My interest in using drama across the curriculum began in my BEd when my drama education class was introduced to methods such as forum and story theatre. During my time as an English teacher at Diamond Elementary, I had the opportunity to create and teach a unit using some of these methods and techniques.

As the MYP drama teacher at the Canadian International School of Beijing, I provided support to elementary students and teachers through drama and performance. Because this partnership was in its beginning stages when our school moved to online learning in early 2020, some of the ideas proposed for this project never came to fruition.

Below is a sample of the methods proposed for drama support at CISB, which I hope to use as a springboard for future ideas. Integrating drama across the curriculum, providing arts support and working as an artist-in-residence are areas I am interested in pursuing further!

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Concert or production performance guidance – Teachers will be provided feedback and guidance on the various aspects of their winter concert performance – vocals, choreography, scene work, staging, etc.

Teacher workshop on using drama in the classroom – Teachers will experiment with different strategies for implementing drama across the curriculum.

Class attendance drama performance with linked lessons – In addition to attending the performance, teachers can request lessons that relate to the themes of the performance.

Drama games session (general) – Students will engage in a fun, high-energy drama games session

Drama games session targeting a specific drama skill – Students will engage in a drama games session targeting a basic drama skill such as vocal projection, expression, movement, etc.

Drama activity linked to a specific lesson – Teachers will send lesson ideas and content in advance and a drama activity will be created that helps to meet the outcome of the lesson.

One-on-one or small group work on a particular project – work one-on-one or in small groups with students who are interested in creating a drama-related performance.

Resources and activities for using drama across the curriculum – A list of online resources will be collected and sent to teachers upon request.