Grade 8 - Drama Skills (Role)

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that students will:

• compare the world of the role with the world of the player
• consistently apply the ability to sustain a role in a given situation with others
• adjust the movement, language, and gesture of the role to changing dramatic situations
• reflect on and express their experiences both in and out of role

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Drama Skills (Role) in other grades click on an icon below.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• Ask students to develop improvisations based on different characters¹ points of view. An option is to give students an opening line of dialogue and have them improvise characters and scenes. (e.g., "I told you never to wear my clothes.")
• Create a script based on a shortened version of a common fairy tale or popular movie and take on roles of characters in a class performance. Encourage students to use stories or fairy tales from their own cultural background.
• Students can use their life experiences and imagination to create scenes such as the following:
  • Stuck in the Elevator: Brainstorm types of elevators (e.g., office building, mine shaft, department store) and characters that might be found in them, developing scenes based on characters who are now stuck in the elevator and must find a solution to their problem.
  • Park Bench: Brainstorm possible contrasting characters that might be found on a park bench (e.g., construction worker, banker, unemployed person, parent supervising young children) and spend 30­60 seconds interacting with other characters on the bench. Variations: Bus Stop, Airport, and At the Mall.
  To debrief, students could discuss the relationship between their own experiences and those they have presented.
• To develop skills related to communication, perception, and role, use exercises that emphasize characters in a changing situation, such as Freeze or Picture Play (see Appendix G).
• Define and explore role by having students examine the differences between their environment and experiences and those of a character or person (e.g., Anne Frank, Huckleberry Finn). Students can use this information to create roles.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

• As students participate in role-play activities, note the extent to which they:
  • begin to take "being in role" in a serious manner
  • create and sustain a role in a short activity
  • create roles distinct from their own personalities
  • create roles distinct from those of others in their group
  • create a variety of roles
  • demonstrate an awareness of others in role and their impact on the dramatic situation
• To assess students¹ understanding of role and their abilities to reflect on and express their experiences, ask them to respond in their journals to questions such as:
  • What are some of the things you did to help yourself get into role? To stay in role?
  • What kinds of roles are easiest for you to assume? Difficult? What causes the difference?
  • What are some of the things that your partner or other members of your group did that helped you develop your role? What are some of the ways that your performance supported others?
  • What advice would you give other students who are learning to create roles?

RECOMMENDED LEARNING RESOURCES

• 200+ Ideas for Drama
• Acting Games
• Acting Natural
• Christmas On Stage
• Comedy Improvisation
• The Complete Book of Speech Communication
• Creating with Shakespeare
• Creative Drama in Groupwork
• Drama 14 - 16: A Book of Project and Resources
• Drama Guidelines
• The Dramatic Body
• Elegantly Frugal Costumes
• Mime Time
• Now Playing
• NTC¹s Dictionary of Theatre and Drama Terms
• Readers Theatre Anthology
• Skits and Scenes
• 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

• Movement For The Actor

Table of Contents

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

Maintained by: Fine Arts Coordinator - Drama

Revised: March 13, 1996

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