Lesson Plan: Drama - Expressing Ideas, Thoughts, and Feelings

Subject: Expressive Arts (Drama) Grade Level: First Level (Primary 1-3) Curriculum: Scottish Curriculum for Excellence

Desired Outcome: Inspired by a range of stimuli, I can express and communicate my ideas, thoughts, and feelings through drama.

Focus: October

Lesson Duration: 60 minutes

Resources: - A variety of props and costumes - Pictures or images related to October (e.g., autumn leaves, Halloween, harvest) - Whiteboard or flipchart - Markers or chalk - Music player and suitable background music

Learning Intentions: 1. To explore and respond to different stimuli related to October. 2. To express ideas, thoughts, and feelings through drama. 3. To develop communication and collaboration skills.

Success Criteria: 1. Students actively participate in drama activities. 2. Students effectively express their ideas, thoughts, and feelings through drama. 3. Students demonstrate collaboration and communication skills during group work.

Lesson Outline:

Introduction (5 minutes): 1. Greet the students and explain the focus of the lesson: October. 2. Discuss with the students what they know about October and what activities or events they associate with this month. 3. Share some pictures or images related to October and ask students to share their thoughts and feelings about them.

Warm-up Activity: Freeze Frame (10 minutes): 1. Explain the concept of freeze frame: freezing like a photograph to represent a specific moment or feeling. 2. Divide the class into small groups and assign each group a different October-related scenario (e.g., playing in a pile of autumn leaves, trick-or-treating, harvesting vegetables). 3. Give the groups a few minutes to discuss and plan their freeze frame. 4. Each group presents their freeze frame to the class, and the rest of the students guess the scenario being portrayed.

Main Activity: Expressing Emotions (25 minutes): 1. Explain that emotions can be expressed through body language, facial expressions, and movement. 2. Play different pieces of music with varying moods (e.g., happy, sad, spooky) and ask students to express the emotions they feel through their bodies and faces. 3. Discuss the different ways students expressed the emotions and how they can be interpreted by others. 4. Divide the class into pairs and give each pair a picture or image related to October. 5. In their pairs, students discuss and plan a short improvisation where they express the emotions depicted in their picture. 6. Allow time for students to practice their improvisations. 7. Each pair performs their improvisation to the class, and the rest of the students provide feedback and interpretations.

Closure: Reflection and Discussion (15 minutes): 1. Lead a class discussion on how drama can be used to express ideas, thoughts, and feelings. 2. Ask students to share what they have learned about October and how they expressed their ideas, thoughts, and feelings through drama. 3. Summarize the key points discussed during the lesson. 4. Assign a small homework task for students to find and bring in an October-related object or image for the next drama lesson.

Assessment: - Observe students’ active participation and engagement during drama activities. - Assess students’ ability to effectively express ideas, thoughts, and feelings through freeze frames and improvisations. - Evaluate students’ collaboration and communication skills during group work.

Extension Activities: 1. Students can create short scripts or dialogues based on October themes and perform them in small groups. 2. Students can explore different October traditions or celebrations from around the world and create drama pieces based on them. 3. Students can create their own October-themed masks or puppets and use them in a puppet show or mask performance.