School - Drama Keystage 3

1a. Read the page Early days of education and its linking pages.

Discuss what kind of sounds and vocal phrases (from teachers and pupils) would have been heard in a school in the 1930s. Each pupil chooses a sound and they are performed one after the other, in a circle. One person (starting with the teacher), stands in the middle and acts as a 'conductor': when he/she points to a pupil in the circle, they make their noise. The person in the middle creates a rhythmic soundscape, through experimenting with the speed and order with which she/ he points to the other pupils. (suitable for Year 7)

• Extension - in groups, create the soundscape without the use of a 'conductor'.

1b. Create a soundscape of a school today and compare the difference. Split the class in half: one side to perform the original soundscape and the other the modern one and keep on swapping between them through a teacher hand signal. (suitable for able Year 7)

2. Re- read the last quote in 11+.

Play 'Time out': divide the class in two and each side sit in a line, facing each other, with a space in the middle. One person from each group is chosen to be 'spokesperson'. And they represent the characters of father and son. The two pupils go into the middle start an argument: the son has to use arguments to try to convince the father that he should stay at school and the father has to come up with reasons against. When the teacher calls 'Time out!' the pupils in the middle can gather suggestions of what to say to win their argument from their side. When the teacher calls 'Time in!', they go back to the middle and continue arguing. This process is repeated a number of times, with the teacher acting as a physical marker, moving over to the side she/ he thinks is giving the most convincing argument. The winners are the side that the teacher is standing nearest to at the end of the game. (suitable for Year 8)

• Extension- in groups, create a scene where a father tells his son or daughter that they won't be attending school any more, as they are to go and work in a factory. The son or daughter has to use arguments to try to convince the father that they should stay at school and the father has to come up with reasons against. Create three frozen pictures that show what their life is like in the future, having left school at fourteen and then create three to show what their life would be like if they'd completed their education. (suitable for Year 8)

• Further extension - experiment with different ways of sequencing the scene and frozen pictures and add more scenes if needed. (suitable for Year 9)

3. Read the page on School dinners.

In a circle, teachers calls out the names of different foods, some delicious, some disgusting and pupils put them in their mouths and chew, showing their reaction through very exaggerated facial expression and body-language. (suitable for Year 7)

• Extension - in threes, (two diners and a waiter), devise a scene in which a couple have a three course meal where the food is disgusting, but they are too afraid to complain to the bossy waiter. Characters can only show how they are feeling through body- language, facial expression and vocal tone without words e.g., grunts, sighs etc (suitable for Year 8)

4. Read the page on Discipline and Punishment.

Create a 'conscience alley', of a pupil approaching the head-mistress's office to receive the cane: pupils line up, facing each other to create the 'alley' and one pupil walks through, whilst the others point and say a line of what might be going through his/her mind, as they pass e.g., 'Mother will be so disappointed in me', 'I'm really scared, Johnny Brown said he couldn't sit down for a week after he had it'. (suitable for Years 7 and 8)

• Extension - in pairs, create the scene showing the pupil being told off by the headmistress. Focus on showing each character's status through body-language, voice, facial expression, eye-contact, use of space, etc. Finish the scene in a freeze as the Headmistress prepares to strike the pupil. (suitable for Year 8)