Ed. 3601 Class Log #3

Education 3601 - Drama
Class Log #3 – Jan. 19, 10

Activities: Portfolio presentation/discussion with Leeanne
* Look into CIG Improv games yo!
Portfolio stuff:
- Cover letter then criminal record check
- Online ish --> good idea!
- Intro stuff --> then table of contents
- * Look into Faculty of Ed. Portfolio guidelines
- Each section has a table of contents too --> good idea!
- Rationale along with table of contents --> why’s it in there?
- Rationale HUGE with John; AS to be in there
- (Side note) --> For off hour’s fun stuff, think about starting an online callboard etc.
- Classroom management (regular) and drama management separate -> two distinct feels (agreed)
- For letters of reference --> Think about photocopies to highlight specific good things
- Rationale bust for basically ALL of your stuff! Especially random personal stuff
- *** Relate everything in your portfolio to KSA’s! Important to have them learned!
- Unit plan/Assesment HUGE!!! Big importance! --> Include just a few (like 3) lesson plans with your units
- Include your final evaluations! Reverse order; PS3-Ed. 2500
- * Think about taking photos of final projects etc.
- Fine Arts Council --> FineFACTA
- Keep some reflection stuff in your portfolio!
- Feel free to email Leeanne for more help/idea’s etc. ^_^
- *** Make sure all tabs are OUT!!!! (The ones for separating sections)
- * Think about adding various things even related to things outside of drama stuff --> ie. drumming/teaching drums, vocal jazz, make CD’s with various creative things (like the power point done for Shelly Scott’s class, Bio Poem etc.)
- * Think about doing “Final Directing” class in last semester
- * Look for Drama Programs --> ones I did production duties on etc.
- * Include scholarships I have received, such as CO-OP and Jason Lang
- Professional growth plan --> PSI yo!
- Color coding --> GOOD idea!

For log:
What is the value of portfolio’s? (Leeane/John talk) *Do my own reflection on this
- See your development/progress of you/your teaching
- Great for reflection by physically seeing progress
- “Look at what you’ve done” --> profound statement especially with regards to growth --> look at what else you have done ie. making bulletins etc.
- Way to get better quickly! And what you may need to work on
- Log books mad IMPORTANT!!

Content/Resource assignment:
Discipline --> Movement
Six resources --> Annotated bibliography
12 games --> 4 each
Team Most Excellent! Christine Hauck and Naomi Snelgrove

Resources:
- Play Director’s Survival Guide by James W. Rogers and Wanda C. Rogers
- The Second City Guide to Improv in the Classroom by Katherine S. Mcknight and Mary Scruggs
- The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Acting
- The First Days of School: How to be an Effective Teacher by Harry K. Wong and Rosemary Tripi Wong
- Improvisation for the Theatre by Viola Spolin
- The Blunt Playwright by Clem Martini
- Improvisation: Learning Through Drama by David W. Booth and Charles J.Lundy *GREAT resource! Used it in PSI!
- Puppets and Masks: Stagecraft and Storytelling by Nan Rump

Other log junk:
- Sunday bad for Naomi
- *Zucchini --> Trust exercise from first day!
- Got a ten minute set-up for our presentation for movement

Reflection on the value of portfolio’s:
Considering the points that had been brought up in class, there is not much else I can add to the list of the importance of doing a portfolio. I have to agree with all the points that came up and I do feel no matter how much effort that needs to be put into one, it is totally worth the time. One of the most beneficial aspects of it, I believe, is the idea that you will get better quickly. It’s because of all the reflection (whether on lesson plans, over the entire course of Education, logs, etc.) that we as future teachers will be far better prepared than those who do not document their progress. At first I thought of these portfolio’s as just another task I’d have to wade through in order to get my diploma, but now that I’ve seen what can be done with them and just how important they are from first-hand experience, I am dying to get cracking on mine to bring it up to snuff.

