Multiple Intelligence

Teachers, I'm sure we all have students who differ in all of these intelligences. That is why, we need to create lessons to meet all of these children's needs. Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences discusses all eight of the different types that your students would fall under. Through drama, all of these intelligences could be meet, and all students no matter what category they fall under could be included. Drama is very flexible and versatile and can improve a students learning because of it's diversity.

 1) Visual/spatial Intelligence- think in terms of physical space. They are very aware of their environments. They like to draw, do jigsaw puzzles, read maps, daydream. They can be taught through drawings, verbal and physical imagery. Tools include models, graphics, charts, photographs, drawings, 3-D modelling,television, multimedia, texts with pictures/charts/graphs.
2)Bodily-kinesthetic - use the body effectively, like a dancer or a surgeon. Keen sense of body awareness. They like movement and they communicate well through body language and be taught through physical activity, hands-on learning, acting out, role playing. 3)Musical - show sensitivity to rhythm and sound. They love music and sound. They can be taught by turning lessons into lyrics, speaking rhythmically, tapping out time. Tools include musical instruments, music, radio, stereo, CD-ROM, multimedia. 4)Interpersonal - understanding, interacting with others. These students learn through interaction. They have many friends, empathy for others, street smarts. They can be taught through group activities, seminars, dialogues. To5)ols include the telephone, audio conferencing, time and attention from the instructor. 5)Intrapersonal - understanding one's own interests, goals. These learners tend to shy away from others. They're in tune with their inner feelings; they have wisdom, intuition and motivation, as well as a strong will, confidence and opinions. Tools include books, creative materials, diaries, privacy and time. They are the most independent of the learners. 6)Linguistic - using words effectively. These learners have highly developed auditory skills and often think in words. They like reading, playing word games, making up poetry or stories. They can be taught by encouraging them to say and see words, read books together. Tools include computers, games, multimedia, books, tape recorders, and lecture. 7)Logical/Mathematical- Think conceptually, abstractly and are able to see and explore patterns and relationships. They like to experiment, solve puzzles, ask cosmic questions. They can be taught through logic games, investigations, mysteries.

http://www.tecweb.org/styles/gardner.htmlhttp://www.tecweb.org/styles/gardner.html

Social Constructionism

Social Constructionism is another important theory that can relate to how children interpret drama. This belief allows individuals to define their social construction of reality. This means that people will use their background assumptions and life experiences to define what is real for them. Thus, our behaviours depend on the way that we define reality. The social construction of reality is not limited to small segments of our social interactions with others. Instead, it is an essential part of our everyday lives. The drama activities are all examples of the social constructionism theory. Students were able to socially construct their reality through their actions. The students will act out a certain action, scene, role play, etc, depending on how they construct meaning from it.

Learner's Theory

I have to say I strongly agree with the learner's theory. For those of you who are not to familiar with this theory, it describes how information is absorbed, processed, and retained during learning. Children remember:

10% of what they HEAR
20% of what they READ
30% of what they SEE
50% of what they WRITE
70% of what they DO or EXPERIENCE
90% of what they TEACH others

Looking at those percentages, it is clear that children will learn most effectively by "doing" or "experiencing" something, or what they "teach" others. By engaging students, allowing them to actively participate in hands on activities it will help them retain information. By integrating drama in many of the subject areas, we can have students doing, and experiencing fun activities that involve learning as well.

Theories

Welcome back teachers, I've listed various drama strategies that could be used in your classrooms. They are all great ways to involve your students to enjoy their time in drama class. Although I could list plenty of drama strategies, theories are just as important. I will now list various theories that can relate to drama. Lets put the theories into practice!!

Strategy 6: Exquisite Corpse/Draw and Pass

Heita teachers, this drama/art strategy is awesome. I strongly recommend you do this with your students to incorporate an art lesson as well as drama. It is a method by which a collection of word or images is collectively assembled. Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence, either by following a rule or by being allowed to see the end of what the previous person contributed. For this activity, hand out a square blank paper to each student for them to draw anything they choose that can have a relationship to a story read in class or lesson taught. Every one minute, have the students rotate the piece of paper to the right, and have that student add to the picture. Once the picture rotates a couple times, and each student has a chance to draw on each other pictures bring them together and create a quilt. It comes out really beautifully,and students are proud of the work they've done to create such a creative piece. To modify this activity, have students orally describe the images or words they contributed to draw and pass with evidence from the story.

