Example of knowledge and skills

Foundation to Year 2

In this band students are introduced to the ways that ideas and intentions are communicated in and through drama. They develop knowledge, understanding and skills through drama practices focusing on:

Elements of drama

Role, character and relationships

  • Role - taking on the point of view of a fictional character and listening and responding in role to others in role
  • Situation - establishing a fictional setting and relating to it in role

Voice and movement

  • Voice - using voice, for example, varying loudness/softness, pace and pitch
  • Movement - body language, for example, using posture, gestures, facial expressions, to create role and situation
  • Focus - identifying the main idea of the drama

Audience

  • recognising that the purpose of drama is to communicate and share ideas with others.

Years 3 and 4

In this band students develop their knowledge of how ideas and intentions are communicated in and through drama. They build on and refine their knowledge, understanding and skills through drama practices focusing on:

Elements of drama

Role, character and relationships

  • Role - adopting a role and maintaining focus in role; character; communicating role traits; relationships; developing relationships between characters in a drama, for example, using dialogue to show relationships
  • Situation - establishing a fictional setting using space and time; exploring how drama uses story structures

Voice and movement

  • Voice - varying voice, for example, clarity, pace, volume and projection
  • Movement - using movement and gesture to create belief in character and situation
  • Focus - framing point of view, situation and characters in drama
  • Tension - factors that contribute to tension or mystery in a drama; what’s happening next in the drama

Space and time

  • establishing a clear setting and sense of time to create belief in the drama

Language, ideas and dramatic action

  • central ideas or themes that give drama consistency

Audience

  • shaping drama for others using story structures.

Years 5 and 6

In this band students develop their knowledge of how ideas and intentions are communicated in and through drama. They build on and refine their knowledge, understanding and skills through drama practices focusing on:

Elements of drama

Role, character and relationships

  • Role and character - for example, creating the inner and outer world of a character; differentiating between characters and stereotypes
  • Relationships - analysing and portraying how relationships influence character development
  • Situation - sustaining a fictional setting using space and time

Voice and movement

  • Voice - varying voice, for example, clarity, pace, volume and projection
  • Movement - using movement, facial expression and gestures to create and sustain belief in character and situation
  • Focus - framing drama to highlight and communicate key story elements and characters’ motivations
  • Tension - factors that contribute to tension or suspense in stories and tension in characters’ relationships, for example, using sound, light and technology to heighten tension/suspense
  • Space and time - sustaining a clear setting and sense of time to create belief in the drama

Language, ideas and dramatic action

  • central ideas or themes that give perspectives and ideas to the audience
  • Mood and atmosphere - the feeling or tone of physical space and the dramatic action created by or emerging from the performance

Audience

  • shaping and sustaining drama for others using the conventions of story within drama to communicate meanings.

Years 7 and 8

In this band students develop their knowledge of how ideas and intentions are communicated in and through drama. They build on and refine their knowledge, understanding and skills through drama practices focusing on:

Elements of drama

Role, character and relationships

  • Role and character - for example, maintaining commitment to role; exploring motivations and various facets of multidimensional characters; developing and analysing multidimensional relationships in the drama
  • Situation - for example, improvising with/adapting available materials and technologies to establish setting; using conventions of story in drama

Voice and movement

  • for example, sustaining belief in character and situation through voice and movement; revealing character and situation through the use of voice, movement/blocking and props
  • Focus - for example, using a range of devices and effects to highlight specific aspects of the performance for the audience
  • Tension - for example, using foreshadowing and information withholding to create suspense and emphasis
  • Space and time - for example, using rhythm and pace to enhance drama; using blocking (for example, when and where to move) and stage areas (such as upstage right, downstage centre) in planning and performance

Language, ideas and dramatic action

  • for example, manipulating central ideas or themes to give perspectives and ideas to the audience
  • Mood and atmosphere - the feeling or tone of physical space and the dramatic action created by or emerging from the performance

Audience

  • using narrative and non-narrative dramatic forms and production elements to shape and sustain drama for formal and informal audiences.

Years 9 and 10

In this band students develop their knowledge of how ideas and intentions are communicated in and through drama. They build on and refine their knowledge, understanding and skills through drama practices focusing on:

Elements of drama

Role, character and relationships

  • Role and character - for example, analysing and using background, motivation, words and actions of characters to build roles; sustaining multidimensional relationships in the drama to develop the interplay between characters
  • Situation - for example, using props, costumes and furniture to establish situation; using conventions of story in drama

Voice and movement

  • for example, sustaining belief in character and situation through voice and movement; revealing character and situation through the use of voice, movement/blocking and props
  • Focus - for example, using a range of devices and effects to highlight the central themes for an audience; making deliberate artistic choices to sharpen focus
  • Tension - for example, using various physical and digital stage effects to produce specific audience reactions through tension
  • Space and time - manipulating time in drama; using blocking (for example, when and where to move) and stage areas (for example, upstage right, downstage centre) in planning and performance

Language, ideas and dramatic action

  • for example, using conventions relevant to selected performance styles to manipulate central ideas or themes and offer perspectives to the audience
  • Mood and atmosphere - for example, using stage design to manipulate the feeling or tone of physical space and the dramatic action emerging from the performance

Audience

  • for example, modifying production elements to suit different audiences.