Ed. 3601 Class Log #2

Education 3601 - Drama
Class Log #2 – Jan. 14, 10

Activities:

- Curriculum examination (Junior High)
- Drama both an art form and medium for teaching and learning (drama is a darn good way to learn as evidenced by John’s PHD research)
- Three goals of drama:

1) Learn about self and others.
2) Develop competency with communication.
3) Develop an appreciation of drama/theatre as an art form

- Looked at page 7 -> drama natural growth out of play. Play -> frolicking etc. Play -> house etc. Structured dramatic play -> ie. teacher/parent guided, dramatic forms
- Spoke about definitions (forms) page. 33
- Then did group drama thang; dirty 30’s hoonah (role play/role drama)

Homework: examine why so much detail could be valuable to my growth as a teacher
- Thinking about scripting my lesson plans; email to John and everyone else; paragraph long
- For log cont. pg 7-35ish Junior High, page 7-35ish High school
- Year plan -> after curriculum talk
- Unit plan -> after group drama

Why so much detail could be valuable to my growth as a teacher:
I will be the first one to admit that the reason I ever got into drama was the sheer fact that it was something fun to do. I enjoyed the games, being in school productions, and all that kind of jazz, basically seeing it as a fun way to occupy my time. Truth be known, however, I never truly started to appreciate the subject as much as I do now until learning more about it at University. While I naturally picked up some of the basics of the subject in Junior High and High school, I was sorely missing many of the other “details” that have allowed my love for the art to grow as much as it has. It only seems natural, that adding those extra little details with my lesson plans would be valuable to my growth as a teacher similarly.

With regards to scripting my lesson plans, I can see nothing but benefits for numerous reasons. Yes, one does not want to be tied down by said script as that would make for one boring class, but isn’t a lesson going to go far better if you have a much more clear idea as to what you are going to say/do? I would have to say yes as it is just like performing a play. You need to know your lines, and all the other stage business long before you ever perform a play and the same can be said for a lesson. I do not think that one needs to put quite as much effort into memorization etc. for a lesson, but it is going to go far more smoothly if you are not just up in front of a class taking an improvisational approach. Scripting your lesson plans would only add yet another layer of needed structure, but also provide you a means to reflect on your lesson even before you bring it into the classroom. You may catch something you missed while creating your plan if you are actively thinking about/scripting it. Things of course are not always going to go as they planned, which is where flexibility and quick thinking will play an invaluable role, but heading into a classroom with a pre-determined script alongside your lesson plan is only going to strengthen your lesson as a whole. Going back to the play analogy, you are going to put on a far better production of Death of a Salesman knowing the lines etc., than just getting up on-stage with the basic story in mind and ad-libbing.

Reflection on pages 7-35 in both curriculum's:
Even though the curriculum for both Junior High and High school have not been updated in sometime, the information from pages 7-35 is incredibly valuable. It is wonderful to see in plain English the benefits of drama to an individual, for example, along with the fact we have access to a handy little glossary of various drama terms. We may think we are masters of our domain, but I’ve always been of the mind that it never hurts to keep your resources close for a bit of a reminder every now and again. Page 9, with its list of further resources, is also incredibly good to see included, offering a number of solid recommended sources to turn to, in addition to whatever other ones we may have discovered over time.

Ed. 3601 Sylabus & Class Log #1

Professional Semester II

Methods for Majors

Course Outline      Spring 2010

Instructor:  Dr. John Poulsen

Office: W-712 (TH 434)          Phone: 329 2254 (SPS office)   e-mail - john.poulsen@uleth.ca

Secretary:                                 Office: TH434         Phone:  329-2254

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Education 3601 is a module delivered within the context of Professional Semester II.   This course deals primarily with the teaching of Drama in schools.  It will concentrate on making explicit material presented in the Teacher Resource Manuals for Junior High and Senior High School Drama plus investigating important parts of the Elementary Drama Curriculum Guide.  Some important foci are lesson, unit, and year planning; evaluation; and classroom management.  

Elementary teachers are expected to have competency in teaching dramatic movement, mime, choral speech, story telling, dramatization, puppetry, choric drama, reader’s theatre, story theatre, playmaking, and group drama.  Junior High School teachers are expected to have teaching competency in the areas of movement, speech, improvisation/acting, technical theatre, and theatre studies.  Senior High teachers are expected to have teaching competency in the areas of movement, speech, improvisation, acting technical theatre/design, theatre studies, directing, and playwriting.

The prescribed textbooks for this course are:

Teacher Resource Manual  DRAMA Junior High School. 1989 Alberta Education

Teacher Resource Manual  DRAMA Senior High School. 1989 Alberta Education

Suggested

- Elementary Drama Curriculum Guide. 1985, Alberta Education

- Booth, D. and Lundy, C, (1985) Improvisation: Learning Through Drama. Harcourt and Brace Jovanovich, Toronto.

- Johnstone, K. (1979). Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre. Faber and Faber, London.

