Today in the drama workshop we explored the literary text “The voices in the park” by Anthony Browne. We explored the voices of the characters Mother, Charles, Smudge and Smudge’s Father and their personalities through the text and the illustrations in the book. Using drama as a learning tool we tried to decode the characters, their personalities and perspectives.
Sculptures
of the overbearing mother
Adjectives
wall for the character of the mother
Some adjectives used to describe the mother
scary, narrow minded, embarrassing, pompous, cold, posh, stiff, prejudiced, stern, snobby, controlling
Questions that can be explored with students
• What kind of situation could the mother have grown up in to make her so?
• What are the repercussions of the mother's attitude on her son Charles?
Expressions for the suppressed boy on the wall
Examples of expressions used to describe the boy
As timid as a mouse, a timid lion, as trapped as a lion in the cage, as stunted as a sprouted seedling under a tree, a bird with its wings clipped
Ideas for Teaching
Sculpting- using bodies to create an image. Working on still images can help students to convert their thoughts or ideas or analytical situations into a tangible form that can be open for discussion. It has the added advantage that it can be remade if required (Ewing &Simons, 2004).
The above portrayed activities (sculpting, role on the wall etc.) are excellent ways to explore the characters in a literary text and decode their personalities to gain an insight into the narrative. These activities can be used to explore the concept of social status, relationships, vocabulary, expressive phrases etc. Teachers can utilise the above tools in the development of the characters (by exploring body language, facial expressions, and gestures), their interactions and their relationships in the narrative text writing. Properly utilised, students with this activity can learn to add depth and voice to their characters. Sculpting can be used to mould characters and if a variety of sculptures are included, some students acting as curators from museums can try to select the best sculpted characters- which can lead to further discussion of the desired traits that prompted the choice. It can be a stimulus for writing a persuasive letter to the curators on why they should select a particular statue (qualities).
References
Examples of expressions used to describe the boy
As timid as a mouse, a timid lion, as trapped as a lion in the cage, as stunted as a sprouted seedling under a tree, a bird with its wings clipped
Sculpting- using bodies to create an image. Working on still images can help students to convert their thoughts or ideas or analytical situations into a tangible form that can be open for discussion. It has the added advantage that it can be remade if required (Ewing &Simons, 2004).
The above portrayed activities (sculpting, role on the wall etc.) are excellent ways to explore the characters in a literary text and decode their personalities to gain an insight into the narrative. These activities can be used to explore the concept of social status, relationships, vocabulary, expressive phrases etc. Teachers can utilise the above tools in the development of the characters (by exploring body language, facial expressions, and gestures), their interactions and their relationships in the narrative text writing. Properly utilised, students with this activity can learn to add depth and voice to their characters. Sculpting can be used to mould characters and if a variety of sculptures are included, some students acting as curators from museums can try to select the best sculpted characters- which can lead to further discussion of the desired traits that prompted the choice. It can be a stimulus for writing a persuasive letter to the curators on why they should select a particular statue (qualities).
Browne, A. (1999). Voices in the park. Corgi Childrens: London.
Ewing,R. & Simons, J.(2004). Beyond the Script-drama in the class room.PETA:Newtown,Australia.
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