Level 4
Developing Practical Knowledge in Drama (PK)
Students will combine elements and techniques and a range of conventions to extend drama practice through a variety of activities.
Developing Ideas in Drama (DI)
Students will initiate ideas and make individual and collective decisions in order to plan and develop drama.
Communicating and Interpreting in Drama (CI)
Students will present and respond to drama and identify ways in which dramatic elements, techniques, and conventions combine to create meaning.
Understanding Drama in Context (UC)
Students will investigate the purposes of drama in past and present contexts and describe how communities express themselves through drama.
Learning Examples
- Use a variety of conventions (e.g., hot seating, speaking thoughts
aloud) to develop a deeper understanding of a character's intentions
or motivation. Select and use props or clothing to suggest key characteristics
of the role. In a group, present and discuss a scene that marks a
significant moment in the character's life. (PK, DI, CI)
- Devise scenes using conventions (e.g., mimed activity, overheard
conversations) to explain the events leading up to a current issue.
Present these scenes and discuss how the use of elements (e.g., space,
tension, focus) and techniques (e.g., movement, gesture, voice) contributed
to the effectiveness of the conventions used. (PK, DI, CI)
- In groups, select one or more conventions to create short dramas
that celebrate a local success in the school or community. Present
the items as a live performance or a radio documentary. (PK, DI, CI,
UC)
- Experiment with and discuss the positioning of people and objects
in a performance space to focus audience attention. (PK)
- In a group, plan and develop a drama, making collective decisions.
Use flashback and flashforward conventions in the drama to examine
turning-points or major decisions in a person's life. (PK, DI)
- Create a group soundscape to build tension in a scene. (PK, DI)
- Using as a starting-point an art work, photograph, or everyday object
from another historical period, improvise group dramas that document
or comment on an aspect of that period. View each others' dramas and
discuss how well they extended understanding of the period. (DI, CI,
UC)
- Interview a person involved in drama or theatre in the community
(e.g., a local actor, director, kaumatua of a theatre group, playwright,
designer) about the value they place on theatre as part of their own
lives and the life of the community. (UC)
- Give and receive constructive feedback on ways in which space, gesture,
and voice are used to communicate within a dramatic piece. Use this
feedback to refine the drama. (PK, CI, DI)
- Develop and present drama for a specific purpose or context (e.g.,
a street, marae, shopping mall, small recording studio), selecting
techniques and conventions that best serve the purpose or context.
(PK, DI, CI, UC)
- Compare how the director of a play and the director of a film may use body positioning and sound to focus the attention of the audience. (CI)