EVALUATION

All of the following assignments MUST be completed to gain a passing grade in this course:

                Assignment                                                  Weighting                       Due Date

                Class Assignments                                               20%                       

                Log                                                                         10%                        Jan 27 & Feb 26

Content/Resources presentation & handout  25%                        Jan 21 or 26

Unit Plan/Poster Presentation                            20%                        Feb 25

Management Plan                                               10%                        Feb 9

Portfolio                                                                               10%                        Feb 23

Participation                                                         5%

COURSE CONTENT

Jan 8      Orientation, Course outline, lesson planning, unit planning

Jan 12    Lesson planning, Course Outline

Jan 14    Lesson & Unit Planning

Jan 19    Portfolio (bring your portfolio to class)

Jan 21    Content/Resources presentation & handout

Jan 26    Content/Resources presentation & handout

Jan 28    Unit Planning

Feb 2      Year Planning

Feb 4      Classroom Management

Feb 9      Classroom management

Feb 11    Classroom management

Feb 18&19 WestCAST/SWATCA attendance mandatory

Feb 23    Portfolio due

Feb 25    Unit Planning

Culmination Day – 9:00AM in W422 Hallmarks of a successful drama program & PSIII

The course content as listed and sequenced above may be altered as necessary.

ASSIGNMENTS

All of the following assignments MUST be completed to gain a passing grade in this course:

CLASS ASSIGNMENTS

                The grading of these will be on a “mastery” basis.  That is, students will be given full marks or will be required to redo the assignment until they receive full marks. Following are some of the assignments.  Others will be given in class.

January 21 - Hand in a lesson plan using an acceptable template for a 40 minute orientation lesson.  This must be emailed to the entire class.  All lessons received should be eventually printed and placed in your logbook.

January 26 – Create 6 objectives/outcomes from 6 different levels of Blooms taxonomy that could be used by you during your PSII practicum.  Email to the entire class.

January 28 – Give the direct translation of “In loco Parentis” and give an example of it at work.

Feb. 2 -   Create a Teacher Professional Growth Plan (TPGP) for PSII.  This should include the goal, strategies for attaining the goal, and an indication of how you know you have reached the goal.  Minimum 2 goals- maximum 5.

Feb. 9/11 – Class Management improvs. Come to class with a lesson plan that you will teach to a group of students.

Feb. 23 Professional Growth  - SWATCA and WESTCAST - outline how your attendance and participation in SWATCA and/or WestCAST contributed to your professional growth.  Give specific examples.

LOG

This document can be on-line or in paper format.  It should have the following items:

·         Course outline

·         Notes from each class including what occurred, Games/Activities (a listing and explanation of activities/games and rules on how to play games) as well as reflection on the class (what you learned and how you might use it).

·         Lesson plans (those you create and from others)  

·         Units (those you create and from others)

The Log will be examined for grades twice (January 27^th and February 26^th). The grading of the Log will be based on a checklist. 

                Handed in on time – due 11PM on the 27^th and 26^th.

                Organized/complete

                Up to date entries

               

CONTENT/RESOURCE PRESENTATION & HANDOUT

In groups of ~3 students will be required to examine a Discipline that Communicates or a Discipline that Enhances Communication.  They will then create an annotated bibliography for 5 resources (websites/books/etc.).  Each group will also create a list of ten games or activities that come from the above mentioned resources with instructions, rules, and indications of the potential purpose of each game.

The group will then present their findings to the class.  They will give an overview of their resources and games/activities.  It is expected that the class will be active and involved at some point in the presentation.

Content/Resources Presentation & Handout Rubric                 Group                                                                                     

A.           

All students in the group exhibit attributes of good teaching all the time:

____ clear enunciation,

____ good posture,

____ appropriate teacher mode,

____ confidence,

____ ease, and

____ charm. 

____The presentation is well organized with a smooth flow. 

____ The presentation seems to be well rehearsed. 

____The group makes sure that all students have the handouts (annotated bibliography & list)

____ The handouts are informative with no errors.

____The presentation is between 19 and 21 minutes long.

B.            

____ All students in the group exhibit attributes of good teaching.

____ The presentation is well organized with some minor problems.  There is one moment of confusion.

____ The group provides the handouts that have less than 3 errors.

____ The presentation is between 18 and 22 minutes long.

C.            

