The Model Units

The three model units included in the document, one for grades six, and one for each of grades seven and eight, have been written to provide the teacher with a guide to the variety of topics, strategies and processes which can be incorporated into the structure and actual development of dramas and collective creations with Middle Level students.

In a sense, the writing of model units for drama is a contradiction in terms. The essence of classroom drama is that each group of students must be provided with opportunities to shape their own drama work by creating its action and determining its course.

These specific model units, then, are not required. Nor are they intended to be used as scripts. Presented in a "case study" format, they reflect composites of actual experience which are meant to provide teachers with further understanding of the processes for planning and realizing dramas and collective creations with their students.

Each model unit includes:

• A statement of "Background Information" that describes where the idea for the drama came from and provides the context for the work.
• A "Procedures" column that details the experiences of this particular teacher and class of students as they worked through their drama. To introduce each new episode of the work, lists of selected learning objectives that reflect the three components of Arts Education are also included.

• A "Teacher Notes" column that provides links between the model unit and "The Yearly Plan for the Middle Years Drama Class", as well as general teacher tips.