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Drama

Drama

 

Vision:

The subject of Drama is designed to enhance the understanding of the practical side of our human exsistance.It enhances the development of emotional intelligence in children and young people.  Drama promotes communication skills, teamwork, dialogue, negotiation and  socialisation. It stimulates the imagination and creativity; it develops a better understanding of human behaviour and empathy with situations that may occur later in either their education career or life after school. It allows the development of critical thinking and allows us to make better and more conscious decisions; it encourages us to use our bodies and our voices and public speaking. 

The Fakenham Drama curriculum gives students the opportunity to rehearse roles, characters and a broad spectrum of life situations, helping them to explore and address some of the individual and personal ideas and feelings they are naturally experiencing. Overall, this allows pupils to make sense out of their ‘real’ life problems and helps them to learn about themselves and important coping mechanisms. They are encouraged to express themselves both verbally using different voices and tones, and through facial expressions and body language, both of which are key to making them better and more effective communicators in life.

Our Drama lesson supports and encourages problem-solving skills, while at the same time, works to encourage an increasing awareness of how to solve issues. Instead of being taught and told what to think and feel in different situations it allows for a safe environment for students to express thoughts and feelings in a constructive and controlled manner. Our drama lessons turn this into a deeper experience in thinking, motivating children to question, respond, and explain what they are feeling and thinking and present solutions.

 

Yearly Intent Statements

 

The curriculum is structured based on the expectations for A Level Drama and Theatre; key concepts and skills required by the end of year 13 are fed down into schemes of work from Year 7 upwards. This is designed to raise expectations and standards from the start of Key Stage 3 and ensure that drama knowledge is being understood both practically and theoretically. A linear curriculum is in place at Key Stage 3. Year 7, 8 and 9 will all study the work of key theatre practitioners and explore a text through performance. Our focus is to build the student's personal confidence in  allowing them artist freedom and to think creatively in a different classroom setting. This linear structure allows students to return to key concepts throughout the key stage but build on them to advance their knowledge further as the years progress. 








 

What are the aims of specific stages of the curriculum?

 

Year 7: 

 

Students will understand how to use different Drama methods and be able to adapt them in creating basic performances that are linked to child-based stories. The main focus and foundations of year seven are:

 

  • Be able to stay in role and express the characters thoughts and feelings.

  • Understand the key terms ; freeze frame, thought tracking, miming to name a few.

  • Listening skills will be encouraged and enhanced.

  • Recalling the use of Drama methods and terminology confidently both in practical and theory. 

  • Creative imagination and storytelling within drama improvisations within a use of a practical subject

 

Year 8: 

 

Within year 8 students will be exploring a deeper level of knowledge. Now that they have the basic knowledge of the acting skill they will be learning about the practitioners who invented the methods and the reason behind them. This will also expose the students to the historical element of how Drama developed over the years. 

Students will now be given different scenarios to practically explore the use of improvisation and imagination. This is the next stage of allowing students to take ownership of their own created work. This also links in with improving teamwork skills within groups and to become comfortable with all aspects of debate including listening to other points of view. The next stage of performance skill the students will be expected to encounter are:

 

  • Devising 

  • Physical theatre 

  • Acting 

  • Story telling 

  • Teamwork and communication 

  • Apply artist imagination to a stimulus

 

Year 9: 

 

Year nine is about perfecting and gaining the subject with a mature student. Within year nine students can become more self conscious and it is important to take into consideration the fact that students are developing  Emphasis of vocal expression in the way of tone, pitch and pace. A more in depth look at emotion through the voice and how this affects tone, pitch and pace. There are a range of styles covered including comedy and T.I.E in Y9 that have different effects on the voice.

 

  •  Explore performance texts1, understanding their social, cultural and historical context including the theatrical conventions of the period in which they were created

  •  Develop a range of theatrical skills and apply them to create performances 

work collaboratively to generate, develop and communicate ideas 

  • Develop as creative, effective, independent and reflective students able to make informed choices in process and performance 

  • Contribute as an individual to a theatrical performance 

  • Reflect on and evaluate their own work and that of others while developing and an awareness and understanding of the roles and processes undertaken. 

