Theatre for Children
The important aspect of drama with young children is that, when approached in a positive and focused manner, it builds confidence, develops speaking and listening skills, encourages positive group interaction and increases children’s self-awareness as part of their social circle. Even simple “throwing and catching” games have their basis in drama and can help to develop the fine motor skills that young children will require. Drama does not have to take up a tremendous amount of curriculum time and can be utilized in the classroom environment whenever you have few moments to spare. Drama can also be used within the context of other subjects, such as history and literature, as a method for exploration or to enhance understanding.
Age appropriate activities are the key to making drama a powerful tool in the classroom. For very young children, drama activities include:
· Play physical games to establish rules and appropriate responses (i.e. walking tag)
·
Use clapping games to develop
speaking and listening skills.
These work well also when used
as icebreakers and name games.
·
Simple movement exercises, such
as mirrors, robots, statues, etc., will increase spatial
awareness and further develop concentration skills.
·
Follow-the-leader and copying
games are good for building confidence and introducing work in a
non-threatening way.
· Mime work is excellent for introducing the concept of “pretending.”
· Use any stimulus like nursery rhymes, fairytales, songs, stories, or pictures.
Remember that much of the drama work with this age range is a natural extension of their play.
As children grow, they learn to listen and respond to instructions, and drama games contain this element as an implicit part of the activities. Children 5 or 6 years of age also respond well to familiar stories and are more willing to take an individual role in activities. This can be encouraged through drama and will develop the self-reliance and confidence required for their future learning. Much of the drama activities listed above are also used with this age group, but more complex instructions or activities may be added. For example:
· Include more balance physical games or more concentration games.
· Introduce more activities which require negotiation and working with others.
·
Issue-based drama works well with
older children, using dilemmas and problems which they can
relate to.
· Implement the use of role-playing as a means of exploring new ideas, feelings, and situations.
As a teacher, the key is finding the correct method that works best for your classroom. Some methods include:
·
Games are used to establish trust, build confidence, and
to establish rules. They
are useful for
breaking the ice, are enjoyable, fun and enable a group to get to
know each other.
·
Hot Seating is interviewing a character or role-player
who remains “in character”.
This
encourages insights into characters and roles, highlighting
motivation and personality, and
reflective awareness of human behavior.
·
Small Group Play-Making/Improvisation:
Small groups plan, prepare and present
improvisation as a means of expressing understanding of a
situation, idea or experience.
Requires excellent negotiating skills, sequencing ideas,
selecting content, exploring
characterization, devising dialogue and events, etc.
·
Mimed Activity emphasizes movement, actions and physical
responses rather than dialogue.
This activity encourages participants to select movements to
match the action and to use
appropriate gestures and body language as well as increase spatial
awareness and
understanding of physical expression.
For more information or ideas on using drama in the
classroom, check out
www.artsonthemove.co.uk Wendy Cruikshank is a resource
teacher at Jerry Potts Elementary in