____ The students in the group exhibit attributes of good teaching most of the time. 

____ The presentation has some organization problems.

____ Two moments of confusion

____ The presentation is between 17 and 23 minutes long.

____ The group provides the handouts that have less than 6 errors.

D.           

____ There are some serious problems in the enunciation, posture, teacher mode, confidence, and ease of the presenters. 

____ The presentation is poorly organized with some major problems.

____ A clear indication of lack of rehearsal and communication with three or more moments of confusion.

____ The presentation is between 16 and 24 minutes long.

____ The group provides only one of the handouts or they have more than 6 errors.

F.   Nothing is attempted or the presentation was all lecture.

UNIT PLAN POSTER PRESENTATION

In groups of two students will create a unit plan.  This will be sent to the other members of the class electronically.  Each group will also create a poster presentation that will be set up for the class’s examination.

A unit is a series of lessons dealing with a certain topic dramatic form or theme.  Each lesson should build on the skills and information of the preceding lessons. In creating a unit a drama teacher often takes into account: (a) the program of studies, (b) the students' previous knowledge and skills, (c) print and non-print material available, (d) space available, (e) safety, (f) school particulars, and (g) potential integration with other subjects.

Required Components for the Unit Plan

Title Page – name of unit, grade level, subject area, course, potential dates, school, and your name.

Table of Contents – a clear indication as to how the unit is organized including references to specific pages (including appendices).

Rationale – a statement indicating the reasons for this unit.  You will want to make reference to the Teacher Resource Manual (TRM). The rationale should cover why this could be applicable to the students and how this may be used by the students in their lives outside class or in the future. This should also include an indication of what the unit is working toward, for example, what is the culmination of the unit.  Include the specific learning outcomes this unit deals with.

Unit Overview – briefly describe all lessons in this unit.  For each lesson indicate the primary objective (aim) of the lesson, a short list of the games or activities planned, and which learner expectations you are focusing on. For example –

Activities – regular print

Aim – Bold print

Learner Expectations - Italics

ORIENTATION UNIT OVERVIEW sample

Lesson 1 - Chat, Name game, Who's your neighbour?, Freeze game

To establish a familiarity with routines and control mechanisms

                Orientation (Junior High) 1, 2, 4

Lesson 2 – Name game, Name 6, Quickdraw, freeze game

                Increase students' familiarity with one another.

                Orientation (Junior High) 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6

               

Two sample lesson plans.  It is recommended to include the first two lessons of the unit.

Assessment and Evaluation – Indicate how you plan on evaluating student progress and achievement in this unit.  Include examples of checklists, rubrics, tests, or other marking tools.

Table of Specifications/Assessment Unit Plan – This is a table that connects that learning outcomes with how you will measure these curriculum outcomes. (From Dr. Worrall’s evaluation class)

Bibliography – Indicate which resources you used to create this unit, for example; books, journals, videos, other unit plans, etc..

               

It is expected that this document will become a part of your portfolio therefore it should be typed and free from spelling and punctuation errors.  It should be neat and well organized.

Rubric for the unit plan 15%

A             Complete, well organized, no errors, and neat/typed

B              Missing one element or poorly organized, or poorly typed

C             Missing two elements or badly organized or not typed

D             Missing three element or very badly organized

F              Nothing handed in.

Rubric for the Poster Presentation 5%

A             All participants received the unit plan electronically.  Presentation is bright, easy to understand and well organized. 

B              Most participants received the unit plan electronically.  Presentation is up, understandable and organized.

C             Some participants received the unit plan electronically.  Presentation is not easy to understand and not organized.

D             No participants received the unit plan electronically.  Presentation is hastily put together and not organized.

F              Nothing is attempted.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT PLAN

Students will be required to create a classroom management plan that they will share with the class.  This will be focused on a particular grade.   The specifics of the assignment and a rubric will be created in class. 

SHOWCASE PORTFOLIO

                Students will be required to create a showcase portfolio. This is almost an academic document in that like citing sources in an academic paper - in a portfolio you provide the source.  You want the reader to know something about you but it is not enough that you say it.  That is, if you say that you can plan effective lessons consider providing a lesson plan that supports your statement and/or you may provide someone’s statement that says you can plan effective lessons. 

The portfolio should be neat and organized.  It should have a title page, CV, table of contents, a section that indicates teaching competence, other sections that show you are able to create lesson plans, unit plans, and year plans. It should have a flow and be easy to read.

Please consider connecting your portfolio to the Teaching Quality Standard.  That is, your portfolio could become a document that supports your eventual teacher certification.

