Using Drama to Explore and Understand Texts at KS2

You will learn how drama activities and strategies can be used to specifically raise children’s awareness of the language, literary devices and structures that are used by writers. Drama strategies can be used to highlight imagery, emotive language, metaphor, repetition, sound and movement, (for example). Strategies can also be used to focus attention on what characters say, do and think at certain moments, and over time, as well as how other characters see them. Significant moments in the text, can be brought to life, commented and reflected on, from various viewpoints. A drama lesson will be presented that is focused on a narrative poem. All the strategies used in the lesson are applicable to other types of text too.

HANDOUTS

• Drama Strategies booklet • An edited copy of the Powerpoint (as a PDF) • 2 text based KS2 lessons • A published article

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Patrice Baldwin Drama Consultant Patrice Baldwin is an international ‘Drama for Learning’ teacher trainer, workshop leader and conference speaker. She is Chair of the Council for Subject Associations (CfSA) and a Higher-Level Action Learning Facilitator, (recognised by the Institute of Leadership and Management), and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Patrice has written several books for teachers, most recently, ‘40+ ‘Drama’ Strategies to Deepen Whole Class Learning’ (Routledge, 2024) and ‘Process Drama for Second Language Teaching and Learning’ (Bloomsbury Academic, 2021). She writes regularly for ‘Drama and Theatre’ magazine.

Patrice was a Primary Headteacher, Arts Education and School Improvement Adviser and an Ofsted inspector. She was Sir Jim Rose’s Editorial Expert for Drama for his proposed primary national curriculum and Oak National Academy’s Primary Drama subject leader during the pandemic. She worked regularly with Pie Corbett for several years, delivering their ‘Talk and Drama for Writing’ conferences across England and Wales. From 2012 to 2020, she organised many primary curriculum courses and leadership conferences for Norfolk schools, through ‘Inspiring Professional Development and School Improvement’.

Patrice was President of the International Drama Theatre and Education Association (IDEA) from 2010-2013, Chair of National Drama (2004- 2015) and was a BBC Education scriptwriter and Drama series consultant. She founded and directed, Drama for Learning and Creativity (D4LC), a school improvement initiative which was supported by Norfolk County Council, QCA, Arts Council England, Creative Partnerships and NESTA, and was presented at UNESCO’s 2nd World Arts in Education Conference in South Korea.