Strategy 5: Mimed activity/ Pantomime

Nǐ hǎo teachers, this particular drama strategy is really fun and helps students to learn how to work collaboratively. This activity emphasizes movement, actions, and physical responses rather than dialogue or thoughts. It may include speech as an aid to enactment, encouraging a demonstration of behaviour rather than a description of it. The arts curriculum on page 170 states, " the use of gesture, movement and facial expression without words or sound to communicate actions, character, relationship or emotion". During the activity, students work in groups of three to four. Each group is given the same three words: e.g., Yes/No/Maybe, Why/Sorry/Oh, etc. The three students create a scene using the words given in any given order. Students will have to consider what gestures, movements and positions they will take to show which words they received. It's a great way to have your students build on collaborative work as well as physical literacy. To modify this activity, I would allow the students to choose there own words, that way they feel comfortable enough to present them.

Strategy 4: News Report

Hejsan Teachers, this next drama strategy could work very well with older students. I would recommend this activity for junior and intermediate grades. News report is through a mock news report, characters deliver information about a person or event to an audience. Puppets are great props to use for this strategy. This drama activity is great to integrate into other subject areas such as history, social studies, science,and language. You can have the students create a report on what there currently learning in class in any of those subjects. For example, after a history lesson, have them create a news report of what occurred in the war of 1812. I found this strategy to be one of the most entertaining and humorous activity out of them all. It allows students not only to be knowledgeable about the content being presented, but allows them to be creative and funny. To modify this strategy, allow students to present behind a blanket or desk, that way they feel comfortable. Also, have the script already written and rehearsed.

Strategy 3: Human Puppets

Hola teachers, the next strategy that I will be sharing with all of you is Human puppets. This specific drama strategy is absolutely amazing, it's a really fun activity and I can guarantee your students will love it.   We had a guest speaker come in today and teach us human puppets. Well, if the title does not give it away, this activity involves a human becoming a puppet. First you pair up two students together. One student is the control (puppeteer) and the other the puppet. The puppeteer will then pretend to use strings to lift the body parts of the other partner, they can also change the direction of the person. The student should not actually touch the other person because you want the students to really focus on how they are going to position that other person. The idea behind this is that the pair synchronize movement, plan the story well, and cooperate so that a smooth position is formed. Once the puppet is formed, the puppet will freeze there and the puppeteer can add an caption to make it more interesting. This activity can go so many ways, and is a great way to see how creative your students are. To modify this activity, you could allow students to sit down and just move hand, arm and head motions or the puppeteer can shout the actions and the puppet has to think of a way to act it out.

Strategy 2: Tableux

Bonjour teachers! The next strategy we will be looking at is tableau. What is it? Tableau is a group of silent, motionless figures used to represent a scene, theme, or abstract idea,or an important moment in a narrative. Tableauz may be presented as stand-alone images to communicated one message or achiece particular effects. This strategy can also be used in many subject areas. An example of this would be: students will be asked to strike a silent, motionless pose that will act out how they feel about a particular character in a book there studying during school. Teachers, you can also use this strategy with a large group of students, and have them one-by-one represent a scene in a chapter book. The ideas are endless! If you need to modify this strategy, help those students who need assitnac by giving them the scene, theme or idea to act out. Also, for those shy students, have them narrate the chapter or scene while the other students are in their positions. Here bellow is a youtube video that explains what a tableau is in much greater detail!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nlxw9qflKxk

Strategy 1: Position Mapping

Ciao teachers, this drama strategy is easy to use, and can be integrated into any subject area. Position mapping is when you put a chair in the middle of the classroom, you ask the students to stand up and join around the chair. Then, ask a question about anything (for example, "how connected to you feel about the concept poverty". The students will then have to position themselves from the chair on how much they feel connected or how well they know that particular concept. I really love this drama strategy because it is easy and effective. As the teacher, you can see how the students a) feel about a situation, or subject area, or b) how well a student may know about something. For modifications, have student sit in the chair, and be the facilitator for the activity.

Welcome to Drama 101

Welcome teachers, this is my drama portfolio! I have to admit, before starting drama class at Brock University, I was hesitant and scared of drama. Performing in front of your peers can be scary, however after learning about  various drama strategies that I could assure you that there is nothing to be scared about! I will be here to assist, help and share with all of you different strategies, theories, reflections, classroom ideas and fun facts about DRAMA!! I will provide pictures, videos and descriptions of great ideas that can be done by your students.On my blog, you will see how drama can be used in a variety of fun ways.