|
Theatricalize Your Lesson |
 |
 |
 |
|
Written by Administrator Gordon Hensley
|
|
Friday, 05 February 2010 02:47 |
|
SIMPLE CONCEPTS TO "THEATRICALIZE" YOUR LESSON
The following page is a list of ideas based on Structuring Drama Work, by Jonathan Neelands, to make your lesson dramatic. This serves us as a basic toolbox of context, narrative, and poetic activities to put your ideas on their feet. Neelands suggests that these conventions are not intended to be sequential, but can be used in any configuration or variation.
Context- These activities "set the scene" or add information as the lesson progresses.
| Soundtracking |
Voices or instruments are used to create a mood or paint a picture. |
| Costuming |
Costuming is used as an introduction to culture or a lifestyle of a character. |
| Defining the space |
Furniture is arranged to represent the place where the action happens. |
| Diaries, journals, letters |
Written in or out of role as a reflecting experience. |
| Still image |
Devising an image using bodies to crystallize a moment, theme, or idea. |
| Simulations |
Events are simulated to highlight timing, decision-making, and problem-solving. |
Narrative- These activities stress the story line or "what happens next."
| Mantle of the expert |
The group becomes endowed with specialist knowledge relevant to the situation (e.g. archaeologists, art critics, etc.). There are no "wrong" answers. |
| Meetings |
The group meets, plans action, makes decisions, and suggests solutions. |
| Interviews |
Students interview people, groups, or characters to reveal information, attitudes, motives, aptitudes, and capabilities. |
| A day in the life |
A chronological sequence of what happened before the action in the story is experienced or brainstormed. |
| Reportage |
Reporters represent how ideas and truths can be distorted by media and outsiders. |
| Teacher in role |
The teacher adopts a suitable role to excite interest, control the action, or provoke tension. |
Poetic- These activities underline the symbolism of the drama.
| Re-enactment |
An event is re-enacted in detail to reveal what might have happened. |
| Ritual |
Students enact stylized traditions to understand other cultures and rituals. |
| Analogy |
Working on a parallel situation that mirrors the real problem. |
| Masks |
Wearing masks to change perspectives of situations and encounters. |
| Caption making |
Groups devise slogans, titles, and verbal summaries of visual presentations. |
| Ceremony |
Groups create unique special events to mark significance. |
| Mimed activity |
Students act without speaking. Emphasizes movement rather than dialogue. |
--From Structuring Drama Work, by Jonathan Neelands,
|
|
Last Updated on Friday, 05 February 2010 03:49 |
Theatricalize Your Lesson