Exploring And Exploiting Drama In The Primary ESL Classroom -Creating And Adapting Poetries Into Drama Script

-Teaching Strategies

By: Lau Li Lian Thurga AB Krishenan

WHAT IS DRAMATIC POETRY?

an emotional

piece of literature

which includes a story

which is recited or sung.

It refers to the dramatic genre of poetry.

The definition of this piece of literature can be quoted as, 'a

form

of poetry where a story is narrated in the form of a lyrical ballad.'

 Lyrical ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Example : OLD MAN TRAVELLING The little hedge-row birds, That peck along the road, regard him not. He travels on, and in his face, his step, His gait, is one expression; every limb,

His look and bending figure, all bespeak A man who does not move with pain, but moves With thought -- He is insensibly subdued To settled quiet: he is one by whom All effort seems forgotten, one to whom Long patience has such mild composure given,

That patience now doth seem a thing, of which

He hath no need. He is by nature led

To peace so perfect, that the young behold With envy, what the old man hardly feels. -- I asked him whither he was bound, and what The object of his journey; he replied

"Sir! I am going many miles to take

"A last leave of my son, a mariner,

"Who, from a sea-fight has been brought to

Falmouth, "And there is dying in an hospital."

 Dramatic poetry is a form of writing that expresses emotional feelings. It's a very creative form of art.

Poetry that simply expresses emotions is actually lyric poetry. Dramatic poetry involves a narrative poem of a person in a specific situation.

It can involve emotions, but has so much more to it.

 The method adopted in this form is that the story is usually narrated in the form of a

recital or song.

Soliloquy and dramatic monologues

are the main instruments of this form of poetry.

characters act out the story

Benefits of Dramatizing poetry

One of the value of poetry for children is to

identify the characters and situations.

Creative dramatizing is one of the ways that you can enhance childrens enjoyment of the situations found in poetry.

 The technique employs a multi-sensory approach to language acquisition by involving second language learners physically, emotionally, and cognitively in the language learning process.

The use of poetry as drama enables the students to

explore the linguistic and conceptual aspects of the

written text without concentrating on the mechanics

of language.

 They experiment with non-verbal

communicative aspects of language

(body language, gestures, and facial expressions), as well as verbal aspects
(intonation, rhythm, stress, slang, and

idiomatic expressions), while interpreting the

poems.

 The students begin to feel the language and gain

the confidence to interact outside the classroom

using the target language.

Some poems are mini-dramas, often written in dialogue form, and are suitable for dramatization because they are short and usually have one simple, but

strong

emotional theme.

 "Poems which express strong

emotions, attitudes, feelings,

opinions, or ideas are usually more

'productive' than those which are gentle,

descriptive, or neutral" (Tomlinson, p. 36, 1986).

 Students become engaged in free

flowing extemporaneous

conversations as they interact with one

another prior to the dramatizations and

during the improvisations.

The students are able to compare and contrast cultural behaviors and

attitudes,
analyze and explore the linguistic and conceptual

differences between the written and spoken word

interact

cooperatively

to

orchestrate

the

dramatizations and improvisations.

How to Turn a Poem Into a Play

Instructions
1. Carefully interpret the poem for tone and

setting.
Try to gather information about physical location and weather. The emotion, or tone, will lend clues about the resolution of the script. Eg.- Poems expressing sorrow over lost love are most easily translatable to tragic scripts.

2. Determine a basic profile of the protagonist based on a series of character indicators in the poem. List any major social conflicts, such as the personal

pain of a lost love or the stress of political unrest.

Evaluate changes that have occurred in the character

or world of the protagonist because of this conflict.

3. Develop a comprehensive story line based on

the setting and characters.

- The length of the script can be adjusted according

to the nature of the poem or artistic preference.

- Ensure the final story has a distinct beginning,

middle and end to allow conflict development and

resolution.

4. Modify the storyline to fit the format of a theatre script.

Develop dialogue and monologues that support the unfolding of the introduction, conflict and resolution.

Develop detailed descriptions of the physical appearances

of characters and scenery that will allow the play to be

performed in a way that is accurate to artistic vision.

THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER

In this technique, students have more responsibility for their own learning. However, this does not diminish

the

importance of the teacher in the instructional process. It is the responsibility of the teacher to guide the
language learning process by:

modeling pronunciation, intonation, stress, rhythm,

and oral expression;

 facilitating comprehension of vocabulary, idioms, cultural

aspects, and plot;

stimulating interest and conversation, and interacting with
the students;

establishing an acting workshop atmosphere;

creating a student-participatory language learning

experience.