 Other suggested sections may be for academic work, directing, or performance competence.

o    You are building a showcase portfolio that should highlight your abilities. Prospective employers (superintendents) are the eventual audience for these.

o    You must think about your portfolio from a hiring superintendent’s point of view.

o    It must be neat

o    It must be organized. 

o    The sections must clearly show that you have certain skills.  What skills do superintendents want to see in prospective teachers? 

o    You must show that you can create lesson plans and evaluate student's work. 

o    You must show that you have content knowledge.

o    Other important points you should clearly indicate include: (1) your ability to get along with other staff, (2) solid classroom management, (3) ability to work hard,  (4) that you can work successfully with children, and (5) your ability to achieve success.

o    You must include a rationale for each entry. Sometimes you might use one rationale that covers a number of pages but you must be specific such as “The following seven pages are an example of how I can create a unit plan.” Consider the following as beginnings for your rationales ; "This certificate shows that I ....", "I am including this to show that ...", "This is a ___.  This shows that I have ...", or “This letter is from my Teacher Associate in my first round of student teaching.  She indicates that ….”.  Please make it easy to connect the rationales with the artifact. 

o    Include goals for PSII.

o    If you include your PSI goals consider reflecting on the goals so you show that you can not only create goals but also reflect on them.

o    Consider stating the importance of each section clearly.  If you do not have a solid rationale for including a document, then do not include it.

o    Please do not include notes that say things like “I will include a letter of reference when it comes.”  

o    Please make sure you proofread the documents and rationales carefully.  Documents with poor grammar, spelling, and punctuation should be removed.

o    Make sure that important documents such as your Summative Reports or your Unit Plan are easy to see.  If you are using plastic sleeves don’t put the entire document into the sleeve as taking it out is difficult. Exceptions include a script you created, a second unit plan, the third lesson plan.

o    Your Summative Reports are extremely important.  Only include the Formative Reports if they say something that the Summative does not.

o    Consider a table of contents at the beginning and another at the top of each section.

Showcase portfolio Rubric

	A	B	C	D
Organization	Each section discrete and thoughtfully organized.  Table of contents shows content/organization in a clear and creative manner.	Standard organization. Each section is clear.  Relatively easy to understand the organization.  Table of contents is minimal.	Minimally organized.  Table of contents is poor.	Difficult to understand how the portfolio is organized. Parts of the table of content is missing.
Content	Portfolio has evidence of a great range of talents and abilities as well as exceptional planning (typed lesson plans, unit plans, year plans), class management (plans and comments), and teaching (summative reports).	Portfolio has evidence of some talents and abilities as well as acceptable planning, management, and teaching.	Portfolio presents minimum content showing talents and is missing evidence of planning, management or teaching.	Portfolio is missing important content.
Appearance	The binder is neat and the table of contents are (is) clear and attractive.  The portfolio is professional in appearance with colour coordination.	The binder is neat and the table of contents are (is) clear.  The portfolio is professional in appearance.	The binder is clearly used and the table of contents are (is) unclear. The portfolio is less than professional in appearance.	Used binder, poor table of contents, general appearance is ragged.
Rationales	Rationales are well written, clear and clean.  They have a special way of standing out. Clear connection to the documents.	May be missing a rationale. Easy to see the rationales.	Missing some rationales.  Connection to the document is not clear. Some errors in the rationales.	Regularly missing rationales and many errors in the rationales. Poor connection to the documents.

F = Nothing handed in.

ATTENDANCE/PARTICIPATION

ON TIME ATTENDANCE is mandatory in this course.  An important component of theatre and teaching is commitment and reliability.   

RUBRIC

5/5           Student attends all classes and arrives on time.

4/5           Student arrives late for a class or leaves early.

3/5           Student arrives late for two classes or misses a class.

2/5           Student arrives late for three classes.

1/5           Student arrives late for four classes or misses two classes.

0/5           Student arrives late for more than four classes or misses more than two classes.

Missing a class because of illness requires either registration on the H1N1 website or a Physician/Counsellor’s note.  If absent you are still responsible for work done in class.   Mulligan – see instructor.

Grading

Excellent	Good	Satisfactory*	Poor**	Failing
96 - 100    A+ 90 - 95      A 86 - 89      A-	81 - 85    B+ 76 - 80    B 71 - 75    B-	67 - 70    C+ 63 - 66    C 60 - 62    C-	57 - 59    D+ 53 - 56    D	<53      F

*Note that although a "C" represents a passing grade in any particular module, students are required to maintain a 2.5 average in their professional semesters.

