Drama Teaching Tips
A selection of articles on drama teaching. These can be filtered using the blue buttons.
12 Tips for Learning Lines
Learning lines for plays or speeches is not always easy - here are twelve tips to help!
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3D Living Pictures
Bring pictures to life through freeze frames, thought tracking and improvisation.
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60-Minute Special – Cirque du Soleil
A 78-minute special, featuring the best live show moments of La Nouba, Varekai and Quidam by Cirque de Soleil.
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Anti-Bullying Drama Unit
Using drama to explore bullying issues, giving pupils the opportunity to try out anti-bullying strategies.
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Books on Drama for Language Teaching and Learning
Recommended books on teaching and learning language through drama games and activities.
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Bounce Story Club
Bounce Theatre are running a story writing club during lockdown
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Bringing Fairy Tales to Life through Drama
Ways to develop fairy and folk tales into rehearsed performances, improvisations, tableaux and oral storytelling.
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Circle and Cross – Online or Offline
Draw a circle, draw a cross, then both at once...
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Commedia dell’arte Drama Unit
Commedia dell’arte began in the marketplaces of 16th-century Europe as improvised theatre which was rude, funny and satirical.
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Daft Definitions
Put random words together to invent new concepts! Great storytelling warm-up.
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Devising theatre in a socially distant climate
DISTANCED DEVISING - ONLINE CPD The Paper Birds have been making and touring physical, verbatim theatre productions since 2003. But
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Dorothy Heathcote – Pioneer of Educational Drama
The ethos of drama in education today owes an enormous debt to the inspiration of one woman - Dorothy Heathcote
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Drama Across the Curriculum
Drama strategies can be used as everyday teaching tools for a wide range of subjects. (Extract from 'Learning Through Drama
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Drama for Language Teaching
Drama is an effective way of helping students to learn languages including English as a Foreign Language (EFL), as it uses
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Drama For Writing
Drama can provide children with a meaningful purpose for writing. (Extract from 'Learning Through Drama in the Primary Years').
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Drama Games for Language Teaching (teenage to adult)
14 easy to use drama games and activities suitable for a range of ages and language levels.
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Drama Menu at a Distance: 80 Socially Distanced or Online Theatre Games by Glyn Trefor-Jones
Drama games for socially-distanced and online teaching, carefully planned for this difficult period we are living through.
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Drama One to One Online/Offline
Therapeutic drama one-to-one, online and offline - an interview with Janine Oxley.
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Family Portraits – Online/Socially Distanced
Groups have just a few seconds to make comical family tableaux.
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Giving Presents (inc Online Version)
This game is all about receiving surprises and about the things we value most.
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Greek Gods Under Quarantine – Plays to be performed online
Plays designed to be performed on Zoom
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Groovy Image Factory
Quickly generate repeating actions and sounds or words
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Guess The Pet
A variation on the Mirror Game for younger students
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Guess Who I Am (inc Online Version)
A fun way of creating characters from any picture.
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Home Taskmaster
Students have to make a video based on different hilarious tasks. They can rope in their family to help!
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Hot Spotting
An amazingly fun and easy way to mix up hot-seating and freeze frames to develop characters
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How to Direct a Show Online
Is it possible to continue rehearsals for a youth theatre production with a cast of 33 during the coronavirus crisis?
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Imaginarium
An exciting and completely unpredictable way to quickly develop a scene
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Keeping Control in the Drama Lesson
Classroom Management for Drama Lessons The challenge of managing the classroom during drama could be why some teachers are reluctant
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Key Stage 1 Drama Lesson Ideas
A dozen fabulous ideas and helpful books for teaching drama at key stage one.
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Key Stage 2 Drama Lesson Ideas
Ten brilliant ideas and worthwhile books for teaching drama at key stage two.
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Kneehigh WIndows to the World
The brilliant Kneehigh Theatre Company set you some bonkers and brilliant creative challenges.
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Make your own frog and toad puppets
Norwich Puppet Theatre teach you to make a toad puppet
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Mountview Live Interviews
Zoom interviews with Dame Judi Dench, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Noma Dumezweni, Amanda Holden, Glenda Jackson and Stephen Daldry
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Mr Horne’s Performing Arts Channel
A YouTube channel produced by Mr Horne for his Primary Performing Arts curriculum classes – well worth a look!
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Music for Drama Workshops
A playlist of music for drama workshops, rehearsal or performance, including warm-ups, movement pieces and atmospherics.
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My Favourite Drama Teaching Books
These books are ideal for practical ideas to use right away. The first two cover secondary as well as primary
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National Theatre Connections Festival – Online
The National Theatre Connections Festival performances posted online for the Royal & Derngate Theatre in Northampton.
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One Word At A Time – Online + Socially Distanced
A story is told by the group or in pairs, with each person adding one word at a time.
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Pecking Order
Can you work out where you stand in the pecking order?
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Plays for Children
In this interview Alison Chaplin talks to David Farmer about her plays for children and how she got into writing
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Podcasts and Webinars with David Farmer
PodcastsSpoken World Podcast with Salihah Agbaje traces David's roots in Theatre in Education. Spoken World is the winner of the
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Poetry in Motion
Poetry can be explored and presented effectively through drama and movement
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Sculptor and Statue
In pairs, create a still image where one of you has a higher status than the other and let others
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Seven Levels of Tension
An approach to acting that enables performers to explore different levels of tension.
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Share Your Shakespeare Online
The RSC invites you to share your favourite Shakespeare video or photo.
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Shoe Shuffle
Develop imagination and mime skills using everyday objects
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Shortened Shakespeare
Recommended shortened versions of Shakespeare playscripts for children and young people to perform.
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Slide Show (inc Online Version)
A presenter gives an illustrated talk – using human slides
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Status Pictures
In pairs, create a still image where one of you has a higher status than the other and let others
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Stop, Go, Face, Clap
Sneaky adaptation of a very well-known drama game for playing online
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Story Books for Drama Teaching
Stories can provide the launch pad for a one-off drama session or several weeks of work. Drama strategies can be drawn
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Story Orchestra
The group tells a story, with a conductor guiding the narrative
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Teaching Drama with Social Distancing – Important Links
Up to date links with the latest advice on teaching drama and theatre during COVID-19
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Teaching Gold Mining in New Zealand through Drama
These five incredibly simple methods for drama teaching inspired a teacher in New Zealand to bring to life her social
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Teaching Literacy Through Drama
Drama is a close ally in the development of literacy, especially speaking and listening.
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Ten Second Objects (inc Online Version)
Small groups make the shape of an object using their bodies - in only ten seconds!
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The Gruffalo
Drama activities for exploring and re-telling the story of The Gruffalo.
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The King’s Sentence – a world without words
Lesson plan and original story for KS2 exploring non-verbal communication through gesture and sign language.
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The Musicians of Bremen Script
Sparkling short play script of the Brothers Grimm tale for KS2 performance.
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The Tiger Child Drama Unit
A range of drama and storytelling activities based on a traditional Indian folk-tale for KS1 and reception.
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Three Changes
An observation and getting to know you game - with online version
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Three Word Sentences
Sometimes three words are just enough.
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Throw Your Face (online version)
Throw your face - but be careful which way the wind is blowing!
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Told By An Idiot: Idiots in Isolation
One of the most original physical comedy theatre companies I have ever seen - now sharing more of their ideas
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Top 5 Books for Teaching Shakespeare to Children and Young People
These days Shakespeare can be taught to children and young people in very exciting and active ways - and there
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Two Truths And A Lie
Play online or live - tell your partner three things about yourself – two of which are true and one
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Wardrobe Malfunction – Online Drama Game 🎩
A daft dressing-up game where people find out what they have in common
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Websites for Teaching Drama Online
Links to up-to-date websites which help with teaching drama online.
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Where Do You Stand? (inc Online Version)
A fast and effective way of discovering everybody’s opinions about a subject - online or offline.
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Whoosh! Bringing Stories Alive through Drama
An interactive technique in which participants become characters and objects in a story as it is told.
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Why Teach Drama to Primary School Children?
Children's natural tendency towards make-believe play can be utilised at school through structured play and drama.
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Zoom Performance Pack
PDF/Word doc includes monologues and duologues and practical guidance on directing performances online.
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