Lesson title/theme
St. John’s Infant School, Norwich
Number on roll – approx 180
The school’s approach to/provision for drama
The reception unit in our school has always included a variety of role-play
scenarios as a strong teaching and learning medium.
We recognise drama as both a powerful tool in itself, and as providing a range of
strategies which enhance teaching and learning across the curriculum.
We have been investigating ways in which to enrich our creative curriculum and to
further extend the use of drama into the keystage 1 curriculum.
What the school hopes will be the outcome/s of
involvement in D4LC?
? Increased confidence in the use and teaching of drama throughout the
school
? Increased familiarity with a variety of drama techniques
? Increased use of drama across the curriculum
Age Group - Year One
Size of class – 27 children
Length of lesson – The lesson lasted all morning. Resources
? “The Hunter” by Paul Geraghty – big book version
? Images of the Savannah for use on the interactive whiteboard
? CD of “The Lion King”
? Piece of African fabric
? Wicker basket and bamboo pole
? Terracotta jar
The aims of the lesson
For pupils to:
? Make a moral decision and then learn that they could change their minds
? Get better at using a range of increasingly familiar drama techniques
? Experience empathy and compassion
D4LC – lesson exemplars
For me to:
? Improve my skills as teacher-in-role
? See if I could plan and then adapt a longer drama session
? Model a drama lesson for the trainee teacher in my classroom
Before the lesson…
? I prepared a simple powerpoint presentation to give the children a flavour
of the landscape, people and wildlife of the Savannah
? I cleared the classroom furniture
? I briefed the other adults who would be present in the room. I needed them
to be familiar with the text and to contribute at various points of the
morning. I was particularly keen for my EAL pupils to be supported
throughout the drama.
The teacher began the lesson by …
Showing the children the powerpoint presentation and playing them music from
“The Lion King” CD to create a landscape in their heads and an atmosphere in the
room.
The teacher then…
? We created the Savannah in the classroom, by choosing to represent a
geographical, human or animal feature within the space. One child chose
to be a famous photographer on safari and we were able to use him to take
freeze frame pictures of the scene.
? I showed the children the front cover of the book and asked the children if
they would like to meet Jamina. As Jamina I told the children how I went
out every day to collect honey with my grandfather and invited them to
come along. I taught them how to follow the honey bird far into the bush
and how to lift the honeycomb carefully down from the tree and store it in
their pots. We also talked about my favourite animals – the elephants –
and how I loved to pretend that I was a hunter. They asked if they could
come hunting with me and I taught them how to pretend to track, stalk and
shoot elephants. I asked them if they liked my game and they all did.
? By this time, we had wandered far into the bush and a long way from
Grandfather. We were all alone and didn‟t know what to do. The children
discussed what to do amongst themselves. In the middle of the discussion,
I told them that I could hear a strange noise. We needed to decide whether
to investigate then noise or not. We used a decision alley to help us decide.
Although the children have used it several times now, I still found it more
effective to have them all verbalise a reason to investigate the noise and
then a reason not to, before choosing one to whisper in the alley. This
always takes us a long time, but it improves the quality of their
D4LC – lesson exemplars
contributions in the alley. After several children had walked down the alley,
we decided to find out where the noise was coming from.
? I had my teaching assistant take on the role of the baby elephant. The
children followed me quietly towards the noise and we sat in a circle
around the curled up baby elephant. I explained that her mother was dead
and that she was frightened. I told the children they could go up to the
baby elephant one at a time and say something to try and calm it. I went
first, then the two other adults in the room. I then invited my most confident
children to take a turn.
? At this point the children had been so forthcoming with their contributions
and I was rapidly running out of time. I asked the children to work in twos –
one to be Jamina, and the other, the baby elephant. The room went quiet
and the children worked so gently, trying to comfort each other in role.
At the end of the lesson…
? I asked the children if they wanted to know what happened to Jamina and
the baby elephant, and read the ending of the story to them using the
fantastic illustrations in the big book version I had. The children were very
involved with the story and wanted to discuss it. Of course, they were most
affected by the fact that Jamina had got lost, but with encouragement, they
were able to discuss poaching and generally decided it was a bad thing.
Several children were able to recognise the fact that they had changed
their mind about hunting elephants in the course of the drama.
In this lesson there was evidence of pupil creativity
when…
? We created the Savannah.
? We had to think of reasons why we should find out what the noise in the
bush was and why we shouldn‟t.
In this lesson there was evidence of learning when…
? We compared the Savannah landscape to our own countryside (geography)
? We worked in twos to comfort the baby elephant (PHSE)
? We discussed the „moral‟ of the story (Speaking and Listening/Philosophy)
WHAT WAS THE IMPACT OF THIS LESSON ON
CHILDREN’S LEARNING AND CREATIVITY?
Can you offer evidence of a rise in standards (for
any/most/all) of the pupils (please be specific and
where possible mention National Curriculum levels and
sub-levels?
? All children were able to contribute to the comparison between our own
countryside and the Savannah. They were able to employ more
geographical terms and to tell me how and where they could find out more
about the Savannah (geography/ICT).
D4LC – lesson exemplars
? All children contributed to the discussion at the end of the story, including
some of my more reluctant pupils.
? There was an improvement in the quality of the questions the children were
able to ask Jamina and later, the baby elephant.
Can you identify specific improvement/s for particular
groups of pupils? e.g. boys, girls, higher, middle, lower
achievers, looked after children, ethnic minorities,
children for whom English is not their first language?
Evidence gathered could include pupil voice,
comparative examples of children’s work, improved
attitudes to learning, improved teamwork, improved
behaviour, better attendance on days when drama is
timetabled, comments from other teachers and parents,
etc.
? Teacher in role
? Freeze frame
? Decision Alley
? Thought tracking
Why use drama? The advantages of using drama were…
The children were completely involved in the drama, willing to participate fully and
open to learning opportunities which arose.
All learning styles were involved and the action was heavily kinaesthetic.
Although the main character is a girl, the subject matter appealed to my more
active boys.
My advice to someone else doing this lesson would
be …
I taught this lesson as a one-off, towards the end of the term. Halfway through the
session I wished I‟d used it as the basis of a half-term‟s learning. The children were really excited by it and in later discussion offered me all sorts of avenues to explore.
Please return this lesson proforma when completed to
danielle.youngs@norfolk.gov.uk Your lesson will be shared
D4LC – lesson exemplars
(unedited) online at the D4LC website www.d4lc.org and may be selected and edited for a D4LC folder Phase
2 supplement.
Please send any digital photographs, scanned
children’s work and any film clips to
danielle.youngs@norfolk.gov.uk
Please ensure that any images of children sent
have parental permission for publication
(including internet).
D4LC – lesson exemplars