Strand: Drama to explore feelings, knowledge and ideas, leading to understanding
Strand unit: Exploring and making drama
The child should be enabled to
- develop the instinct for make-believe play into drama
move from dressing-up play into making dramas about the dressed-up characters
move from playing at being a rabbit in a warren to becoming one of the rabbits in the group who has to find a way of dealing with a fox who keeps interrupting their grazing
be one of a group of toys in the shop when the owner comes and tells them that he/she will have to sell the shop or sell one of them
move from playing a chasing game to being tigers playing the same game, and thence into a drama about tigers that will retain the same energy as the original game - develop the ability to play in role as an integral part of the action
adopt the role of the helper of the bear who wants to climb the slippery slope
adopt the role of one of the children whom the lion asks to be his friends
take on different roles in a puppet drama
in a drama about making a suitable village for tigers, be a person who wants, for example, a playground for baby tigers - experience how the use of space and objects can help to create the reality of the make-believe world
a table and chair represent a king’s or queen’s throne
a ruler becomes a saw or a magic wand
imagine what is happening in a certain space if chairs and objects are arranged in a certain way
sheets of paper become stepping-stones across a stream. - experience how the fictional past and the desired fictional future influence the present dramatic action
the rabbits’ previous experience of the fox chasing them, together with their desire to be safe, forces them to think about what they must do
the children wanting to visit an bhábóg bhreoite in hospital have to check the visiting hours, so they look up the telephone number and ring the hospital
the children, knowing that the elf has always been afraid of the dark and wishing him not to be afraid in the future, offer to help him to go to the wizard, who will cure him - develop awareness of how he/she, as part of a group, helps to maintain focus in the dramatic action
concentrate, with the group, on convincing the cowardly wizard that the frog will not harm him/her
in a drama about a mountain rescue, concentrate on helping the whole group to follow the leader over the stepping-stones without anyone falling in
together with the other children decide, by concentrating on listening to the sounds of animals in the woods, whether it is safe to leave the tent
while making get-well cards for an bhábóg bhreoite the teacher keeps the focus on bábóg by telling the children about his/her own visit to the hospital - develop awareness of tension in the drama
if the bear cannot go up the slippery slope, he/she will not be able to rescue the stranded penguin
if one person (represented by a coat) falls into the stream, he/she, together with the group, will have to abandon the journey
a ‘friendly’ stranger offers sweets to him/her and to other members of the group, who decide whether or not to take them.
Strand unit: Reflecting on drama
The child should be enabled to
- develop the ability to reflect on the action as it progresses
speculate whether he/she and the other children could have persuaded the old woman to give them bread if they had been nicer to her
in a drama about bears going to school, consider what bears should put in their schoolbags in the morning
reflect on appropriate behaviour when visiting people in hospital, discussing and demonstrating how we show that we care about the person who is sick - experience the relationship between story, theme and life experience
in the drama about the tiger village, become one of the children who has to defend his/her plan when the chief tiger (the teacher in role) says that it will not serve the tigers’ purpose
show the lion who can’t make friends some of the strategies that the child uses in making friends - share insights gained while experiencing the drama
tell how he/she felt when the fairy had to walk in the snow without shoes
tell if mother or father would do things differently from one of the characters in the drama.
Strand unit: Co-operating and communicating in making drama
The child should be enabled to
- develop the ability, out of role, to co-operate and communicate with others in helping to shape the drama
co-operate with others, in small groups, in making a scene between puppets
contribute ideas on where we should place each burrow in the warren, where the green area should be, and where we should have paths through the briars
in a play about an ark, take turns making the sound of his/her animal - develop, in role, the ability to co-operate and communicate with others in helping to shape the drama
contribute ideas about what has to be done if this wet night must be spent on the hillside
help others to decide how best to find a way out of the forest
as rescuers, help the others to decide which songs they could sing for the king or queen so that he/she will not notice the prisoner being released
mar dhaoine atá ag dul go dtí an t-oileán, abair na rannta agus na hamhráin a shásóidh an bádóir.