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Calvi Drama

Junior Drama

Rational

Drama in the Early Years Foundation Stage allows pupils the opportunity to play and express ideas in different situations and with a variety of resources. This helps them to make sense of the world, making connections and developing an understanding of how things work. Creativity is encouraged throughout the whole curriculum, although drama can be observed most frequently within Creative Development.

In Key Stage 1 pupils begin to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding of Drama. They develop the confidence to create situational role-plays, experimenting with different situations, characters and emotions. Pupils are also encouraged to start commenting on their drama and responding to the performances of others.

Subject Aims and Objectives

Drama and Creative Development play an important role in Calvi. Individual creativity and imagination is encouraged and teachers facilitate pupils in reaching the aims set out for their year group. In order for these very young children to fully appreciate and discover the possibilities within Drama, the following aims and objectives have been set:

• To provide a safe, stimulating and creative space in which creativity, originality and expressiveness is valued
• To extended children’s creativity by encouraging curiosity, exploration and imaginative play
• To introduce the children to a variety of stimulus and resources as a starting point for the drama, for example, costumes, props, poems, songs, rhymes and pictures
• To introduce pupils to a variety of drama techniques to help them express their ideas, such as, role play, still image, storytelling, mime and gesture
• To give pupils the opportunity to work effectively with others, in order to create drama and perform their ideas with confidence
• To encourage pupils to enjoy and comment on performances they have watched or in which they have taken part
• To model creative behaviour and use techniques, such as teacher in role, to help extend pupils’ abilities and develop their drama
• To use creative role play to explore feelings and behaviour and to explore simple moral and social issues

Teaching and Learning

Drama in Calvi House happens on a daily basis; during assembly, at story time, and in role-play corners. In the EYFS and Key Stage 1, Drama allows children to suspend belief in reality and move into a ‘pretend’ world, while at the same time knowing that the fantasy is not real. This form of activity enables children to transform themselves and their surroundings from what they are into something that they want to be. Children can also create imaginary worlds for themselves based on stories they know or from their own imaginations.

Very young children often use drama in the following ways:

• Personal Play – this allows pupils to engage their whole body in the activity. It is obvious drama, typified by movement and characterisation.
• Projected play - this allows pupils to use objects to play out a scene, for example, dolls and cars. The children, without using their whole body, are generally totally absorbed by the drama happening in front of them.

Role play is a natural extension and progression of these types of play. During role play children can perform what they already know and may repeat the same scenario, trying out different combinations of behaviour. They may choose an ‘action’ role, for example, driving a car or eating a meal, a ‘character’ role, for example, taking on the occupation of a teacher or a nurse, or a ‘fictional’ role, where characters are named and have distinctive personalities, such as the Big Bad Wolf or the Giant.

There are four specific teaching methods which can be undertaken by the teacher or classroom assistant, in order to facilitate the children’s learning within Drama:

• Modelling - the adult joins in the play in order to demonstrate to the children how certain roles could be undertaken
• Verbal Guidance - the adult makes comments or suggestions to help children develop their chosen role, but does not become part of the drama
• Thematic-Fantasy development - the adult leads a more structured drama lesson, encouraging the children to ‘act out’ a well-known story
• Imaginative play development - the children are encouraged to develop their make-believe skills, for example, by using puppets, or practising facial expressions to present different emotions.

Senior Drama