**Note also that a "D" is an unsatisfactory grade for your professional semester and will likely lead to your being asked to withdraw from the program.

 

Education 3601 - Drama

Class Log #1 – Jan. 12, 10

Activities:

Created lesson plan: warm up/orientation/set

Objective: create course outline

(Needed for course outline objective):

- Listening

- Cooperation

- Creativity

- Coming to a solution

What we did in class:

Walking to following; circle walk through --> the eyes closed walk bust (trust/cooperation); lead into “Pruii” (listening/cooperation) “Pruii” --> 1) Class gets into circle, all close eyes. 2) Teacher chooses one person to be “Pruii” 3) With eyes closed, students then try and locate “Pruii” by walking about the room. Anytime a student bumps into another one they say “Pruii”. If the other student responds you continue walking about, if there is no reply you have found “Pruii” and can stop and open your eyes and become part of “Pruii”. Note to self: have played this many times before and was a fun game during PSI with 6/7/8’s.

Next --> “21” (listening/cooperation) 1) Divide class into groups (small to begin with) 2) Groups have to get to 21 by each person in the group saying a number; if number is said by two people at the same time, group has to start again.

Next --> “One Word” (all of em!) 1) Straight forward, partner up and create a story using one word each at a time 2) becomes more difficult with teacher adding guidelines ie. must add a problem, a solution, etc.

Next --> “Crows and Cranes” (listening) 1) Two teams, either crows or cranes; both teams have a “home free” 2) Teacher calls out either crows or cranes: calls “Crows”, cranes run to home free trying to not be tagged; calls “Cranes”, vice versa.

Morphed into --> “Giants, Wizards, and Elves” (listening, cooperation, coming to a solution) 1) Two groups; like “Rock, Paper, Scissors” and “Crows and Cranes” combined. 2) Groups have to decide whether they will be either a giant, wizard, or elf. Really sweet game!

Next --> Assignments: Coming back and reporting --> good to keep on task; allows morphing of ideas

Next --> Classroom management planning: Assignments for it

Next --> Talked portfolio’s, tests à no test but log book reflection, participation bustage!

Look into beginning of curriculum pg. 3-6; philosophy goals read and reflect for our logs.

Reflection on curriculum pg. 3-6:

I have to say, despite how long it has been since the drama curriculum has been last revised, its philosophy is one I definitely support and feel it is an integral part of growing up. As George Bernard Shaw once said, “Life is not about finding yourself, it is about creating yourself” and let’s face it; every day we as people assume different roles. Whether in the workplace, among family or friends, or in the classroom, we put on “masks” and assume particular roles for the occasion. There are certain ways you would interact in these kinds of situations and drama is the perfect subject to explore to foster a better sense of “oneself”.

Not only is it ideal for personal growth, but it also asks a person to think about others too and through dramatic arts one can do so in a safe environment taking on roles they may not ever have a chance to otherwise. Living vicariously through characters one creates or takes off the page of a script is an incredibly enriching experience. I mean even at its most basic level, a person who has trouble speaking in public or to groups can easily overcome these issues if they were open to taking a drama course. Which of course leads into the second SLO of the curriculum, to enhance one’s communication skills and what better way to improve these skills by an art form that utilizes speech a great deal?

The final goal of the curriculum is just as important as the rest as I have already alluded to a bit at the start. Drama is definitely an art that deserves a great appreciation considering all of the positive impacts it has on a person and the fact it is one art form that can combine basically all other art forms. Even for people who count out theatre and refuse to see plays in favor of seeing a movie, guess what? All your favorite actors would not be where they are if it were not for drama in some degree! There are so many components that go into creating a successful dramatic piece that one should not merely overlook these things. Like other forms of art, whether a film, a painting, a picture, a piece of music etc. drama holds its own unique characteristics that make it special in its own way.

As page 6 highlights, another obvious connection for the importance of teaching drama is apparent with what we do as children: play. It is through playing and its eventual evolution into more structured play that allows a child to start making sense of the world around them and why would you not want to promote an art form that further pushes this sense of world view in a more advanced way? While there are definite limitations with drama in certain regards, as a whole it is an art that can encompass so very much it would be stupid not to acknowledge the vast amounts of positive that can come from it.