As was indicated in the previous section, 'The content of drama', it is important, both in the long term and the short term, to plan carefully the integration of drama with other curriculum areas. Whether a projected integration should be undertaken depends entirely on the extent to which the drama is going to enhance the learning experience in the area with which it is integrated. A number of factors will affect this decision:
- the nature of the content
- how the children's drama experience can be matched with the complexity of what is to be learned
- the appropriateness of the drama in dealing with a larger body of knowledge in another curriculum area, for example the development of transport
- the teacher's sensitivity to the unexpected and spontaneous learning experience that drama can provide in the week's classroom activity
- the extent to which drama can overcome particular learning or conceptual difficulties that the class, a group or individual children may have.
The planning grid on page 30 gives an indication of how a drama activity can be integrated with other subjects. This is based on Drama Activity 3 which is described in detail on pages 74-79.
How drama activity can integrate with other subject areas
