Drama: Strands, Achievement Objectives, and Learning Examples

Developing Practical Knowledge in Drama In this strand, students use the elements, techniques, and conventions of drama to discover how meaning is shaped and communicated. They work with the elements of role, time and space, action, tension, and focus and become increasingly skilled in using techniques of voice, facial expression, gesture, and movement to explore a range of roles and situations. They use such conventions as narration, freeze-frame images, and mimed activity to extend and deepen their experience of drama. Students use their growing understanding of elements, techniques, and conventions to interpret scripts, develop process drama, improvise stories or scenes, and explore issues. They become fluent in describing and shaping their drama practice, and they explore how different technologies contribute to the design, production, performance, and recording of dramatic forms and styles.

Developing Ideas in Drama In this strand, students work individually and collaboratively to initiate, improvise, develop, and refine ideas in drama. In a safe and co-operative environment, they contribute stories from personal and shared experience. They express ideas and feelings, negotiate shared understandings, and explore and reflect on their own and others' perspectives. Students develop ideas for and participate in classroom process drama. They also develop ideas for performances by interpreting existing dramatic works or devising drama based on a wide range of sources. They plan, identify problems, test solutions, and make individual and collective decisions in drama.

Communicating and Interpreting in Drama In this strand, students rehearse and present drama to others through informal sharing of work and through structured presentations that involve increasingly sophisticated dramatic processes. They view and listen to live drama and drama on radio, film, and television, developing skills of interpretation and critical analysis. Students reflect on their experiences of drama in a variety of ways. As performers and as responsive audience members, they interpret and respond to diverse dramatic forms and styles from their own and others' cultures. They evaluate the form, purpose, and quality of their own work, and they examine how different technologies affect communication and interpretation in both live and recorded drama.

Understanding Drama in Context In this strand, students explore the forms and purposes of drama in both past and contemporary societies. They investigate how people use drama to express identity and to comment on personal and cultural values. They explore theatre traditions that have informed drama practice over time, and they investigate how society and culture contribute to changes in dramatic forms. Students recognise that drama encompasses both everyday experiences and the interpretation of social and cultural histories. They appreciate how the development of contemporary theatre in New Zealand has been shaped by diverse cultural influences, especially those of Maori, Europeans, and people from Pacific nations.