Design and Technology skills are developed using the resource as inspiration and as a method of presenting children’s work. It can be argued that the artistic side of this subject “promotes divergence”, (MOYLES, Janet, 2007, p.102) and that in ensuring involvement for each individual child, it encourages children to develop their ideas. Children can work as individuals, partners or in groups to create their own scenery and characters for the stage and bring it to life. Such activities satisfy the NCW by enabling children to investigate materials and their uses, solve problems such as getting their creation to stand vertically and unaided, and to produce something of their creative choice that adheres to specifications.
The first task in constructing the resource was to settle on a design. In an effort to make the resource reusable, the theatre itself was designed to serve as a construct around which the children would be able to create and act out different characters, scenery and stories. As a result of this, it was decided that it should be made of wood, as this would be more robust than cardboard. Sharp points, rough edges and other safety issues were resolved. Furthermore, it can be dismantled (see Appendix 2a - 2g) for easy storage and transport. It also had to be large enough that a group of children would be able to use it, and that all members of a class should be able to view the presentation collectively.
Features such as the blocks that support the scenery (see Appendix 3a – 3e) and the Velcro attachments (see Appendix 4a – 4d) were added to create elements that are interchangeable and renewable, such as different backdrops and scenery. These in turn give more freedom to the children when either creating or performing using the materials likely to be available within a school environment.
The main focuses of teaching with this resource are to encourage the children to practise and develop their skills in co-operative communication, expression, presentation, speaking and listening, and writing for a specific purpose. Furthermore, the focus is to cause the children to have a greater involvement and influence on their own and each other’s learning which, in turn, will be beneficial and instrumental to their confidence building and independence. The children’s increased participation turns them into what Henry Pluckrose (1991) deems “active learners rather than passive onlookers”. Paradoxically, he also states that we should bear in mind that as an activity, re-enactments have no real or specific purpose and have “little to commend” them and “are likely to be counter-productive”. In contrast, Rosie Turner-Bisset (2005) argues that “in teaching through drama, teachers will be drawing on some of these processes and harnessing children’s natural way of learning”. The latter seems more cognisant of children’s various styles of learning and it is the mindfulness of today’s necessity to teach in aural, kinaesthetic and visual styles that arguably reconciles the two points being considered.
Bringing a puppet theatre into the classroom allows the children to explore many aspects of education whilst seemingly doing what comes natural to them: playing. It provides an interest to children of a wide age range because it provides a theme, style, and setting with which to play. Different abilities of children are catered for because their creativity needs no fixed standard. In both creating the characters and in role-playing with them, the children of a higher ability can reach higher standards and levels of complexity whilst children of a lower ability, whether that be in reading and writing, or communication, can simplify all activities to their level of appropriate challenges. In accordance, Allan Redfern (1996) writes, role-play promotes “a co-operative approach to learning and can draw on a wide range of talents and interests within the class”. Children of both genders will enjoy discovering what they can do with a puppet theatre in terms of their own creativity as the scenery and characters can be made by the children to fit into any scenario of their imagination.
The theatre can promote a range of learning styles. When used by the teacher and fellow members of the class, the theatre supplies a good foundation for visual learning. For example, a history lesson can be introduced to the children by being brought to life by the story it unfolds (for example, see Appendix 5a – 5b). It enables children to get a visual representation of the time period and will assist children to remember the basic facts. When children are the puppeteers and designers of the scenery and characters, their kinaesthetic learning is stimulated. Geoff Petty (2009) states that, “drama raises self-esteem and self-confidence, often allowing hitherto unremarkable members of your class to shine”. By being involved in the process, and acquiring freedom for their creativity, many children who would normally be shy or uninterested in the subject have the opportunity to become engaged and find their voice through other means that they may enjoy. Likewise the Wigan Leisure & Cultural Trust, (2007, p.3) concur by arguing that the using of puppets “give children a voice”.
As a puppet theatre, this resource has benefits over many other choices because of its flexibility. Other resources considered were a large globe, some inspiration cards and a resource pack including activities such as trails. However, these alternatives would not provide the equivalent involvement or interaction for the pupils.
Considering...
