Drama In Writing

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Drama In Writing

• Cornerstone Literacy Initiative
• Summer Institute 2006
• Rahshene Davis

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Aim for this session

• To understand, the theory behind, using drama to
  enhance reading and writing instruction.
• To learn new strategies that facilitate drama in
  Language Arts.
• To experience the use of drama to enhance
  Language Arts.

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We all ask the questions

• Why do so many children find writing a chore?
• Why do standards in writing continue to fall
  below those of reading?
• What can be done to improve childrens
  achievement and motivation in writing?

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When searching for the cause of these problems,
there are a number of factors to consider

• Transition and mobility of students
• Absenteeism
• Children arriving with vastly varying levels of
  English and school experience
• These factors effect achievement in writing
  because writing is a complex process that draws
  on a vast range of skills.

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Benefits of Drama in Writing

• Gets students mentally and physically involved in
  situations which will extend their imaginations,
  develop insights, and deepen their understanding
  of human behavior.
• Affords opportunities for work across the
  curriculum.
• Gives students a real situation to practice the
  vocabulary they have been asked to learn from a
  specific content.
• Participating in drama work enables students to
  write from a view point other than their own,
  with a degree of authenticity that is often
  difficult to achieve in other ways.
• Provides enjoyable listening for other purposes.

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Getting Started

• Encourage students to regard drama as a part of
  their everyday classroom work. It is not a
  treat, nor a reward nor something special.
• Ordinary clothes are best. Drama work is to do
  with thinking and discussing. It can lead to
  disappointment if the students change into PE
  gear and expect to be engaged in only physical
  activity.
• A simple arena can be formed by a circle of
  chairs.
• Once a working space has been established, you
  can explain that it can become whatever they wish
  - a road, the ocean, or a railway station. No
  need for props and scenery unless you, the
  teacher, feel that it is necessary. It is far
  better to imagine!
• Working in role needs to encompass not just the
  physical attributes of the character but
  appropriate ways of thinking, talking, responding
  and interacting for a change of perspective to
  occur.

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Cutting Across Comprehension Strategies through
Drama

• Drama is highly motivating and an adaptable means
  of linking texts, talk and writing.
• Drama can be a transition from content in one
  area of the curriculum to the next.
• While performing, children gain an awareness of
  the audience response that can be used to develop
  the awareness of a reader in a subsequent writing
  task.

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Drama Strategies

• Teacher in role
• Visualization
• Scene-making
• Hot seating
• Mime

• Freeze frame
• Thought corridor
• Conscience alley
• Forum Theatre
• Meetings
• Creating back-story

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Teacher in role

• Enables you to share an experience with the
  class, but should never be approached in terms of
  performance, should rather adopt the attitude of
  the role and express the subjects thoughts and
  feelings.
• By participating from within the drama, you can
  demonstrate appropriate language and attitude,
  challenge superficial thinking, press for
  thoughtful responses, introduce information
  naturally, develop narrative and slow down the
  pace.
• While in role, always look at the learning which
  is taking place and use opportunities to deepen
  the students thinking and stretch their
  imagination.

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Visualization

• A good way of ensuring that everyone is imagining
  the same scene.
• Everyone, including yourself, contributes to the
  overall picture, and no suggestion is negated
  unless it presents a potential problem.
• It is particularly useful in building up an
  understanding of setting and location or of a
  historical period which may be unfamiliar to the
  students.

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Scene-making

• A development of imaginative play experienced by
  most young children.
• All participants work in role simultaneously, and
  use language and behavior appropriate to the
  situation.
• It is an effective means of gaining their
  commitment and interest in dramatic play.

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Hot-seating

• A simple means for finding out significant
  details regarding an important characters
  actions, behavior, or attitudes, by close
  questioning.
• The questioning group may or may not be in role.

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Mime

• Can be done with or without speech, and can be
  done individually or in groups.
• It should be used to get all students actively
  involved and tuned into the context gives shy
  students the opportunity to expressing ideas
  which may then be vocalized after the drama
  activity and offers verbally-confident students
  an opportunity to explore alternative means of
  communicating.

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Freeze Frame

• In groups, the the students analyze and reflect
  on the situation and then create a still
  depiction to mark a significant moment or idea.
• Can be a very useful way to evaluate the
  students level of understanding of the context
  or attitude to it.
• You may then wish to introduce elements that the
  students may not have considered, or correct
  anachronisms if necessary.
• Students should learn to observe and interpret
  frozen pictures, and discuss their meanings.

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Thought Corridor

• Students stand in two lines facing each other,
  and verbalize the thoughts of the character that
  walks through.
• Useful to promote in-depth character studies and
  help children to develop empathy with characters.

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Conscience Alley

• A reflective activity which adds tension as a
  character faces a difficult choice.
• It enables all the pupils to be involved in
  reaching the final decision and, by hearing the
  conflicting thoughts, students can become more
  aware of the complexities of the problem.

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Forum Theatre

• Allows students to rehearse or test, in an
  atmosphere of safety or trust, difficult
  real-life issues or behaviors.
• Allows them to project, challenge, and analyze
  ideas by witnessing them in action and trying
  them out.
• The acting out of real-life scenarios or scenes
  (by you and/or the pupils)in which the spectators
  have a vested interest and key role. The can
  intervene directly(by stopping the action, taking
  the place of an actor and re-running it in a
  different way) or indirectly (by advising the
  actors how to make positive changes). These
  interventions are channeled through you, the
  leader.

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Meetings

• Done with everyone in role, in a formal manner.
  It is a useful way to highlight a problem, make a
  decision or present information for discussing.
• Young students will benefit from having you,the
  teacher, as chairperson.
• By addressing the students in a serious manner,
  you can reinforce their particular roles, upgrade
  the language, and deepen the thinking.

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Creating back story

• This is a reflective out of role
  discussion-activity which involves students in
  inventing imaginary background details about
  fictional characters or situations beyond that
  contained or explicit in the script or story
  itself.
• This may involve making up a whole previous
  story, or a single experience, or a relationship,
  or a trait which shed light on a character.
• Useful for developing creativity, imagination,
  awareness of dramatic sub-text, and analytical
  and affective abilities.

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References

• BBC Education Scotland, Time for Drama, Autumn
  2001, http//www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education