities related to performances by Tag Theatre Company.

• Drama in Education• www.artsonthemove.co.uk/education/education.html

• Contains descriptions of drama “conventions” and terms as well as activities specific to primary schools.

• Creative Drama Lesson Plans• www.childdrama.com/lessons.html

• Many lesson plans for all ages sorted by age, type of drama and curricular subject.

• Teachers Resource Exchange -• http://tre.ngfl.gov.uk