The video discussing the best way to structure a drama lesson was extremely beneficial for me as I have not got a lot of experience in participating in or leading drama so therefore do not feel as confident in planning and teaching drama lessons as I do in other subjects. This video along with the first workshop has provided me with a range of ideas which would allow me to plan and teach a drama lesson knowing that it would meet the intended outcomes the curriculum suggests.

The video discussed how the first drama lesson should always begin with a class agreement which the pupils and the teacher agree on. This would be beneficial in terms of the pupils knowing and understanding the goals and expectations of the lesson. The video identified the three C’s; they suggested that if something goes wrong within the lesson that it would be because of a lack of one of three things: communication, co-operation and concentration. These are important to have in mind throughout the planning of the lesson as in order for children to concentrate for example; they have to be engaged which stems from what they are doing. After the agreement has been created it is important to warm-up before the main section of the lesson begins. Warm-ups should aim to get the mind and body ready for the lesson. They can take form in a variety of different ways: vocal warm-up, concentration, team working or active. Some warm ups can be a combination of many things for example; in our drama input we did a variety throughout the beginning of the session. We played a game called ‘Rubber Chicken’ which involved shaking our arms and legs individually in counts of 8, then 4, 2, then 1 and finally all together to create the ‘rubber chicken’. We all counted out loud and were encouraged to be relatively loud to warm our voices up and it was warming our body up as well. This was a combination of an active and vocal warm up. We also worked on the communication aspect of the three C’s discussed above as we also played ‘Line-up’ which is a game where you have to line up without talking in a specific order; examples are height, birthday month and hair colour. This requires the skills of non-verbal communication, team work and also problem solving. By taking part in the workshop and now having watched the video, the warm ups we participated exactly meet the theory of what a warm-up in a drama lesson should consist of as it meets what the video says.

The first task in the main part of the lesson in the video was that they were given an image to act as a stimulus which will be developed upon throughout the lesson. This is a still image which has no life but it is a great starting point for the lesson as it can be developed using a range of tools. The participants in the video stood in a circle and were asked to think about what came to mind when they thought of the image and when tapped on the shoulder had to express thoughts or feeling which came to their head. This links directly to the Curriculum for Excellence’s Experiences and Outcomes for drama as one of the outcomes for early to second level is “Inspired by a range of stimuli, I can express and communicate my ideas, thoughts and feelings”. This outcome is addressed in the experience of participating in this activity however it is not met simply during this one lesson but rather has been addressed. The same activity can be applied using a variety of different stimuli and performed in a variety of different ways which would develop this experience. An example from the workshop I participated in is that a piece of music was played and our tutor vocally gave us a scenario to imagine in our head. One by one we went into the middle creating a tableau. The tutor then tapped some people on the shoulder and they had to express a feeling or thought they had in that moment. This is similar to the activity in the video. This relates the drama convention of space as creating a tableau involves spacial awareness in order to communicate effectively with the audience.

The lesson in the video developed further as they asked the students to think about what they would hear in the situation they are in, they called this ‘sound scaping’. This was then performed out loud they all made the noises they imagined. The lesson then quickly developed into ‘body scaping’ which the video described as the students using a visual picture of the setting they are in and think about how they can use their bodies to create scenery in the visual. They then added both the body movements with the noises that they had thought of previously therefore creating a scene of what is going on. It was then made clear that the students should be given the opportunity to perform what they have created. This also facilitates part of the the learning outcome “I can respond to the experience of drama by discussing my thoughts and feelings. I can give and accept constructive feedback on my own and others work.” By performing to their peers they can receive positive feedback and also constructive feedback about what could have been better from their peers. By watching the rest of their peers performances they can also evaluate what they think about other people’s performances as well. When teaching drama I would give opportunity for the students to feedback on each others work. The end of the lesson should consist of an evaluation in reference to the directed video which gives the pupils a chance to further facilitate this outcome as it gives them a chance to reflect on what they thought they achieved and what they hope to achieve in the next lesson. It was also suggested that an evaluation is a great way to finish the lesson as it is calming before the pupils then return to the classroom.

One of the teachers in the video related the drama lesson to a literacy lesson by exploring how she could use the drama lesson to explore the fairy tales they were learning about in class. This can also relate to a history project for example if a P6 or 7 class were learning about World War II, the activity which we performed in our workshop would directly relate. This is because the scenario was children getting evacuated from the city where they lived during WWII. After the pupils learned about these events, this activity would be a great way of getting the pupils to visualise what occurred at that time and allow them to think about what it would feel like. This activity can be performed with many different topics to fit into the work pupils are doing in class.

My workshop experience in my dance was extremely positive. I have taught dance for many years through being a dance leader at school and I have now moved onto teaching at the studio where I was a student. This means I feel confident in teaching dance; however the workshop introduced various different aspects of dance in the primary school and the experiences of dance that myself as a practitioner has to facilitate.

The lesson that we participated in was suitable for all; as it had such a range of choice in what moves or travelling phrases you were able to choose. This made it fun and engaging as we had to think about what we wanted to do as opposed to just copying a dance that someone created. This will allow young people to be creative in their thinking and have the opportunity to perform their own ideas. There were also opportunities to come up with various solutions which shows that there are multiple possibilities not just one. We were asked to work individually, in partners and in groups which allowed group working and communication with others. Travelling was the focus of this lesson but it was not done in a way that prevented expression of participants own ideas; for example often in my dance classes I have a travelling section within my class but I give the methods of travelling. This works in some of my classes however,  it is important to give young people the opportunity to create travelling phrases and short phrases using their own ideas. The lesson was structured in a way that did not make participation uncomfortable as it was built up from everyone doing movements at the same time, to then doing it in big groups to finally presenting to the class in small groups. This facilitates the experience of performing, maybe on a small scale but this was all completed in one lesson, with a serious of lessons these skills could be built on and developed.

There are key ideas which I will take from this workshop into my placement. One idea is that it is a good idea to use videos to explore dance. They can be used to provoke thinking and understanding of different styles of dance. Videos can also be used as a stimulus for the young people to then go away and create a variation on what they have saw. Another idea that I would use during my professional practice placement is that I can do a whole lesson on one skill, a lesson that can be adapted to suit all stages of primary schools. The last key message I will take forward into practice is that dance can be done widely in the classroom and as part of a PE lesson. In the classroom; it can be taking part in videos online – for example; Just Dance videos where the young people and myself take part. Dance in the gym can take part in various forms in terms of building on skills and technique or creating a big class dance.