Assuming no prior knowledge or experience of drama teaching, Brian Woolland’sTeaching Primary Drama offers a comprehensive introduction to the teaching of drama in the primary school, and focuses on current initiatives in primary education including the primary literacy strategy. The text is an invaluable resource for any teacher wishing to adopt a creative approach to teaching in their classroom. It offers guidance on different drama methods, and each practical idea translates to all areas of the curriculum. “[Teaching Primary Drama] is written in simple terms, uncluttered by references, is refreshingly straightforward and succinct and does not fall into the trap of making a complex subject sound complex; a trait of some texts which can push non-specialists away.”Amanda Kipling, London Drama Magazine, Summer 2010 issue.

The importance of drama in primary school has been elevated in recent years, with many teachers continuing to make it high priority in their teaching. They recognise that it can enrich children's understanding of the world and motivate and encourage them in other curriculum work. This lively and readable book offers a blend of theory and practice based on the author's own considerable experience as a drama teacher. He provides numerous examples taken from work with children in schools, which will help teachers to prepare for drama sessions in the classroom. The book examines the role of drama as a subject in its own right as well as its role in delivering other aspects of the curriculum within primary education. It assumes no prior knowledge of teaching drama and will therefore be useful to trainee teachers and in-service teachers wanting to make use of drama in their daily teaching.

′This Primary Drama Handbook offers much more than just a few useful tips on how to use drama in the primary school. It moves way beyond the more well-known basic drama strategies to present comprehensive, up-to-date picture of the role drama can play within the primary curriculum′ - English Drama Media This book helps professionals to understand the importance and potential of drama for learning and offers step by step practical examples of how drama can work in schools across a range of curriculum subjects. Drama motivates children and is a powerful way of building skills such as speaking and listening, enhancing children′s self-esteem, and connecting learning creatively across the curriculum. The book presents information, advice and a range of practical material that helps to explain drama skills and strategies at an introductory level. It also contains a sample drama unit for each year group. This book covers a wealth of topics, including: - What do we mean by drama? - Playing, players and plays - Where is drama in the curriculum? - Why is drama important ? - Where and when can drama happen in schools? - What is the role of the adult? - How can we start drama? - Agreeing a Drama Contract - Introducing some basic drama strategies - How to plan a drama lesson - What happens if.... A section that gives short answers to common questions asked by those who are new to working with classes of children doing drama. The book is ideal for primary NQTs and teaching assistants, as well as those more experienced teachers who are not yet confident using drama techniques and whole class drama. Patrice Baldwin is Adviser for Arts Development and Improvement, with Norfolk County Council Children′s Services and Chair of National Drama.

This book will be of major interest to student teachers, teachers, lecturers and researchers. It provides a case for an integrated approach to the teaching of drama in primary and secondary schools that will help practitioners develop a theoretical rationale for their work. It also offers practical examples of lesson plans and schemes of work designed to give pupils a broad and balanced experience of drama. These are presented within a framework that argues for an integration of content and form, means and ends, and internal and external experience. Whereas the author's previous work argued for an inclusive approach that reconciled polarized views about performance drama and improvisation, this book shows how those activities can be related to each other in practice in an integrated curriculum.

Why teach drama? How can a newcomer teach drama successfully? How do we recognize quality in drama? Starting Drama Teaching is a comprehensive guide to the teaching of drama in schools. Exploring the aims and purposes of drama, it provides an insight into the theoretical perspectives that underpin practice alongside activities, example lesson plans and approaches to planning. Written in an accessible style, the book addresses such practical issues as setting up role play, how to inject depth into group drama, working with text, teaching playwriting, as well as common problems that arise in the drama classroom and how to avoid them. This fourth edition has been updated to reflect the latest educational thinking and developments in policy and includes: a new chapter on researching drama; an extra section on digital technology and drama; guidance on different approaches to drama; advice on how teachers can achieve and recognize quality work in drama; a discussion of drama concepts including applied theatre, ensemble and rehearsal approaches. Acting on the growing interest in drama both as a separate subject and as a teaching methodology, this book is full of sensible, practical advice for teachers using drama at all levels and in all kinds of different school contexts. Written by an internationally recognized leading name in drama education, this book is valuable reading for trainee teachers who are new to drama and teachers who wish to update and broaden their range.

The beautiful Martina Josefina Catalina Cucaracha doesn't know coffee beans about love and marriage, so when suitors come calling, what is she to do? Luckily, she has her Cuban family to help! While some of the Cucarachas offer Martina gifts to make her more attractive, only Abuela, her grandmother, gives her some useful advice: spill coffee on his shoes to see how he handles anger. At first, Martina is skeptical of her Abuela's suggestion, but when suitor after suitor fails the Coffee Test, she wonders if a little green cockroach can ever find true love. After reading this award-winning retelling of the Cuban folktale, readers will never look at a cockroach the same way again. Carmen Agra Deedy delivers a delightfully inventive Cuban twist on the beloved Martina folktale, complete with a dash of café Cubano.

