Community - Drama Keystage 3

1. Read the extract beginning, 'The police used to come round the streets two or three times a day...' from Our community 1920-1940, and compare how this differs in society today. Divide the class into an even number of groups: half of the groups devise a scene which shows what would have happened with a group of youths caught chalking on a wall, based on the article and the other half, one in which a group of youths are caught graffiti-ing on a wall or train today. Focus on the on the attitudes and behaviour of everyone in the scenes. Either, perform these to each other or continue with the extension below. (suitable for Years 8 and 9)

• Extension - pair up groups who have been working on different scenes together and create a split- scene; one group starts their scene and then freezes at an appropriate point and then the other group starts their scene and then freezes at an appropriate point, then it goes back to the first group, who carry on their scene from where they left off, and so on. Refine and rehearse the split-scene, focusing on the contrasts in each scene. (suitable for Years 8 and 9)

2. Read the page on The Committee of community spirit.
Set up the space (maybe with chairs in rows, or around a table) to resemble a community meeting place. Pupils are primed to allow and help develop whatever happens in the spontaneous drama which will follow. Then, either teacher or a primed pupil will go into role as the chairperson of the meeting to plan the street party and the scene should unfold, through subtle direction from the teacher or pupil in role. Other pupils will be playing parents at the meeting. (suitable for Years 7 and 8)

3a. Read the page about Granny Smith.
In pairs, one person is to be a reporter and the other, a person who has received Granny Smith's help. In order to write a human interest news story, the reporter questions the other character about what Granny Smith did to help and how they feel about her and the other responds appropriately, in role.

• Extension - write up the news story that may have been written, using a Publisher programme. (suitable for Year 8)  

3b. In groups, pupils work on devising two or three scenes described in the testimonial, e.g., Granny Smith coming to help a family whose mother is having a baby and is unable to do the housework, attending to a death in the family, attending to someone who is ill. Find ways of beginning and ending each scene and clearly moving on to the next one. (suitable for Years 8  and 9)

• Extension - give pupils a copy of the testimonial to use to create a piece of narrative theatre: use the text to create narration to 'frame' the devised scenes. Either have one person as narrator who pauses to show each scene at an appropriate point or have different pupils doing a piece of narration each. When the person is narrating, the pupils should be in a tableau of the beginning of the next scene. Refine, rehearse and perform. (suitable for Years 8 and 9)

4. Read the page entitled My Neighbours.
Ask the class who knows their neighbours and the people in their vicinity.
Ask pupils to draw up a worksheet - In the centre of each sheet put a circle and write in 'ME'. Surround the circle with other circles. Ask pupils to fill in the other circles with the names of people that they know. The circles closer to 'ME' should be filled with people that they see every day (e.g., family, friends, form teacher) and in the circles that are further away, people that they see less frequently. They can add more circles if they wish. This should open a discussion on the difference between communities now and in the past. (suitable for Years 7and 8. Can link to Citizenship, 'Local Communities')

• Extension - discuss what kind of people in today's society, who may not be in a situation to speak to anybody for days (e.g., old people). Create four-six tableau to show this person's isolation. The other pupils in the group, should emphasise their aloneness (e.g., be playing in the park, whilst they sit alone on a bench). One tableau should be an abstract image representing, 'loneliness'. Perform the tableau to suitable music. (suitable for Year 9)

5. Read The Shepherd and the Firemen.
Read the extract about 'The Shepherd', and then choose one pupil to be in role as the shepherd, having lost his job. The rest of the class 'hotseat' or question him about how he felt about his job and how he now feels about what has happened to him. The pupil playing the shepherd answers spontaneously in role, with the aim of making up a sensitive and appropriate response. (suitable for Years 7 and 8)

• Extension - 'hotseat' members of the Ditchlings Fire Service Volunteers after they had got to the scene of a fire at Coombe Down, and not been able to access water, so having to watch it burn down. (suitable for Years 7 and 8)  
• Further extention - In groups, devise a sequence of actions that may have been the fire drill and rehearse them so that they can be performed with proficiency to the rest of the class. (suitable for Years 7 and 8)