This resource has been designed to provide you with an accessible introduction to using drama in the classroom. In this book you will find workshops that revolve around the basis of all plays: story-telling, improvisation, character-building techniques and activities to develop the confidence of the performers. The background information and detail provided is intended to encourage you to try drama and also to build your confidence as a teacher in looking for ways of using drama to explore issues. Everything that is here has been tried out with mixed-ability classes, rather than hand-picked groups.

Methodology
The methods outlined in this resource book draw heavily on the teaching of Dorothy Heathcote, former lecturer in drama from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne; Jonothan Neelands, lecturer in Drama from Warwick University, England; and Augusto Boal, the Brazilian exponent of “Theatre of the Oppressed.” The sort of drama which is described here does not require an audience other than the class members themselves for it to function. They will, in fact be what Augusto Boal has termed “spect-actors,” half spectators and half actors in their drama work. Student evaluation sheets for each workshop are expected to take between 5 and 10 minutes at the end of each session, or can be completed for homework. .

The Drama Elements
All drama occurs in space and time. The Key Elements of Drama which will be constantly manipulated by the teacher and the students in any drama context, are:
       • use of space
       • dramatic tension
       • stillness and movement
       • silence and sound
       • light and dark

Download the Table of Contents page here.

Grades 5–8.