Anyone teach secondary drama?

[Summerdays2014]

Hi,

Just wondered if there were any other drama teachers on here? Interested in what work you are setting during lockdown and how to make it more practical - feel like I’m teaching English at the moment! I’m uploading lots of scripts for each year group to read then answer questions, design costumes and sets etc. I miss practical work! Also, if schools do open but with social distancing, how on earth will that work for our subject?!?

I'm not a drama teacher but my friend is, and she has been setting her classes work from the disneyonstage website. I think year 7 and 8 did the mask making activity on there and then took pictures of them to submit, her year 9s watched the behind the scenes videos from the website and wrote about the roles of the people backstage, and her 10s and 11s did GCSE work x

Thanks, I’ll have a look!

I am. I only teach 6th form.
I have...
Done plenty of tutorials for the theory elements (I’m using zoom so these are live)
Set practical challenges which students can video on their phones and send in - a lot of them are pretty good at editing and so group work is happening. They’ve done a virtual variety show in groups and are doing some scenes from Chatroom.
Got them to choose and video themselves reading a poem, which we’re going to send to a local primary school along with some easy and fun activities.
Got them all to watch the free NT Live shows and review them.

We’re hoping to do our summer musical at a later date so I’m also recording songs and harmonies for them to learn.

And finally we’re taking part in the Company Three Coronavirus Time Capsule project - it’s a really great creative project, is free, and all the resources are online.

Not a teacher, but DD is a real introvert and has really struggled with tasks set when they involve filming herself, so please bear that in mind for your more sensitive students

Lougie I teach a 6th Form Performing Arts course. Students audition to get into it and most end up at drama school. I know my students.

EvilTwins thank you. I love the Company Three Coronavirus Time Capsule project. I am going to get my year 12 and my transition group from 11-12 into groups to do this!

That's fantastic, EvilTwins. That's the beauty of choosing courses. Secondary school teachers in KS3 have very different cohorts.

Lougie I am fully aware of that, having taught in secondary schools for over 20 years before setting up my current course.

This is the staff room, and the OP asked secondary drama teachers what they are doing. Your input was not necessary. 💐

Actually, my input might make a secondary teacher consider that not every child in their class will want to perform on video and send it to their teacher. If just one teacher considers that, it will be a useful post. Your response has made this a focus rather than a simple comment.

I was skimming this thread for ideas for our drama club and found Lougle’s input useful.

Posts beginning with “not a teacher but...” don’t belong in the staff room l.

Well I could have begun it with 'My DD finds...' but the post would have said the same. I could also have phrased it as if i was a teacher concerned about my more sensitive students, but I'm honest.

Teachers know their students. It’s patronising to assume otherwise. This is a thread in the staff room, for teachers.

Posts beginning with “not a teacher but...” don’t belong in the staff room

That’s all the replies on this thread, bar yours.

Teachers generally have a wealth of training and experience around teaching students in a classroom environment. My teacher friends and DC’s teachers all freely admit they are not experts in distance learning and that we are all learning how to do this together.

I would imagine at this time that parental input would be useful? Since it will be parents who will be supporting the delivery of said work.

I would imagine at this time that parental input would be useful? Since it will be parents who will be supporting the delivery of said work.

No. Not really. Because every parent only thinks about their own DC. And believe me, when you’re trying to teach 100s of DC (in the case of secondary non-core teachers) there is too much variation in what parents want/can manage/expect.

The OP very clearly asks other secondary drama teachers what they are doing. It’s a niche thread. For secondary drama teachers.

I didn’t post expecting I’d change your mind EvilTwin, I posted to support Lougle. I detest bullying in all its forms.

Bullying?

I responded to the OP. Lougie did not.

Not much point having a staff room if it’s just another place for teacher bashers.

If you think I’m a bully, I suggest you watch this then have a think about it.

I do. My KS3 are doing theatre reviews using digital theatre + which is an extended project.

Year 10 are doing Blood Brothers exam prep- which, starting next week, I'm going to be using loom and teams to make it more interesting for them.

Then my 6th formers are working on monologues and reflective reports of their rehearsals- up loading videos of themselves.

Let's move on. I replied because my DD has this week alone been set two tasks that have caused a great deal of anxiety. The first was an art homework to recreate a portrait picture using household objects (e.g. string toilet rolls over your head in place of a wig), take a photo and send it in. The second was to create a backdrop and a costume, then choreograph and perform a dance piece. That also had to be filmed and sent in.

DD2 doesn't really even talk in class (ASD) and won't use Zoom, for example, so the thought I'd completing these tasks is awful for her.

I simply posted a request that teachers (who naturally will have either a like or passion for their subject) would bear in mind their more sensitive students. I didn't think that was particularly annoying.

Also, to be fair, if 'teachers know their students and it's patronising to assume otherwise' then they wouldn't set tasks such as this for a child who won't even talk in their class, would they?

I'm not teacher bashing, I'm highlighting that the world isn't filled with extroverts who love to appear on camera.

I understand that Lougie but please consider the fact that the Staffroom is supposed to be for teachers. And the OP asked for responses from drama teachers. Please let us have one space on Mumsnet which isn’t full of parents criticising us.

It's only a criticism if you take it as one, which you did. It was otherwise an opinion that could just as easily have been expressed by another teacher. If a poster claiming to be a teacher had said 'I'm keen to try a variety of approaches, but I'm mindful that some of my students will find filming themselves very difficult', I doubt it would have raised a comment at all. Your objection with my post was that it came from a declared non- teacher. I'm not concerned with whether you acknowledge that or not.

This is the OP:

Just wondered if there were any other drama teachers on here? Interested in what work you are setting during lockdown and how to make it more practical

I simply responded to it by saying what I am setting. Your post didn’t respond to the OP. It’s not helpful. If you want to moan about work being set for your DD, then please take it to a general board and not The Staffroom.

I was replying to the OP. "and how to make it more practical" was the bit that I was focusing on. Making it more practical is fine, but expecting children to film themselves and submit that film can be very upsetting for some children.

I'm not moaning about work set, I was simply offering those tasks as examples of tasks which can be difficult for some children.

There is no restriction on MN as to where posters can post.

@Summerdays2014 I'm sorry your thread has been derailed. I hope you get some useful advice about your subject.