Activities in teaching drama

DramaMaking it work in the classroom

Tableaux/Still ImageWhy do it?

This is a technique frequently used in drama. It is the perfect way to begin drama work as it is an easy and non threatening exercise for groups with little or no previous drama experience.

Still-image work requires and helps to develop team-working skills.

It is a very controlled form of expression which creates pictures that can be interpreted by the class – a picture is worth a thousand words!

It is also a very good way to represent potentially difficult concepts – such as fights, and abstract ideas like freedom or sadness etc.

Thought Tracking

Why do it?Thought-tracking allows the audience to

hear the inner thoughts of a character. This can be used with a scene that is ‘frozen’ for a moment or can be used to track the thoughts of characters within a still-image

Thought-tracking encourages pupils to reflect on the action of the drama and consider the point of view of the character they are playing.

By allowing the group to hear the thoughts of all characters in the scene/still image, thought tracking encourages an awareness of the views of others and the potential consequences of events/actions.

How to do it?A group should be frozen mid-scene

(preferably at a pivotal moment in the story) or in a still-image.

Explain that you are going to enter the picture and tap members of the group on the shoulder.

Make it clear that when you do this, you want the person to speak aloud the thoughts of his/her character at that moment.

Emphasize that you want them to speak the thoughts as that character,

e.g.“I can’t believe he would do this to me”

When all the characters have been “thought-tracked”, the scene can continue, or another still-image explored.

Ways you could use itThe groups can be divided into pairs,

where one person plays a character and the other plays his/her shadow.

During a scene, characters can be accompanied by their shadows, which speak the inner thoughts of the character.

This use of the technique is effective to deepen understanding of the potential conflict between

outward appearance and inner thoughts.

Hot SeatingWhy do it?

Hot seating allows the class (working as themselves) to question or interview people in role. This can help the group learn more about a character’s point of view.

How to do it?One person sits in a chair facing the rest of

the class.The class can ask questions of the

character in the hot seat. These will probably be questions to flesh

out the group’s knowledge of that character.

It is important that the person being ‘Hot Seated’ stays in character for the duration of the Hot Seating session.

The person being questioned should answer in accordance with what s/he already knows about the character.

What if a questioner requires more information?

Ways to do itThe teacher can be in role as a character

from the drama to which the group would like to ask questions.

Alternatively, the class sits in a circle and the teacher in role sits inside the circle, facing the hot seat on which there is an item of clothing/prop.

The group asks questions as the character symbolized by the hot seat and the teacher in role must answer the “character” in the hot seat.

Conscience Alley

Why do it?this can be a means of exploring a character’s mind at a moment of crisis and of investigating the complexity of the decision they are facing.

How to do it?The class create two lines facing each

other. One child in role as a particular character walks down the ‘alley’ between the lines.

Children voice the character’s thoughts, both for and against a particular decision or action that the character is facing, acting as his/her conscience before making a decision about the course of action to take.

Think-Pair -ShareWhy do it?

The think, pair, share strategy increases the kinds of personal communications that are necessary for students to internally process, organize, and retain ideas (Pimm 1987).

In sharing their ideas, students take ownership of their learning and negotiate meanings rather than rely solely on the teacher's authority (Cobb et al. 1991).

Students have the opportunity to learn higher-level thinking skills from their peers, gain the extra time or prompting they may need, and gain confidence when reporting ideas to the whole class. 

How to do itThink: Students think independently

about the question that has been posed, forming ideas of their own.

Pair: Students are grouped in pairs to discuss their thoughts. This step allows students to articulate their ideas and to consider those of others.

Share: Student pairs share their ideas with a larger group, such as the whole class. Often, students are more comfortable presenting ideas to a group with the support of a partner. In addition, students' ideas have become more refined through this three-step process.

Ways to do itIn the "share" step of the strategy, students

can share their ideas in several ways. One way is to have all students stand, and after each student responds, he or she sits down, as does any student with a similar response. This continues until everyone is seated.

Another way is to move quickly through the class, having students respond quickly, one after the other, or to have a class vote. Responses can be recorded on an overhead projector or on a graphic organizer for future discussions. Another variation is to stop after the "pair" step, and have students write their ideas. Collect students' responses and assess any problems in understanding.

Hope you learned a lot!