IMPLEMENTING THIS TECHNIQUE IN THE CLASSROOM

the teacher provides students with
the background to the poem and

introduces difficult or unusual vocabulary.

the students read the poem chorally

reading it aloud individually.

 The teacher then reads the poem aloud to the students.

the class discusses it together. Students then listen again as the teacher re-reads the poem.

The students then prepare to dramatize the poem by selecting character roles and discussing scenery, props, lighting, and costumes.

 Students rehearse the dramatization of the poem and then do an improvisation based on the poem.

WHY DID THE CHILDREN PUT BEANS IN THEIR EARS?

"Why did the children put beans in their ears when the one thing we told the children they must not do was put beans in their ears?

"Why did the children pour molasses on the cat when the one thing we told the children they must not do was pour molasses on the cat?"

---CARL SANDBURG

 Students portray a husband and wife who ask

two rhetorical questions about why children do

things that they are expressly told not to do

["Why did the children put beans in their

ears..."] [..."Why did the children pour molasses on the cat..."].

 Through the dramatization, students can utilize

intonation, rhythm, stress, body language, facial expressions, and gestures to convey the frustrated interchange between the disgruntled and bewildered characters

[..."when the one thing we told the children they must not do was..."].

Woodpecker in Disguise

Woodpecker taps at the apple tree.

'Little bug, open your door,' says he. Little bug says, 'Who is it, sir?' Woodpecker says, 'The carpenter.

~Grace Taber Hallock

Students take turns being the narrator ["Woodpecker taps at the apple tree."] ["...says he."] ["Little bug says..."] ["Woodpecker says..."]. Students portraying the woodpecker practice using body gestures ["Woodpecker taps at the door."] and asking questions ["...Who is it, sir?"].

Read This with Gestures

Isnt it proper, I guess you know, to dip your hands-like this-in the snow, and make a snowball, and look for a hat, and try to knock it off-like that! by John Ciardi

During the dramatization, one student speaks to one or more people ["It isn't proper, I guess you know,..."]

In the improvisation, students may cooperatively dialogue the four actions; the students read,

dramatize, and improvise the poem with gestures as indicated by the poem's title

["...dip your hands--like this--in the snow..."] ["...make a snowball..."] ["...look for a hat..."] ["...try to knock it off--like that!"].

 Dramatic Poem\A Visit from St Nicholas.docx

A Visit from St. Nicholas- The Night Before Christmas (Clement C. Moore) Children can prepare for the Christmas

celebration by trimming the tree and

decorating the room.

They can reenact the fathers response of hearing the clatter of hoofs.

 Some of them can be reindeer pulling the loaded sleigh.

A child can also perform as St. Nicholas as he

comes down the chimney and drives out of

sight.

 The

poem

has

many

other

dramatic

possibilities.

Children have created the dialogue for an

imaginary meeting between the father and St.

Nicholas or the children and St. Nicholas.

 What would they say to each other? How would they act?

What will be the unusual experience that they had?

The Pied Piper From Hamelin

Dramatic Poem\The Pied Piper of Hamelin.docx

 Control use a pipe to signal that the children

should stop working and listen

Rats how can humans portray rats? Explore through movement, expression, gesture

and voice. Develop a rat personality.

 Follow the leader children take turns to

lead. Investigate a different focus each time

such as exploring a new environment (e.g.

Hamelin), moving in a particular way (rat

movements)

Improvise the story before the story e.g. create the village of Hamelin. Improvise scenes from everyday life.

Create characters and improvise how they interact.

Draw a map of the village (this can be done as a

class by adding features to a large piece of paper)

 Read or retell the story in stages and use

improvisation to explore what might happen next.

examine how the characters are feeling

Create still images portraying main events from the story. Add a line of dialogue or speak aloud the characters thoughts.

Phases of dramatic poetry for young learners

Phase 1 Children engage in active reading and investigation of a narrative poem.

Phase 2
Children work as part of a group and use drama strategies to

explore characters in depth and characters issues.

A reading journal is used to record inferences and demonstrate understanding of characters.

Phase 3
They work as members of a group to rehearse the

poem using drama techniques before selecting

and practising stanzas for the choral performance.

Performances are evaluated and improved

according to chosen success criteria and the

impact of theatrical effects is examined in more

depth.

References
http://www.ericdigests.org/1994/drama.htm http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20 110202093118/nationalstrategies.standards.d csf.gov.uk/primary/primaryframework/literacy /planning/year5/poetry/unit2/ E.Norton, D. (2003). Through The Eyes of a Child. Texas: Merrill Prentice Hall.