Drama at Key Stages 1 and 2

Resourcing Drama from Literature

The planning and teaching process

Drama requires careful planning so that when conflicts and tensions are encountered, the learners care about the issue and respond to them. The three phases of extended classroom drama include:

If a drama workshop is undertaken it may be helpful to record the drama conventions used on a flip chart under these three headings, so that at the close of the session, the various activities which enabled the group to build a work of fiction can be seen.

The learning intentions and the degree to which these were achieved can also be considered by the student teacher group. Try to provide real time for reflecting upon the drama created as a group, perhaps by providing a list of possible issues to discuss. These might include:

• Which part of the drama were they most involved in?
• Were there any surprises or was that what you were expecting?
• What do you see as the advantages for children of more extended drama?
• What was the early narrative hook that drew you in?
• Did the sequence of activities provide a varied pace and rhythm?
• Was there a reasonable balance of pair, small group work and whole class work over the session?
• To what extent were the teaching objectives/ learning intentions woven into the lesson?