Volume 2 Number 1
Hi Folks,
Kim's Drama Blog
Well, here we are - the second edition for 2004. I've noticed
over the past few weeks that traffic has been picking up on the Drama
Education website. I'm getting about 300 page views per day at
the moment - not bad considering the size of the Drama Education
community. I haven't done much this past week - trying to
have a bit of a holiday (despite the very uncomfortable temperatures and
lack of air-conditioning in my apartment!). I won't bore you
with my domestic details - but my new sofa is really funky!
Discussion List Issues
While the website has been getting busier the mailing list has slowed
down a little. We started an interesting discussion last week
about management issues in a Drama classroom - but it seems to have gone
dead. The mailing list surprises me - we have a slight fluctuation
in subscribers but essentially there are about 300 regular and
reasonably long term subscribers. I know there are reps from most
Drama Education associations (one group took exception last year to me
trying to assist with a membership drive via the list - some strange
conceptions indeed in that crowd!!)... there are a few people
trying to promote their business as we saw this morning emanating from
my home town.... and there is the vocal minority - Rob, Pat, Gill
and a few others who are always there chipping in with little
gems.
So that leaves me in a dilemma - what do we do to make the list
something exciting and valuable?? eGroups require an active
subscriber base to be effective... I really would like to know how
to pep up the interest - I'm a member of several other lists that
generate as much volume in a day as we do in a month... admittedly there
is a lot of waffle but the lists are active and a wide range of readers
contribute... What do we do to move towards that?
LESSON/ACTIVITY IDEA
PLEASE
SUBMIT SOME LESSONS AND ACTIVITIES I CAN SHARE WITH THE READERSHIP!!!
RECOMMENDED WEBSITES
- These are course outlines I created for my students taking Western
Australian Curriculum Council post-compulsory Drama and Drama
Studies courses. These are my planning documents and class
handouts for 2004. [These are in PDF ] D634/D647
(Year 11 Drama/Drama Studies) and E634/E647
(Year 12 Drama/Drama Studies)
- As school is restarting soon in many places - these planning and
lesson resources might prove useful
DRAMA
ONE - a series of 25 lessons by Robert Cohen
Brigham
Young Unit Lesson Plans
Teach-It
- Drama Studies - activities and lessons
PROFESSIONAL NEWS
13th - 17th April 2004
University of Canterbury
This innovative, international Conference sets out to provide an
important forum for drama educators, researchers and practitioners to
come together and consider drama practice in relation to recent brain
research and thinking for learning. This Conference will be of
interest to not only drama educators but to all educators with an
interest in actively developing a pedagogical and aesthetic
understanding of drama.
- KEITH JOHNSTONE TEACHES IMPRO; JOHN MARSDEN TEACHES WRITING
Keith Johnstone, author of 'Impro' and 'Impro for Storytellers' is
coming to Australia. In June, he and John Marsden will run an
eight-day course at John's property, the beautiful Tye Estate, half
an hour north of Melbourne Airport.
Keith Johnstone's extraordinary pioneering ideas were the basis of
Theatre Sports and the television program 'Whose Line is it Anyway'.
A former director of Britain's Royal Court Theatre, and the
co-founder of the Loose Moose Theatre in Calgary, Canada, he is a
remarkable teacher.
The course, from June 8 to June 15, will comprise two strands,
writing, taught by John Marsden, best-selling novelist for children
and teenagers, and Impro, taught by Keith. There will be at
least seven hours of classes a day, with one free day, which can
include some group exploration of Mt. Macedon and Hanging Rock.
Cost of the course is expected to be $2945 10 ST.
This price covers full accommodation (backpacker style at the Tye
Estate), as well as all meals, as well as the workshops.
Numbers will be limited, so it is essential to apply early.
Keith has never taught a full-length course in Australia before, and
this opportunity is unlikely to be repeated.
Details can be obtained from www.johnmarsden.com
or Tye Estate, RMB 1250, Romsey 3434, or by ringing 0354 270384, or
by faxing 0354 270395, or by emailing johnmarsden@bigpond.com
What
is the job?
To
provide fun entertaining science for children 7 to 11 years at
parties, council family days, shopping centres etc.
This is a casual position.
As
a Mad Scientist you will entertain children with cool interactive
science. You might
entertain 15 or so children at a birthday party for an hour, or spend
2 to 3 hours a day for a week at a shopping centre interacting with
children while they do science activities like making slime.
And if you have real potential you might end up doing shows
attended by 100s of children.
Hours
are very variable. For
example you might do 3 birthday parties one weekend-then none for a
couple of weekends. During
school holidays we usually offer employment during the week at
shopping centres. The pay rate for a typical party is $35 (parties with add-ons
eg rocket launches are around $45).
Pay rate is also affected by the number of children. The party rate increases as you get better.
Pay rate for shopping centres depends on the hours, but is
usually $20-$25 per hour of activities
Requirements
Like
kids and the idea of entertaining them.
We train you in the science part- so a strong science
background is not important. And the obvious stuff like being reliable
(you can't be late for birthday parties!!! Also
you need a reliable car
Contact
Send
an email to gerards@bigpond.com
with a brief outline of your work experience- especially any relating
to kids and why you think that you would make a great Mad Scientist.
We will send an attachment back to you that gives a full
description of job requirements and conditions
If
you don't have access to email then call 9358 4317 or fax 9358 4516.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
Creative
Drama in the Classroom and Beyond (7th Edition)
by Nellie McCaslin (Author)
This is quite an important book - especially to anyone seriously
evaluating the educational worth of Drama as Pedagogy and Drama as a
Learning Area. This will be a frequently quoted text in my
lecturing this year.
Teaching
Drama in Primary and Secondary Schools : An Integrated Approach
by Michael Fleming
This book will be of major interest to student teachers, teachers, lecturers and researchers. It provides, a case for an integrated approach to the teaching of drama in primary and secondary schools which will help practitioners develop a theoretical rationale for their work, practical examples of lesson plans, and schemes of work designed to give pupils a broad and balanced experience of drama.
These are presented within a framework which argues for an integration of content and form, means and ends, internal and external experience.
Whereas the author's previous work argued for an inclusive approach that reconciled polarized views about performance drama and improvisation, this book shows how those activities can be related to each other in practice in an integrated curriculum.
The
Dramatic Difference: Drama in the Preschool and Kindergarten Classroom
by Victoria Brown (Author), Sarah Pleydell (Author)
In The Dramatic Difference, Victoria Brown
and Sarah Pleydell introduce drama as a bridge between children's
natural propensity for active learning and the demands of the preschool
and kindergarten curriculum.
Also check out these books:
The
Teacher's Toolkit
by Paul Ginnis, Les
Evans (Illustrator)
The
Gamester's Handbooks #1 by Donna Brandes and others
The
Gamester's Handbooks #2 by Donna Brandes and others
The
Gamester's Handbooks #3 by Donna Brandes and others
Creating
the Conditions for Classroom Improvement: A Handbook of Staff
Development Activities
by David Hopkins (Editor), Mel
West, Mel Ainscow, Alma
Harris, John Beresford
Kim Flintoff
Copyright © September, 2004