 

Year 10: 

Our induction to the foundations of GCSE Drama qualification is an exciting, inspiring and practical course. The specification promotes involvement in and enjoyment of drama, as performers and/or designers. Additionally, it provides opportunities for learners to attend live theatre performances and to develop skills as informed and thoughtful audience members. Learners will be given opportunities to participate in and interpret their own and others' drama. They will also have the option to work practically as performers and/or designers.

 

Learners will be internally assessed through recordings of practical coursework and through a portfolio of written assignments. Learners will participate in a series of workshops and rehearsals that will develop their skills and techniques as an actor. Through these workshops learners will develop their vocal and physical skills and techniques in order to portray convincing characterisation from a professional script of their choice. Learners can choose to submit practical work as a solo, pair or group performance. Each learner should aim to produce characterisation that lasts approximately two minutes in performance.

 

Year 11: 

 

The GCSE Drama qualification has a straightforward structure with three components: devising, text work and a study of a play. 

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is studied for the examination and will require students to articulate how they would perform in certain roles, direct and design for certain extracts and putting practical work at the heart of the qualification. 

Component two is a devising unit from texts. Which will be a free choice of performance allowing for flexibility to meet all student ability but are chosen with care to also challenge. Performance and design skills will continue to assess student’s performance and design skills through visiting examiners ensuring students skills are assessed in a live context. 

The course is designed to facilitate students to progress to A level. Students will develop a multitude of skills, including collaboration, communication and an understanding of how to amend and refine work.

It ensures sensible progression of knowledge, understanding and skills from GCSE to A level and similar approaches to assessment, so that students will have a coherent experience of drama.

 

Year 12/13:

The WJEC Eduqas A level in Drama and Theatre offers a practical and challenging course of study which encourages learners to be independent practitioners in the Arts. By guiding students to rely on their own personal ideas when interpreting and understanding theatre practice. This is supported but relevant theoretical research in informing the processes and practices involved in creating theatre. We develop an appreciation of how the social, cultural and historical contexts of performance texts have influenced the development of drama and theatre. It is important to express an understanding of how twenty-first century theatre is off the back of a vibrant history that once was a main social platform. 

 

The course will allow students to experience a range of opportunities to create theatre, both published text based and devised work. As well as participate as a theatre maker and as an audience member in live theatre productions. Students will rely on past experience within Drama to create a collaborative relationship between various roles within theatre and to demonstrate a range of theatre making skills. While also enhancing their ability  to analyse and evaluate their own work and the work of others. 

 

Rationale behind sequencing:

 

Year 7

 

An  introduction to Drama to create curiosity and interest in a new  subject. It must be considered that Drama may/may not have been used as a teaching method within the previous learning routine at primary school. It is designed to help students improve on their story telling ability and basic acting skills. It is designed to enhance the use of imagination when faced with creating a performance of different types of characters. Students will be taught basic drama methods which link to the foundation of devising acting such as mime and Freeze Frames. Key area of cross curriculums is that the students will be writing stories within English and the Drama SOW are designed to allow student imagination to be stretched. The foundation of Drama skills will be used throughout KS3 and perfected through KS4 and 5.

 

Year 8

There is more to drama than being able to perform on stage. Opportunities are embedded for students to be able to hone and develop performance talent, but equally important is the ability to understand the purpose of the theatre we create. Methodologies of theatrical practitioners are introduced throughout the key stages to enable students not only to ‘re-enact’ but to shape their own unique ideas with a greater understanding of the need for style, intention, theatrical form and to learn to celebrate individual and unique perspectives. 

 

It is important to allow the students to continue on the journey of becoming independent learners. Allowing them time to develop the communication and compromise skills necessary to work together as a team. This is a link within the GCSE process of devising a performance from start to finish. However, this is also enhancing their understanding of personal and social cues which are needed in life after school. 

