1. ARTS EDUCATION 5142:
Drama
Drama offers children a way of knowing that
is not replicated elsewhere in the curriculum.
John O’Toole & Julie Dunn: Pretending to
learn (2002)
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

2. Drama education
 What is the intended learning?
 Why is it important?
 What do children bring?
WHAT DO WE WANT OUR STUDENTS
TO LEARN IN AND THROUGH
DRAMA????
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

3. The multi-dimensional and physical
nature of drama activity means that
children’s cognitive abilities are
engaged more comprehensively than
in sedentary learning activities
(Jensen, 2001, p72, as cited in
Dinham, pge 180).
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

4. Stage one
Drama/theatre warm up activity
WHY?
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

5. Drama or theatre activities are used
to develop a range of skills and
competencies such as physical
movement skills, imagination,
concentration, trust, spatial
awareness and team skills.
Dinham (2011) pge 187
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

6. Stage two
Knowledge in, skills and practices
that form drama education
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

7. Intended learning……
1.
Voice
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

8. Verbal expression involves using the
voice to represent different characters
and to convey moods and content
expressively by using tone (timbre),
intonation (pitch, volume (dynamics)
and pace (tempo). Diction (clarity),
pronunciation (accuracy) and
improvising dialogue are other vocal
skills required for dramatic
performance. (Dinham 2011, pge 203)
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

9. Reader’s Theatre
Activity: Read the script for Tacky the
Penguin by Helen Lester
www.teachingheart.net/readerstheater.htm
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

10. Voice
Tone
Clarity
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013
Pace

11. Intended learning…….
2.
Movement/gesture
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

12. Movement/
gesture
Consistent
Appropriate
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013
Enhances
character

13. Mime
Mime is acting without words and
focuses attention on the use of facial
expression, gesture, body language
and action. Focus on non-verbal ways
of communicating.
Dinham (2011), pge 183-7
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

14. Activity: Opening of birthday present
1) Non-verbally communicate what it is
2) Non-verbally communicate your
emotional response
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

15. Intended learning……
3.
Text
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

16. Text
Beginning
context
Point of
tension
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013
Resolution

17. Activity: Word prompts for
narrative
(person, place, object)
Focus: structure of the plot –
beginning, middle and end, with
an area of conflict and resolution
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

18. Audience
Roles and responsibilities
Etiquette
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

19. Audience checklist
Drama skills
 Voice
 Movement/gesture
 Maintaining character
 Story structure
 Production
(lighting/sound/sets..)
Drama dispositions
 Confidence
 Team work
 Risk taking
 Co-operation

Issues/moral dilemmas/
character traits
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

20. Drama education – why???
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

21. Research shows that children
involved in rich forms of drama
education develop greater fluency
and versatility in language and nonverbal forms of communication than
those who are not (Fiske, 1999, cited
in Dinham pge 181.
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

22. The Practice/process
Child centered
Teacher initiated
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

23. Child Centered
 Drama corner
 Play boxes
 Box of costumes
 Variety of props
 ……………..
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

24. Teacher initiated – the practice
- process drama
 Dramatic role play
 Storytelling
 Puppets
 Improvisation
 Mime
 Scripts
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

25. Additions to your teaching
 Windmill Theatre: www.windmill.org.au
 Patch Theatre: www.patchtheatre.org.au
 Slingsby Theatre: www.slingsby.net.au
 No
Strings Attached:
www.nostringsattached.org.au
 Carclew
Youth Arts Centre: Artist in Schools
Program - carclew.com.au
 Outreach Education (DECD) - Adelaide Festival
Centre, Art Gallery of SA, ……
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

26. Assessment
Strategies…………….
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

27. Assessment
What is your assessment focus? (skills or
dispositions)
 Teacher assessment – checklist,
observation (with or without notes)
 Peer assessment – verbal feedback on
performances
 Group assessment – verbal/drawn/written
reviews of formal performances
 Video – for teacher, students, parents
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

28. Drama elements
Role, character and relationships
Situation/setting
Focus
Tension
Space and time
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

29. Drama skills and knowledge
Technical:
Voice
Body
Text
Audience
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

30. Drama pedagogy
 Learning in:
Focus on the specific skills, knowledge and
vocabulary of drama
 Learning through:
Using the dispositions of drama to enhance
other learning areas and personal and
social competencies.
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

31. Cross curriculum priorities
Sustainability: opportunities to explore issues through
dramatic role play
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures:
traditional and contemporary dance (SA – Kurruru Youth
Theatre, National - Bungarra Dance Theatre), visual art
Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia:
 Japan: Bunraku Puppetry, Noh Theatre, Kabuki
 China: Marionette and hand puppets, Opera
 Vietnam: Water Puppets
 Indonesia (Bali): Topeng – mask dance-drama
 Indonesia & Malaysia – Wayang Kulit (shadow puppets).
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013

32. Drama is an embodied form of artistic
expression that engages children’s
emotions, intellect, imagination, spirit and
body. Children have a natural instinct for
drama, as seen in their earliest ‘let’s
pretend’ forms of play. When children enter
the imaginative world of make-believe they
enter the world of dramatic play. By building
on these instincts, teachers can create rich
and satisfying learning experiences for
children. Dinham, pge 209.
UniSA Drama tut/workshop pt 2, 2nd years
October 2013