The foundational objectives describe the required content of the Arts Education program. What follows is a description of each foundational objective and how its achievement can be evaluated by the teacher.
The students will:
1.Demonstrate belief in the dramatic situation and in
roles
assumed within it.
a) Belief in the dramatic situation
Belief in the dramatic situation is demonstrated by the students' ability to suspend their disbelief and accept the unique fiction provided by each dramatic context. This requires students to engage their imaginations and, as the situation unfolds, to make connections between the fiction and their own experience. As students gain experience working within dramas, their ability to function purposefully in dramatic situations, both in and out of role, is heightened.
Commitment is the key ingredient in any drama. Ideally, commitment is the ability to sustain belief for as long as the drama demands and to recognize and understand the purpose of the work. When students are committed to their collective work, they accept responsibility, both individually and as a group, for its direction, its success and its worth.
A myriad of factors work together to support students' commitment to their dramas. The following list describes some of these. As teachers become more experienced working in drama with their students, they will be able to make additions to this list:
Roles arise readily out of the students' individual responses to dramatic situations, which are always clearly understood as fictional. The ability to demonstrate commitment to role within a dramatic situation is closely linked to belief in the situation itself. As the students' level of commitment to work in drama increases, they are more able to accept and respond to others in role, accept the limits established by the situation, and accept responsibility for the direction and success of the work. As the drama unfolds, they will have opportunities to express their commitment through their use of language as they speak and write in role. Whether they are expressing ideas which further the work, or reflecting upon the work, their language usage is purposeful and appropriate to the context provided by the work. This means that, as the students gain facility and confidence in working in role, they will be able to formulate what they want to say to communicate their intended ideas and do so in such a way as to lend authenticity to the situation. For example, jurors who are charged with the responsibility of deciding the innocence or guilt of an alleged terrorist may well express their particular perspectives in language which is suggestive of that used in an actual court of law. It is important for the teacher to remember, however, that not all students will express belief in role in the same way. Therefore, a drama must offer them a variety of strategies through which to express their ideas, particularly their reflective ones.
When students are called upon to assume and sustain roles within their dramas, they are expected simply to act "as if" or to step into the shoes of another person and adopt a set of attitudes which would be appropriate for such a person in the space and time suggested by the particular work. Middle years students are not expected, as is the actor, to develop and deliberately portray a keen understanding of character by weaving together motivation and the physical, social, psychological, emotional and moral facets of an individual. In the middle years drama program, the main concern is with "the quality of thinking and feeling" (the internal actions evoked by the work and expressed in a variety of ways through the students' use of language) rather than with the "showing" (the external actions of speaking and doing).
As middle years drama students gain experience working in role, their reflections should begin to reveal some understanding of the ways in which their roles function within each work. Teachers can encourage students' thinking about this by describing how the different types of roles which they choose function within the dramas. Through this discussion students will begin to understand how their choice of role might affect the direction of the work by intentionally or unintentionally causing shifts in focus, or injecting tension and contrasts into the work.
In grade six, the students will:
When assessing the individual student's ability to
achieve this objective,
teachers might ask questions such as these:
All drama work is a social art; it is collective endeavour. As each drama unfolds and as the students work toward shaping even the shortest collective creation, they are called upon to initiate and express ideas to the group, and to respect and often follow the contributions of others. They are challenged to negotiate, problem-solve, compromise, build consensus and make decisions. They develop an appreciation of both the pleasures and responsibilities inherent in creating something through
co-operative endeavour. They learn that working co-operatively is an essential ingredient of success in drama.
In grade six, the students will:
When assessing the individual student's ability to
achieve this objective,
teachers might ask questions such as these:
As students work together to create their own works of dramatic art (including both dramas and collective creations) and as they study works created by others, they will develop an understanding of the processes and elements involved in creating such works. Processes in which students may become involved include choosing topics, researching, working in groups of all sizes, synthesizing, identifying the focus of their work, choosing among available strategies, shaping ideas into dramatic form, and reflecting, refining and presenting their work to others. Through the middle years, the extent to which students will work effectively through these processes will depend upon their previous experience and their level of commitment to their drama work.
The elements of theatre form must also find a place in their work. It is the existence of focus, tension, contrasts and symbol within all works of dramatic expression that creates form and uncovers and deepens meaning. These elements function to serve the intention of all dramatic artists and to connect each individual's work to the whole work which they create together. It is important for students to learn to recognize the elements of theatre form and begin to use them purposefully in their drama.
