The task for this week was to develop a “learning through drama” experience based on the topic of print media. I thoroughly enjoyed this class because it really got my creative juices flowing. We began by brainstorming the topic and pretty much covered the past, history and future of this text type. We decided that even though it now includes magazines and web sites (etc), we would construct an activity around the traditional text of a newspaper.

(Even as I write this now I am aware that I have to work on my listening and note taking skills! I can’t remember what year level we are working with – whoops! I think it is Year 5 or 6?)

I just love brainstorming in groups! I enjoy the banter and the jokes that are exchanged, and find that I really bounce well off other peoples’ ideas (and vice versa). Even though I much prefer to work individually on written assignments, I always find it rewarding to work in groups in this type of situation.

We should have filmed our class for an ad on the joys of collaborative learning. It was an almost perfect session! I was initially a bit scared we weren’t going to get anywhere, because after an hour we still hadn’t settled on a scenario. We were thinking we’d go with some type of animal escape story (spurred on by a circus newspaper story that Jo showed us) but nothing grabbed us. However, gradually we just kept building upon each others ideas, until we weren’t even sure who had suggested what in the end. We solved the set task within the time frame, came up with a great scenario and were all still talking to each other at the end of the process.

Wow! What an achievement! (I must say a lot of the credit goes to Jo and her ability to direct and channel our ideas.)

So here it is:
(I think we’re all quite proud of it…)

Jo will initially do some warm-ups with photo freeze frames of news headlines (“Lion eats boy” etc).

The scene will then be set as a newsroom. I am going to be the Newsroom Supervisor and the students will be informed by me that as Cadet Journalists their task will be to cover any breaking news stories. I will introduce them to two very different types of Editors (Herald Sun vs The Age) and they must choose for which paper they wish to aim their story. Kathryn and Jacinta are playing the roles of the “dramatise the story” and “stick to the facts” Editors. They will each give a little speech and one will present students with an abridged version of the Journalistic Code of Ethics (does it exist?). Then my phone will ring and I will take down the details of the breaking story: a snake was found in the grounds of Hunter Valley Primary School by a naughty boy (which seems a bit suspicious). The groundsman caught the snake with the help of a smarty pants girl. A greenie teacher then kept the snake in her classroom so that her students could learn from it. But then at lunch time the snake escaped (or was it set free/stolen by someone?) There’s also a parent who’s wanting to talk to the media.

I will remind the Cadets about the 6 W’s (who, what, when, where, why and how). I will tell them to take their notebooks and pens and get down to the school and write me a story.

We will then set up the five characters (each with an item of costume) at separate stations and the students can move around and interview us. I will be Jemima Goode - the smarty pants student who knows an awful lot about snakes. I will wear a red bow in my hair and will carry a school folder. I will tell the Cadets, “I know a lot about everything, so you can ask me whatever you want.”

The other characters are:
Just Jase (Kathryn) – the naughty boy who found (and teased) the snake.
Mrs Green (Nicole) – the teacher who is fascinated by environmental studies.
Concerned Parent (Jacinta) – posh lady who asks “How Safe Are Our Schools?”
The Groundsman (Jo) – who caught the snake and stored it in a box with the lid ajar.

I think it will be interesting to see if our stories all correlate on the day because we haven’t had much practise and may not be straight on all the details… I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a lot of fun and I’m especially looking forward to my first acting gig in ages. I can’t wait to see what questions the students ask and which directions they decide to go with their stories!