Drama 7
Drama Skills

It is expected that students will:

• During study of a novel, ask each student to select a character. Divide the class into groups to analyse and record similarities and differences between their characters. Then have each group create a drama in which the characters interact in a new situation and environment.
• Ask each student to choose a character from history or a novel or story studied in class and create a box filled with possessions (e.g., books, jewellery, toys) that might belong to that character. Have students use monologue, mime, or story theatre to represent their characters' relationships to the objects (e.g., create a monologue based on a button from a father's uniform).
• Divide the class into groups and provide each group with enough material (e.g., paper, cloth, cardboard) to create environments based on concepts or themes being studied (e.g., democracy, sustainability, survival). To guide development, ask questions such as:
  • How can we change the shape of the material?
  • What noises can we make with it?
  • Can we suggest an atmosphere or a feeling with it?
  Follow up with a class discussion on ways in which groups used their material to achieve a desired effect. Then ask students to decide which environments and related situations they could explore using role drama. For example, a group moves to a new environment and must find ways of sustaining the resources. Have students choose roles appropriate to the situations and brainstorm a list of issues or problems that might arise. Invite them to use a variety of drama structures to investigate the situations (e.g., improvisation, partner dialogue, group drama).

Suggested Assessment Strategies

• When students create dramas featuring characters from fiction, look for evidence that they:
  • sustain their engagement in the roles in new situations or environments
  • project into their characters' thoughts and feelings (not just speech and action)
  • express believable points of view and attitudes
  • use language appropriate to their roles
  • solve problems while in role
  • show some depth in their understanding of their characters
• After students have participated in a drama, ask each to choose another character and report on:
  • the character's importance to the drama
  • something unusual or surprising the character did and why the character did it
  • how the character felt about one of the other characters (including evidence)
  • the character's main goal, motivation, or desire (including evidence)
• When students work with material to create environments, note the extent to which they:
  • offer a variety of ideas or demonstrations
  • use materials in innovative or unusual ways
  • build on the suggestions and ideas of others
  • are sensitive to the ways in which using the shape or function of material differently can change the atmosphere
  • make connections among a variety of elements to enhance a theme or mood
• After students present a drama in which they use props, sound, and set symbols, have them report on the effectiveness of their choices and include feedback from at least some members of the audience. Each report might focus on one scene and include:
  • a description of the overall effect students were trying to achieve
  • an analysis of their success in creating that effect
  • a demonstration of how they created and used two specific props, costumes, or sound effects

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