Drama and Reading for Meaning Ages 4-11 contains over 40 creative drama ideas to help develop reading for meaning in the primary school. The wide range of clearly explained, structured and engaging drama activities will appeal to all primary practitioners who wish to develop more creative approaches to the teaching of reading. The activities show how drama can develop some of the skills associated with reading for meaning such as empathising with characters’ feelings, exploring settings and themes and making inferences based on evidence. The step-by-step activities range from familiar classroom drama strategies such as freeze-frames and hot-seating to less well-known approaches involving whole class drama experiences. The book also serves as an introduction to using drama as a learning medium, with advice on how to set the ground rules and clear explanations of the drama strategies. Each chapter has a detailed explanation of what to do, followed by a number of examples linked to quality texts, including poetry and non-fiction. From bringing books to life in reception and Years 1 and 2, to peeling back the layers of meanings in Years 3 to 6, all the drama activities in this book are designed to improve reading for meaning and help motivate children to read for pleasure, making this an essential resource for all primary settings.

Do you find it difficult to find drama activities for preschool age children? Teaching theatre to very young children is a completely different experience than working with older kids. Their attention spans are shorter and they require games that are simple, short and active...but also provide them with the skills necessary to grow as an actor. Teaching Drama to Little Ones is packed with activities that do just that. It includes 12 lesson plans specifically designed for kids age 3-7 that you can implement today. It also includes guides on how to adapt a script and rehearse a show with this age group. Inside this book you'll find: 12 lessons plans packed with over 70 activities ideal for kids age 3-7 Each lesson contains a Warm-Up, Focus, Voice, Movement and Imagination activity Simple reflection questions after every lesson A guide to creating a script for little ones A guide to auditioning, rehearsing and performance tips for little ones An appendix with lyrics of simple songs for classroom use Below are just a few of the topics covered in the lessons: Getting to Know You. Students will feel comfortable in a new environment, realizing that theatre class is a place where they can make new friends while learning how to sing, dance, and act. Make Believe. Students will use their imaginations to be different characters and go on make believe adventures. Working with a Partner. Students will build trust and gain confidence by learning to work with a partner. Working as a Team. Students will realize that theater involves teamwork and everyone has a role with something important to contribute. Rhythm. Students will understand rhythm, be able to clap and follow a steady beat, and practice speeding up and slowing down their voices and movements. Energy. Students will explore how energy is necessary when performing and learn how to control and focus using that energy. Emotions. Students will explore how we use emotions to show the audience what we are feeling. Actions. Students will use movement to learn the basic concepts of blocking, choreography, and stage directions. Becoming a Character. Students will become familiar with the practice of pretending to be different characters. Using Your Voice. Students will understand why projection and diction are necessary while singing and acting. Acting Is Reacting. Students will understand that listening and reacting are just as important as speaking. Putting it Together. Students will learn how their newly developed acting skills fit together as they prepare for a final presentation or show.

This book includes strategies for integrating drama in the classroom through the use of creating characters, giving meaning to activities through answering the questions: who, what, when, where, and why about any person and situation under discussion (5 W's), using storyboards, incorporating music, writing radio scripts, and using literature and movies as prompts for improvised enactments. Students will learn how to create characters and apply those creations to different content-area activities, situations, and subject matter. This useful resource describes more than thirty-five scenarios of teachers and students in early elementary grades through graduate school working together to craft drama events that draw out participants’ creative energies, interpretations of curricular topics, and investigations of social, political, and personal concerns. In all of these lesson plans, students collectively explore topics, concepts, themes, or tensions that surface as they navigate their way through the conditions and experiences that unfold in a scene, skit, improvisation, or in interrelated episodes. Drama techniques include role play, scripting, dialogue, audience participation, improvisation, and the strategic use of interaction, space, movement, and gesture.

Process drama is now firmly established, internationally, as a powerful and dynamic pedagogy. This clear and accessible book provides a practical, step-by-step guide to the planning of process drama. Grounded in theory and illustrated in practice, it identifies and explains the principles of planning and shows how they can be applied across age ranges and curricula. Drawing on the authors’ wide-ranging practical experience and research, examples are built up and run throughout the book, at each step showing how and why the teachers’ planning decisions were made. This second edition features: a wider range of examples illustrating the planning principles in practice two completely new chapters: one deals with planning for diverse learner groups and the other moves the reader on from the pre-action planning phase to the ‘planning on your feet’ required as the drama unfolds. incorporated new material to reflect recent understanding of how learning takes place Written as a conversation between reader and authors, Planning Process Drama will help practitioners to update and refine their practice and strengthen their understanding, skills and confidence. Planning Process Drama will be an essential guide for students undertaking initial teacher training at primary level, in addition to both Drama and English at secondary level, and a Masters in Drama in Education. It will also prove to be valuable reading for specialist and non-specialist teacher in both the primary and secondary sectors who teach, or wish to teach, process drama.