Monday 4th February

My first Experience

Obviously, coming in to a new environment I was really nervous but really excited. I'd met the staff briefly prior and they were all incredibly friendly and it was the same today. I instantly felt welcomed and at ease. It was all very active in the morning as three members of staff were off sick. This is considerable amount in such a small school that consistes of only three classes. The staff that were available just got on with the lessons admitting to me they would just have to improvise. This made me feel calmer as I new they were feeling slightly nervous aswell.
In my first encounter with the children I was introduced to the class as a drama teacher and they responded with cheers and excitment, so that was half the battle won already. This made me instantly relax more as i had the children on my side.
The first session I helped with was maths and I walked around the classroom observing, marking and helping as much as I could. This was an amazing experience as i felt like a student teacher. I didnt feel any pressure at all and felt totally comfortable in the classroom. The teacher was very supportive and made sure I was alright constantly.

 

Class 2: Under the Sea

In the next lesson we explored undiscovered sea creatures and verbs and adverbs that could be used to discribe them. I conciously tried to remember some of the words so that i could incorporate them into my workshop later on in the afternoon.

After lunch I lead the drama workshop. The teachers gave me total control of the class and just observed from a distance incase i needed support.
 As it was the first lesson of drama for some of the children I had decided to just use some drama games to get them excited and start using there imagination. I also had to consider that some of the children will be out of their comfort zones so I didn't want to push them to far.

I played 10 second object, splat and various other games that would get them moving and increase the energy. The response from the children was incredible especially as I had been warned previously that they were a challenging group to control. They were all very well behaved and joined in 100 percent. The teacher commented after how much she had enjoyed it and was amazed at the work the children had created. This was a huge bonus and a total boost of confidence for me.

Overall, i really enjoyed the day and I am very excited about what tomorrow will bring.

Workshop Plan: Drama Games

Activity:	Duration: (Approx)	Aims:	Description	Resources
Name Game	5 Minutes	For me to familiarise myself with the names of the children in the group. For me to get an understanding of the group i.e. which children are shy, which are naughty, which are loud and which are imaginative.	Starting in a circle one by one go around the circle and get the children to shout out there names and do an action to follow. After going round once encourage the children to be louder and with more energy. Do this several times increasing speed. This gets the energy levels up and the children should begin to relax. (the leader should join in with the activity as the children will be more willing)	N/A
Wink Murder	10 Minutes	To get the children to start thinking about acting/ play acting by encouraging them to demonstrate some dramatic deaths.	In a circle one child is chosen to be the ‘Detective’ this person stands in the middle of the circle. Ask that child to close their eyes while you choose a ‘murderer’. Make sure the child in the middle is not cheating by peaking. You can always send the child out of the room if this is possible. Once a ‘murderer’ is chosen they must stick out their tongue at the other children without the ‘detective’ noticing. If the murderer sticks their tongue out at you, you must die. The detective has three guesses to find the murderer. (Number of guesses can change depending on class size and remember to encourage dramatic deaths.)	N/A
10 Second Object	10mins	This is a game to get the children thinking quickly, testing their reaction but also their creativity. They must also work together as a team or they can adopt a leader. As the game is quick the children are less likely to argue and the outcomes are usually very effective.	Place the class into small groups no more than six to a group preferably. Then the workshop leader shouts out a word and the children then have to make/ represent that word using their bodies. Every child must be involved.   Adapt this further depending on the ability of the class by getting them to add movements or shout out words to describe the object.   Possible choice of words could be:  a chair, a car, a peacock, a horse, a fried breakfast, a football match, etc.	N/A
Guess the Secret	25mins	To get the children thinking about taking on a role within a story. How they would show something to an audience and making sure the audience understands what it is they are showing. To think about the beginning middle and end of a story. To pick out key elements of a story.	In the same groups each group is given a ‘secret’. This can be anything like a song, a book or a film. But make sure it is something the whole group will no. Fairy stories are usually the best option. Once each group knows what their ‘secret’ is give them time to devise a short scene that will explain what their ‘secret’ is. This should be done through mime and no dialogue should be used. Once they have each got a small scene ask them to perform them and get the other groups to guess what the ‘secret’ is.   To develop this further before they perform to the other groups make them add just three words into their scene.	N/A
Yehaa!	10mins	A fun way to conclude the workshop. Gets the energy levels up and doesn’t require the children to be serious. Also by adapting the phrases in the game you can link it to a topic of study. In this case ‘under the sea’.	In a circle. Demonstrate the first movement ‘whoosh’. You say this and make wave like movements with your arms. You pass this around the circle so that each child has a go and understands the movement. Then pass it back around the other way. Once everyone has got a handle on this movement introduce another. If at any point as the wave is being passed round someone says ‘shiver me timbers’ then the wave must change direction and go the opposite way around the circle. Do this for awhile and once this is understood add another movement. At any point someone can point to anyone in the circle and say ‘walk the plank’ then the wave is passed across the circle to the other person. Finally, you can add another movement ‘plop’ you point one toe forward and point to the floor with the other hand. Once this has been done it is a race to see who the last one standing is. The last one standing then must complete a forfeit chosen by the leader. (This game can be adapted by changing the words to match the theme of the workshop e.g. the words could be ‘yehaa!’, ‘hoe down’ and ‘go ride a tractor’ for a western theme.)	N/A