This is one of a series of lesson ideas provided by Gill Chesney-Green from Derbyshire in the UK.  (Thanks a plenty Gill! - Kim Flintoff - Webmaster)

LESSON:  IS VIOLENCE NECESSARY?

AIMS:   To look at alternative ways of resolving conflict rather than through violence.

OBJECTIVES: 

• To show that drama can be devised from an end-point
• Creating drama as a result of asking questions

• Whole class 
• small group, 
• forum theatre, 
• starting with a stimulus which relates to outcome of drama.

Put a bag, desk, coat and chair in disarray in the classroom and ask the students to look at it. Ask them to think what could have led to what they are looking at. Students may offer a variety of explanations ... row with a teacher, break-in etc. The class will need to agree on which it was for the drama to start.

If, for example, the class decide that it was as a result of a row with a teacher ask them to think what sort of state of mind would lead someone to act in a way that would result in the scene in front of them.

The session can be taken in a number of ways now:

• small group work to show what led up to the scene
• hot-seating the central character and using forum-theatre to re-create the scenes
• going forward in time (months or years) and the characters remembering the events from today's perspective
• whole class participation to devise scenes which were important in the lives of the characters

RELATED ACTIVITIES: 

Using IT, write a report on someone who has behaved in a disruptive manner from the perspective of a teacher, social worker or probation officer. Include details of name, age etc. and suggest strategies for helping them to minimize their disruptive behaviour.

ASSESSMENT POSSIBILITIES:  Create a monologue of one of the characters

CROSS-CURRICULAR LINKS:  This links with the cross-curricular theme of citizenship and
 with PSE.

RESOURCES:  Use of IT facilities for written work.