Children of the Poor

Learning task 5: Bringing the Play Text to Life

Dimension of effective literacy practice	Learning task	What to notice
Engaging learners with texts means placing the use and creation of texts at the heart of literacy learning. Effective practice involves using and creating rich texts. These relate to children’s interests, draw on and affirm their social and cultural identities, use authentic language, and motivate and challenge them as learners.	Teaching and learning purpose Key competency: Participating and contributing To help students to identify, select and rehearse a scene from Children of the Poor by: identifying ways in which the use of body language including stance, gesture, facial expression, a variation in voice: tone, volume, pace, stress, gesture, movement and the use of mime and selected props, costume can enhance the presentation of a scene identifying a target audience that the group will eventually perform in front of and the time frame for the rehearsal process.	What help do your students need to extend their ability to become expressive in their performance of play text?
Expectations are the ideas that teachers, children, parents, and communities have about children as learners – about their knowledge and expertise, their progress, and their achievement. Teachers’ expectations shape all aspects of their practice. They impact on learners’ patterns of progress as well as on their achievement.	Activity 1 Discuss the acting task. Divide the class into groups of 3 or 4 students [with regard to how they performed in the first task] and identify a section of text which will give the students the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to individually sustain a role for 6 -10 minutes and to memorise and present dialogue. Key points to remind the students of are: This is your opportunity to bring the text to life and to pay attention to the playwright’s original intentions. 90% of acting is reacting. Responding to what is being said with an action is as important as speaking yourself. Be clear about the age, gender, ethnicity (re accents) and social class of the person you are portraying. Be clear about the exact context the scene is set in. Make sure that whatever you choose to include in the way of props and costume items is rehearsed with well in advance and is there for a reason. Make good use of the stage area in terms of movement and copy and mark up your own script to show decisions about blocking the scene, i.e. how and where you move, speak, or gesture for a reason. Identify your relationship with all other characters in the scene, including the chorus.	What techniques can you use to help them develop their characters – e.g. modelling accents?
Partnerships are collaborative relationships that contribute to and support children’s learning. Each learner lives in a network of significant people, including their teachers, family, peers, and specialist teachers. Effective teachers recognise the need for, and actively promote, partnerships within these networks.	Be clear about your intentions in the moment – what is it the character wants to achieve in that scene (Short term objective) – what is their longer term objective in the play? (Write these down) Appoint a time keeper in the group for rehearsals and keep a log about one another’s attendance and level of co-operation. Acknowledge any difficulties you have of your own. Be sure that you will be able to be seen and heard by the audience. Make eye contact. Activity 2 Students are introduced to the schedule and character exploration (Word 31KB) schedule and character exploration (Word 31KB) Sheet and they begin to fill it in.

Dimension of effective literacy practice

Learning task

What to notice

Engaging learners with texts means placing the use and creation of texts at the heart of literacy learning. Effective practice involves using and creating rich texts. These relate to children’s interests, draw on and affirm their social and cultural identities, use authentic language, and motivate and challenge them as learners.

Teaching and learning purpose

Key competency: Participating and contributing

To help students to identify, select and rehearse a scene from Children of the Poor by:

identifying ways in which the use of body language including stance, gesture, facial expression, a variation in voice: tone, volume, pace, stress, gesture, movement and the use of mime and selected props, costume can enhance the presentation of a scene
identifying a target audience that the group will eventually perform in front of and the time frame for the rehearsal process.

What help do your students need to extend their ability to become expressive in their performance of play text?

Expectations are the ideas that teachers, children, parents, and communities have about children as learners – about their knowledge and expertise, their progress, and their achievement. Teachers’ expectations shape all aspects of their practice. They impact on learners’ patterns of progress as well as on their achievement.

Activity 1
Discuss the acting task. Divide the class into groups of 3 or 4 students [with regard to how they performed in the first task] and identify a section of text which will give the students the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to individually sustain a role for 6 -10 minutes and to memorise and present dialogue. Key points to remind the students of are:

This is your opportunity to bring the text to life and to pay attention to the playwright’s original intentions.
90% of acting is reacting. Responding to what is being said with an action is as important as speaking yourself.
Be clear about the age, gender, ethnicity (re accents) and social class of the person you are portraying.
Be clear about the exact context the scene is set in.
Make sure that whatever you choose to include in the way of props and costume items is rehearsed with well in advance and is there for a reason.
Make good use of the stage area in terms of movement and copy and mark up your own script to show decisions about blocking the scene, i.e. how and where you move, speak, or gesture for a reason.
Identify your relationship with all other characters in the scene, including the chorus.

What techniques can you use to help them develop their characters – e.g. modelling accents?

Partnerships are collaborative relationships that contribute to and support children’s learning. Each learner lives in a network of significant people, including their teachers, family, peers, and specialist teachers. Effective teachers recognise the need for, and actively promote, partnerships within these networks.

Be clear about your intentions in the moment – what is it the character wants to achieve in that scene (Short term objective) – what is their longer term objective in the play? (Write these down)
Appoint a time keeper in the group for rehearsals and keep a log about one another’s attendance and level of co-operation. Acknowledge any difficulties you have of your own.
Be sure that you will be able to be seen and heard by the audience. Make eye contact.

Activity 2
Students are introduced to the schedule and character exploration (Word 31KB) schedule and character exploration (Word 31KB) Sheet and they begin to fill it in.

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Children of the Poor

Learning task 5: Bringing the Play Text to Life

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