Every drama should provide students with the opportunity to explore their chosen topic from several perspectives, in a number of groupings and through a range of different strategies. This will ensure that students are equipped to discover first-hand the strengths, potential and limitations of the different groupings and strategies, many of which are described in detail in the planning section of this curriculum guide. These experiences will ultimately empower students to make choices which will enable them to express their thinking and feeling most clearly and imaginatively as their work unfolds. This in turn will allow them to claim increasing ownership of their work and derive greater significance and pleasure from it.
Students' understanding of these processes and elements will be demonstrated in their increased ability to make purposeful choices within their dramas and their collective creations. By using a process like "Looking at Plays", students will also be able to recognize and discuss the presence and function of the elements of theatre form in drama they experience as audience.
In grade six, the students will:
When assessing the individual student's ability to
achieve this objective,
teachers might ask questions such as these:
4. Demonstrate the ability
to reflect on the work of
the group and on
their individual contributions to it.
Both public and private reflection play a crucial role in all drama work. Students must consistently be provided with time to clarify and share their personal understanding of the collective work as it unfolds. Reflection enables students to stand back from their experience in order to uncover and examine meaning, clarify their thinking, and consider how effectively they functioned as a member of the group. It also enables them to examine the sources of their ideas, discover what makes drama meaningful for them, articulate how well they co-operate, and understand how their responses and choices impinge upon the responses and choices of others and affect the work. The ability to reflect ultimately empowers them to extend and expand their ideas and to contribute further to the shape of the work of the whole group.
Critical reflection upon their drama work enables students to move closer to expressing the thinking and feeling that they intend to express with their work and facilitates their understanding of the creative process.
A variety of strategies can be used to facilitate student reflection, both within and outside of dramatic situations. Discussion, writing and journal writing, both in and out of role, have proven to be effective tools for reflection. Tableaux, storytelling and small group scenes can serve this function as well. One-on-one interviews with the teacher are also valuable.
In grade six, the students will:
When assessing the individual student's ability to
achieve this objective,
teachers might ask questions such as these:
Dramatic art form is as old as humankind. It has been, and continues to be, a medium for personal expression and for the definition and transmission of culture. Drama can simultaneously mirror and influence the society in which it is formed. It is essential for students to understand that to learn about the drama of a culture is to deepen their understanding of its people and their unique perspectives about themselves, others and the world.
In drama, students are encouraged to consider the role that drama and dramatic artists play in their communities -- local, national and global, past and present. They will discover that dramatic art reflects their own experience and illuminates the human condition. They will realize that it can question societal values and offer us social commentary. They will become aware that it sparks our imagination, increases our ability to empathize with others, and provides us with fresh ideas and personal insights. They will understand that dramatic art is important to their society and to them. Students should increase their knowledge of Saskatchewan and Canadian dramatic artists. The teacher should provide a forum in the classroom in which students are able to express and share their discoveries. The students own drama work must be an integral part of this discussion. Through group and individual reflection on their work, students will become aware of the connections between their drama work and their daily lives, and their drama work and their society. They will then begin to view their work as worthy artistic endeavour and to understand ways in which dramatic artists, including themselves, get ideas and execute them.
In grade six, the students will:
When assessing the individual student's ability to
achieve this objective,
teachers might ask questions such as these:
One of the goals of the Arts Education program is that students should gain a lasting appreciation of art forms experienced as audience.
Most students will have the opportunity to see a play or two a year when the high school drama club or a community theatre group performs, or when professional theatre companies tour their plays. Some recorded dramatic presentations are also available for school use.
Using a process such as "Looking at Plays", which is included in this curriculum, will enable the teacher to guide the students to support their interpretations and opinions about the plays they view as audience. Students will begin to understand some of the work of today's dramatic artists and have an opportunity to explore individual and cultural world views expressed through drama.
As well, students should always be encouraged to apply this same critical thinking as they reflect on their own drama work. Their abilities to become more informed audience members can be strengthened through open, supportive discussion of their work in class. Students should also be encouraged to research and discuss relevant information about the dramatic art and artists with whom they come in contact and in whom they express an interest.
In grade six, the students will:
When assessing the individual student's ability to
achieve this objective,
teachers might ask questions such as these: