Drama Lessons and Live Sessions – for teachers, teaching assistants, drama practitioners, storytellers, freelancers!
Currently only $169! (Usual price $275) – pay via PayPal/credit card or we can invoice your school!
Join The Inspiring Drama Teacher and get access to:
- Online Course Parts 1 and 2
- Monthly Live Zoom Sessions with teachers worldwide*
- Lesson Plan Assignment (marked and returned with practical comments)
- Course Certificate
- Drama Lesson Plan Vault – an ever-growing selection of Lesson Plans written by teachers, practitioners and experts from across the world working in a wide variety of settings. I know that you’ll find these incredibly useful in the classroom and studio!
- Recordings of all our incredible and practical Zoom sessions with participants. These cover a very wide range of topics, many raised by the participants. 20 sessions and counting!
*The 60-minute Zoom sessions are normally held on the third Tuesday of each month at 1pm GMT. Recordings are made available soon afterwards in case you can’t attend or would like to watch them again.
Somebody Swallowed Stanley (4-7 years)
About the dangers of plastic waste for marine wildlife
The Great Fire of London (6-7 years)
Explores events & characters of The Great Fire of London (1666)
Go Kart by Michael Rosen (9-11 years)
Exploring narrative poetry through performance, writing & art work
Vaping (12-15 years)
Discussing the issues of vaping as they affect young people
The (ever-growing) Drama Lesson Plan Vault includes:
These amazingly practical plans were all developed by students of the course!
- Man on the Moon (3-5 years) written to commemorate the Moon Landing in July 2019
- Somebody Swallowed Stanley (4-7 years) about the dangers of plastic waste for marine wildlife, based on an inspiring and beautifully illustrated book
- Owl Babies (4-7 years) to develop a deeper understanding of the importance of setting and character in the popular story book by Martin Waddell
- The Forest (5 years) Four lessons exploring the theme of the forest artistically and scientifically. (The original lessons were taught in French, but the plan is in English)
- Fairy Tales (5-6 years) exploring characters and plots from fairy stories
- Handa’s Surprise (5-6 years) based on one of the best culturally diverse picture books in the UK (uses Teacher in Role and Whoosh)
- Brave Mouse (5-6 years) using a variety of different drama strategies, dance and movement to create characterisations and contexts
- Fire of London (6-7 years) explores the events and characters of The Great Fire of London in 1666
- Fractured Fairy Tales (9-10 years) retelling of well-known fairy stories, encouraging children to make up their own endings
- The Monkey King (9-10 years) explores the story of ‘The Monkey King’s Sacrifice’ and includes a cleverly written Whoosh Storytelling (story included)
- Around the World (9-11 years) offers a virtual tour of the world through drama (aligned to the Scottish Curriculum)
- Go Kart poem by Michael Rosen (9-11 years) exploring wonderful narrative poem through performance, improvisation, writing narrative poetry and art work
- Theseus and the Minotaur (10-11 years) A simple yet powerful introduction to the story of Theseus, along with a brilliant retelling of the story
- I Need My Monster (10-12 years) A five-day lesson plan based on ‘I Need My Monster’ by Amanda Noll, illustrated by Howard McWilliam. It is designed to be done in one week (for example in a summer drama camp) although it could be easily adapted for other uses
- The Tell Tale Heart (12-14 years) uses the famous horror story by Edgar Allen Poe as the basis for a thought-provoking and lively session
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Social Skills (12-16 years, Special Needs) This 60-minute lesson plan cleverly links the disagreement between Titania and Oberon to everyday decisions made in social circumstances
- Romeo and Juliet (12-13 years) This 2-hour session aims to introduce students to the Elizabethan Theatre (including The Globe) and specifically to Romeo and Juliet as well as activities to explore iambic pentameter
- Antigone (12-15 years) covers the theme of Citizenship by exploring the nature of law and ethical dilemmas through the myth of Antigone (summary of ‘Antigone’ is included)
- Vaping (12-15 years) A well-researched and carefully structured session (or pair of sessions) for introducing and discussing the issues of vaping as they affect young people
- Hamlet Zoom Lessons. (13-14 years) Two Zoom lessons introducing Hamlet through Act 1, scene 4 and Act 1, scene 5, using warm up games, illustrated PowerPoints and adapted script extracts (included)
- Feeding The Homeless during COVID-19 (14 years) A challenging and inspiring lesson plan based on a news report about a real estate agent in Cape Town, South Africa
Also includes 10 of David Farmer's original lesson plans (see more)
All these original lesson plans are available to download and use in the drama classroom, studio or drama club, so that you can understand how drama strategies and games can be used for different stories, themes and age-groups.
The Tiger Child 4-7 based on a lively and funny folk tale from Orissa, India
Funnybones 5-7 at least 90 minutes of activities based on the all-time best selling book
The Gruffalo 5-7 drama Lessons for Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 based on The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
The Refugee Cat 5-11 based on a beautifully-illustrated book co-written by an aid worker and a photo-journalist
Away From Home 7-11 explores What was it like for children in the Second World War? and What was it like to be an evacuee?
The King’s Sentence 7-11 uses an original and inspiring story (included) to explore how we can communicate non-verbally through gesture, body language and sign language, using storytelling, discussion and drama activities
The Musicians of Bremen Script 7-12 is a short play (nine pages plus directing tips, around 15 minutes) suitable for performance by children and young people – ideal for Schools and Drama Clubs
Drama Games for Language Teaching 9-adult fourteen fun drama games and activities helping students to learn languages by using active teaching and learning styles
Commedia dell’arte Drama Unit 11-16 explores the Italian improvised theatre of the 16th to 17th centuries including activites such as Status Gap, Master and Servant, Pantalone and Arlecchino, Character Body Parts, Throw Your Face, Grammelot and Canovaccio
Introducing Augusto Boal (12 years to adult) is three full-length practical sessions introducing the work of the Brazilian theatre maker who revolutionised theatre
In The Inspiring Drama Teacher, in addition to these incredible resources you also get 12 months access to:
- Additional downloads, checklists and course materials
- Monthly live Zoom sessions with the tutor (David Farmer)
- Submit your course assignment/lesson plan and receive practical feedback
- Assignment Webinar
- Course Certificate
- Access to a private Facebook page to ask questions and share ideas
Sanjna Kapoor recommends the Inspiring Drama Teacher
Freelance Theatre Practitioner
I love the way you have designed this valuable sharing experience in your on-line course The Inspiring Drama Teacher. I am deeply interested in understanding how to cultivate school teachers into becoming drama teachers in their schools. I live and work in India and more and more schools are getting interested in drama in their classrooms. I’m thrilled that so many teachers responded to my gentle nudge to attend this course. Thank you for all your precious books and wonderful sharing.
Sanjna Kapoor is well known for her passionate work with theatre over two decades, and for having built Prithvi Theatre into one of India’s premier cultural hubs. The Merchant Ivory film, Shakespeare Wallah, was loosely based on her family, which starred her father and her aunt, actress Felicity Kendal. In 2020 Sanjna was awarded the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, a knighthood conferred by the Ministry of Culture, Government of France in recognition of significant contributions to the arts, literature and the propagation of these fields.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the course start?
This self-paced online course is available now. You can start at any time.
How long does the course take?
It’s possible to complete the course including the videos, activities and assignment in 10 hours (or less if you rush through it). However, there is a large amount of really useful optional material including over 25 hours of seminar recordings and more than 30 lesson plans to read, implement and download. So you’ll be able to return to the course again and again!
How long do I have access to the course?
Twelve months. After the course starts, you have unlimited access for a whole year – across any and all devices you own.
Is there a certificate?
A Course Certificate is awarded on completion of the Course Assignment.
What does the course assignment involve?
When you have worked through all the units you are invited to submit a simple lesson plan using at least four of the techniques you have covered. This will be returned to you with constructive advice after which you will receive the Course Certificate!
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We’ve worked hard on this course and are confident you’re going to love it. We offer a Risk Free Guarantee so if for any reason in the first 30 days after the course starts you decide that it ‘s not for you there is a no-questions-asked refund policy.
@MissStalkerBX is currently participating in ‘The Inspiring Drama Teacher’ training by @dramaresource 🎭🤩
— Drama_BPS (@DramaBps) September 28, 2021
This week’s challenge was to create different objects as a group in 10 seconds! The teamwork skills during this game are incredible; here are P5 demonstrating 👏🏻 #BPSDrama pic.twitter.com/UbFzjYezwZ
As part of the Inspired Drama Teacher training, we tried “I can’t remember what happens next” and whooshing stories 🎭 We LOVED adding onto each other’s tales, using lots of adjectives from our writing! They liked jumping into the stories and acting them out too 🥰 @dramaresource pic.twitter.com/bOchwXSWtK
— MissStalkerP5S (@MissStalkerBX) October 6, 2021
Join The Inspiring Drama Teacher Course and Community
- Subscribe to the course and get at least 12 months access to all the resources and monthly live sessions for $169 (plus sales tax in some countries)
- Start any time!
What They Said…
…about The Inspiring Drama Teacher
‘Thank you so much for your lovely email and feedback. I have thoroughly enjoyed the course and taken so much away from it. You have truly given me so many useful ideas, themes, games etc that have made my teaching so much easier. Having also brought so many of your books and used them widely in various contexts I’m excited to do the same this year.’
‘This course came to me at a time when I needed something to think about that had nothing to do with covid and it was a wonderful distraction, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.’
‘I have never had any formal drama teaching myself, but ended up teaching drama as no-one else would… David builds a layer of tools that you can easily adapt to create fun, engaging, powerful, and informative lesson plans. It is indeed inspiring!’
‘Thank you for the amazing course. I felt very supported throughout. I loved seeing the activities in action! I have also received the drama books today and can’t wait to read them.’
‘I adore the fact that each one of the techniques you suggest is chosen carefully for its importance and special meaning. This gives a boost of confidence to the teacher and a feeling of quality and respect to the whole class. Thank you David for transmitting your valuable experience in such an explicit way!’
‘You are a master and I have so enjoyed being able to share in your knowledge! I have also now thought about how I could empower some of the teachers at my school with drama skills for their classes’
‘The format of the course is just right. I’m supposed to be switching off from school for the hols! But this course is so enjoyable and I can’t help but be inspired. The units were interesting and fun to do – and manageable (time wise), a really well designed course.’
‘Thank you so much for all the lessons and the added extras. I am enjoying the straight-forward, step-by-step lessons. The timing is perfect as I shall use some/all of these ideas and stories in my lessons this term, after the students have taken their exams next week.’
If you’re wondering whether to sign up for one of David Farmer’s courses DO IT! Whether new to drama or an ‘old hand’, you’ll end up with a range of exciting and fun drama ideas to freshen up your teaching, as well as making connections with other drama teachers across the globe and benefiting from sharing experiences and expertise.
