Grade 8 - Context (Making Connections)

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that students will:

• identify criteria for their own aesthetic responses
• identify similarities and differences in how drama expresses ideas and emotions compared to other art forms
• select and use dramatic knowledge and skills to enhance learning in other subject areas
• investigate various career possibilities in which dramatic skills may be useful
• apply their knowledge of the arts in their choices of recreational activities

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Context (Making Connections) in other grades click on an icon below.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• Discuss a variety of dramatic works, films, and videos, with specific reference to identifying, comparing, and contrasting dramatic qualities.
• Research and dramatize a theme or area of study from another subject (e.g., present a dramatic representation of a moleculešs behaviour).
• Compile a collage of pictures and objects, or a collection of music, to express the emotions and characteristics of a given character.
• Invite informed speakers such as a career and personal planning teacher or a community artist or technician to prepare a presentation on career opportunities connected with drama. Involve individuals from related careers (e.g., public relations, advertising, public speaking) in student forums to discuss with students how drama skills may be applied in other areas. Presenters should reflect the ethno-cultural diversity of the class as much as possible.
• Recall recent selections of recreational activities and discuss various applications of the arts.
• Watch a specific television show or film (real-life or animated), and apply knowledge of dramatic qualities to critique and describe the work.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

• Have students work individually to develop an analysis of their own responses as audience. Have them then meet with a partner or in small groups to compare responses. Provide prompts such as the following:
  • Did I value it as a play?
  • Were the characters believable?
  • I am usually most interested in performance or productions that ____ .
  • I find it hard to keep interested when ____ .
  • A day or two after I watch a performance, the parts I remember usually are ____ .
  • Something that usually grabs my attention is ____ .
  • I tend to respond strongly and emotionally to situations where ____ or to characters who ___ .
  • My top three criteria for a good production are ___ . Look for evidence that students can identify and articulate features or elements that are important to them and that they are open to a diversity of views.
• Ask students to make webs or other graphics that show the connections between drama and other areas of their lives. For example, they might use a format such as the following:
  

  As students share and discuss the connections they have made, look for evidence that they able to identify both current and future possibilities. Some students may be interested in researching and reporting in more detail on some of the connections they discuss.

RECOMMENDED LEARNING RESOURCES

• Acting Natural
• Christmas On Stage
• The Complete Book of Speech Communication
• Creating with Shakespeare
• Creative Drama in Groupwork
• Drama 14 - 16: A Book of Projects and Resources
• Drama Guidelines
• Now Playing
• Someday: A Play
• Story Drama: Reading, Writing and Roleplaying Across the Curriculum
• Storymaking and Drama: An Approach to Teaching Language and Literature
• The Theatre and You: A Beginning
• Wings to Fly

• The Making of Tommy Tricker...Himself

Table of Contents

Province of British Columbia
Ministry of Education
Standards Department Š 1996 Copyright

Maintained by: Fine Arts Coordinator - Drama

Revised: March 13, 1996

Ministry of Education Home Page