“From birth, children instinctively use pretend play as a means of making sense of the world. They observe and respond to their environment. They imitate words and actions. They create situations to play and assume roles. They interact with peers and arrange space and objects to bring their stories to life. They direct one another to bring order to dramatic play. And they respond to one another's dramas. In other words, children arrive at school with rudimentary skills as playwrights, actors, designers, directors, and audience members.” (NATIONAL PTA, 2006)
The puppet theatre not only permits them to interact with the resource in the exampled scenario presented here (see Appendix 6a – 6b), but to create their own versions and use the theatre frame as the template in which to support them. The other skills that would develop in using this resource are also far more varied and perhaps effective in later life than other resources, because this resource when utilised to its full potential can boost confidence, exercise presentation skills and extend children’s aptitude to communicate with each other, adults and to a specific audience.
The purpose of the resource is to promote children’s learning through more than one style and to give confidence to the children when interacting with resources independently of adults. By teaching their peers and themselves, children can become skilled at finding their own methods of learning and practising them. The puppet theatre gives children new styles of learning in the three inter-related subjects specified, the opportunity to become more engaged in their own education and to perfect skills that may otherwise be left immature. As specified by Jane Maloney et al (2006), puppets provide “an extra stimulus for the children to become engaged with the topic they are studying and this can apply to all areas of the curriculum”. This resource uses push-in or marotte puppets allowing the attention to be on experiencing the complete theatre. Children of all abilities have the opportunity to hone their fine motor skills in the creation and movement as they would with more anthropomorphic or animated styles such as the glove or marionette puppet. However, the flexibility offered by the resource as a whole is of greater value to the selected subjects.
Children can progress by exploiting this resource, advancing further by increasing their complexity level in understanding and creative work. When the children become either too advanced or require greater intellectual stimulation than can be achieved through immersing themselves in the characters and the scenery, the theatre could still provide inspiration for the children to create their own performances. This presents opportunities for them to bring themselves to the foreground and further develop their skills for teamwork, creative writing, drama, and other theatrical skills such as direction and even technological skills such as lighting, filming and other work behind the scenes, which can prove just as crucial to the success of role-playing to an audience.
(Final Word Count: 1,638.)
References:
BROOKS, Ron, Mary ARIS, and Irene PERRY. 1993. The Effective Teaching of History. In: The Effective Teaching of History, London: Longman Group UK Limited, pp.37, 38.
HUTCHCROFT, Dian. 1981. Making Language Work. In: Making Language Work, Maidenhead: McGraw Hill, p.209.
MALONEY, Jane, Brenda KEOGH, Brigid DOWNING et al. 2006. Puppets - Puppets Research. [online]. [Accessed 5 November 2009]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www.puppetsproject.com/documents/puppets-t-earth-sci06.pdf>
MOYLES, Janet. 2007. Beginning Teaching, Beginning Learning in Primary Education. In: Beginning Teaching, Beginning Learning in Primary Education (3rd Ed.), Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education, p.90.
O'HARA, Lucy & Mark. 2001. Teaching History 3 - 11: The Essential Guide. In: Teaching History 3 - 11: The Essential Guide, London: Continuum, p.93.
PETTY, Geoff. 2009. Teaching Today: A Practical Guide (4th Ed.). In: Teaching Today: A Practical Guide (4th Ed.), Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes, p.260.
PLUCKROSE, Henry. 1991. Children Learning History. In: Children Learning History, Oxford: Basil Blackwell Ltd., pp.104, 112.
NATIONAL PTA, 2006. Education Through Theatre. [online]. [Accessed 5 November 2009]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://school.familyeducation.com/theater/drama/38782.html>
REDFERN, Allan. 1996. Talking in Class - Oral History and the National Curriculum. In: Talking in Class - Oral History and the National Curriculum, Hatfield: Oral History Society, p.25.
THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION. 1983. The Imperative for Educational Reform - Recommendations. [online]. [Accessed 15 November 2009]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/recomm.html>
WIGAN LEISURE & CULTURAL TRUST, 2007. Explore Using Puppets. [online]. [Accessed 5 November 2009]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www.wlct.org/Libraries/sls/puppets.pdf>
TURNER-BISSET, Rosie. 2005. Creative Teaching - History in the Primary Classroom. In: Creative Teaching - History in the Primary Classroom, London: David Fulton Publishers Ltd., p.102.
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