Drama
I have never really had much drama input during my school career apart from one or two school shows in primary school. My secondary school did not offer the subject to study and the only school show we had was a student organised leavers’ show. I do not recall much from the school shows apart from being where to go at what time to the music and learning accompanying songs. Because of this I am quite apprehensive towards drama and acting as it is not something I am familiar with and feels rather alien to my body. However, after meeting students who study Performance at UWS I was able to get a bit more of an insight into the benefits of doing drama, it allows children to express themselves in ways they may not be able to in everyday life so I was really intrigued in learning more myself in this module and how to incorporate it into teaching. Like in dance it is incredibly important for the lead position to lean towards the child, being open minded and embracing their ideas. Exploring and imagining scenes through drama can help children understand the world around them. A teaching method we were introduced to was “teacher in role” which can be incredibly effective. Assuming the two roles and treating the in role character as a completely different person allows for the teacher to ask questions such as “what did they tell you?” so that the children can reiterate what they have learned. Not only this, it keeps them engaged and focused on the lesson making the lesson more memorable.
Dance
The mini dance moves that were learned in the previous session were developed into group routines. This demonstrated how the basic moves can be built up and put together to choreograph a routine. It was also a teaching point about time management, with younger ones it may take a little longer to organise the class into groups and for them to put everything together. To accommodate this it is important to not rush them and give them time to practice and work together.