 

Year 9

 

This is where all the different methods and techniques of drama will come together from year 7 and 8. It is using the understanding of how to use them and devising them into productions. The studying of scripts is to reflect the process of component 2 at GCSE. This also lets students have a look into different scripts that they will also be able to use during the higher qualification.  A devising unit is also reflected in year nine to allow for previous experience to be a part of building up to the final devising unit at the end of year ten if the student has progressed onto GCSE Drama. My intention for my teaching is for students to be able to look back on a wealth of Drama skills and knowledge that will make the experience of creating Drama enjoyable and meaningful. 

 

Year 10

From SK3 and 4 students will be informed of how to develop a piece of Drama or design. Year ten is about progressing from a simple to a complex stage, allowing more available time to plan, create and structure Drama. Workshops are designed around more of the students interest which will be known from working with them in the previous years. Due to extra time students will be given more rehearsal preparation for a performance to an audience. Further development will be made on how to edit and adapt the work in progress as a result of new ideas or the development of the drama. This will allow the student to examine in detail the process of creating drama and measure the impact on a live audience and how to communicate meaning that is engaging and well thought out. This is all designed around the final practical marking scheme of GCSE Drama where students will be exposed to the different marking levels to allow them to understand what is required of them to reach the higher level grades. 



 

Year 11

Year 11 mainly revisits work studied in Year 10 to help with memory retention and to revise for the final exams. To begin with the Devising module started in year 10 is completed, performance work and portfolio. This is continued into Year 11 as this is where pupils begin to focus having experienced more final exams, and gain an understanding that this is their final year, which leads to more successful work, than if all completed in year 10. It also has to be completed at the beginning of the year so there is time for revision for their mock exam at Christmas as well as the scripted unit, where the Curriculum Rationale 23 board specifies it must be completed in the spring term. Throughout year 11 devising, study of the written exam and scripted performance are all taught, which are topics which skills and knowledge have already been taught in previous years, in particular year 10, but also in year 7, 8 and 9.

 

Year 12

 

To prepare Year 12  for further study students have previously experienced study of play scripts, devising and theoretical knowledge in coursework and written exams, which are all included in Drama and Theatre studies within the Edquas qualification. Our curriculum includes study of practitioners, which is not stated in the GCSE specification, allows pupils to gain higher grades due to more sophistication in their written work and prepares them for further study. For pupils who do not go on to study Performing Arts or Drama at higher education they have gained vital transferable skills, such as confidence, communication, teamwork and leadership as well as explored themes and topics which will develop them into responsible and social citizens and an appreciation for culture, and the Arts. It is often opted for by students who want a career linked with the arts, but equally those who understand how vital the transferable skills are in everyday life, which can be applied to any career in all aspects of life. If the student wishes to complete the study of the qualification they are directed to complete a scripted performance which is required to be done under a study of a practitioner which we will explore this year or they are allowed to pick one that has been taught in their school career. This design is to allow for more time on component two and will allow more time for study towards the final exam in the next summer term. 

 

Year 13 

 

The intention of the progression of the course is to develop a next level learner who will have the confidence to take on opportunities such as university, apprenticeships or practical work within the industry. This is supported by allowing students to experience the industry such as theatre trips, technical theatre exposure and further design. It is important show the mainy different types of career avaibilable that is not just performing.  Bringing workshops and people from the industry will also show the different courses that could be with Drama and education, Drama and therapy or even starting up your own buinsseness supporting productions. 

 

The final two units will be supported with the wealth of knowledge that they have been working towards over the last three year and beyond. The exam relises on showing the ability to have creative ideas that are well anaylised and thought out. Having the confidence to express their creative inventions with the use of historial information and current understanding of theatre which has been developed through their years of education in the arts. Throughout the year the students will have developed an understanding of how to develop and design characters according to what is needed from the practical script or to the theory. 

 

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