Cross curricular benefits of Drama

I was very pleased to hear from Mr McCarthy about the progress he observed in the presentation skills of many of our students in their Individual and Society presentations recently. I feel this is a good opportunity for me to raise awareness about the benefits of the work we do in Drama, and how well it crosses over to other subjects particularly when giving presentations. As the year has progressed we have been working on improving our physicality and voices, with keen attention paid to audiences when engaged in presentations and performances. One of the first things I always ask my students in class when we are preparing our work is, “Where is your audience and how are you engaging with them?” Currently in Year 7 we are particularly focusing on presentations and understanding how these skills can be improved. Overall across all year groups I am very pleased to note that the students feel confident enough to get up and perform for their peers outside the classroom. One such example has been the recent performances by the Year 7s and Year 8s for Book Week. Both year groups devised ensemble performances based on 2 poems and Dr Seuss’s “Green Eggs and Ham”. The task of taking text off the page and creating a visual depiction of their interpretation is both something fun and helps students explore text in greater depth. Hopefully this is just the start and, when restrictions finally lift, we look forward to inviting parents to future performances and presentations at the school.