Table Of ContentDRAMA AND WRITING AGES 5–11
Drama and Writing Ages 5–11 is a practical guide for teachers to develop and inspire writing
through using drama in the classroom. Each of the ten chapters provides step-by-step guid-
ance and creative prompts for writing that apply to both key stage one and key stage two,
enabling teachers to motivate their pupils by creating meaningful contexts, audiences and
purposes to encourage writing. With a wide range of ideas to apply to the classroom, from
simple classroom strategies to more complex units of work, this book is suitable for all
teachers – including those who hold limited experience of using drama in the classroom.
Including key definitions of drama strategies and practical advice to apply to the classroom,
the chapters are presented in two parts:
• Part I provides short and simple drama strategies to act as a helping hand, stimulating
the focus of a writing lesson.
• Part II provides longer dramatic contexts with a compelling sense of audience and pur-
pose, including a range of opportunities for writing. These prompts may span two or
more lessons.
Drama and Writing Ages 5–11 is an essential read for any primary school teacher seeking
practical strategies to incorporate drama into the classroom, teaching the craft of writing in
a creative, fun and meaningful way.
Larraine S. Harrison is a former primary school teacher and local authority school improve-
ment adviser. She holds many years of experience running national CPD courses on drama
in education. Currently, she works as a consultant for drama in education, a school governor
and a children’s author.
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group
http://taylorandfrancis.com
DRAMA AND WRITING
AGES 5–11
A Practical Book of Ideas
for Primary Teachers
Larraine S. Harrison
Designed cover image: © Getty Images
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Larraine Harrison
The right of Larraine Harrison to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Harrison, Larraine S., author.
Title: Drama and writing ages 5-11 : a practical book of ideas for primary
teachers / Larraine S. Harrison.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2023.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022045839 (print) | LCCN 2022045840 (ebook) | ISBN
9781032325866 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032325880 (paperback) | ISBN
9781003315742 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Composition (Language arts)--Study and teaching (Primary) |
English language--Composition and exercises--Study and teaching
(Primary) | Drama in education--Study and teaching (Primary)
Classification: LCC LB1576 .H259 2023 (print) | LCC LB1576 (ebook) | DDC
372.6--dc23/eng/20221123
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022045839
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022045840
ISBN: 978-1-032-32586-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-32588-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-31574-2 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003315742
Typeset in Interstate
by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements vii
Drama and writing: Introduction 1
PART I: DRAMA AS A HELPING HAND 7
1 Physical theatre 9
The pathway 9
Embodied capital letters (key stage one) 15
The punctuation line up 17
2 Freezing the narrative 22
Plot books 22
Flashbacks, flash-forward and dreams 25
Eyewitnesses 26
Writing in the frame 26
3 Strange hot-seating 27
Real creatures 28
Imaginary creatures 30
Objects and the environment 33
4 Viewpoints 37
Balanced arguments and opinions 37
Cats versus dogs 38
Views on zoos 39
The discussion book 43
Character viewpoints: Diaries, letters and postcards 45
5 Bubbles, comics and playscripts 46
An extra frame 46
The one-minute playscript (key stage two) 53
Silent movie scripts 58
6 Write back 60
Write back key stage one examples 61
Goldilocks and the Three Bears 62
The Three Little Pigs 64
vi Contents
Further suggestions 66
The Three Billy Goats Gruff 66
The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson 66
Write back key stage two examples 66
Dog in the Playground by Allan Ahlberg 67
Matilda by Hilaire Belloc 70
Further suggestions 73
Beowulf by Charles Keeping and Kevin Crossley Holland 73
Lightning Falls by Amy Wilson 73
Mr Wolf’s Class by Aron Nels Steinke 73
PART II: DRAMA AS A COMPELLING CONTEXT 75
7 An imaginary community: Key stage one and lower key stage two 77
Key stage one example: Pets corner 78
Key stage one/lower key stage two example: A beautiful place 80
8 An imaginary community: Upper key stage two 88
Upper key stage two example 1: A village under threat 89
Upper key stage two example 2: A historical community 96
Mantle of the expert 100
9 An imaginary journey 101
Key stage one examples 102
Key stage two example: The expedition 105
10 Open-ended drama 110
Key stage one examples 111
a The letter 111
b The door 112
c The special box 113
d Dramatic play 114
Key stage two examples 115
a The key 115
b Directing the story 116
Conclusion 118
Drama strategies 121
Further reading and resources 130
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank all the teachers who have sent me children’s written work based on
drama and all the children who have made both the drama and the writing so vivid and
memorable. Thanks also to Claire Davies and Jane Simpkins of Waterton Academy Trust for
their professional advice and encouragement and to the team at Routledge.
Finally, thanks to my husband Martyn and my family for their continual practical and
emotional support.
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group
http://taylorandfrancis.com
Drama and writing
Introduction
What is this book about and who is it for?
This book is about how to use drama to support the teaching of writing in the primary
school. Its purpose is twofold: (1) to encourage teachers to use drama as a stimulus and
meaningful context for writing and (2) to raise awareness of the potential of drama as a
learning medium. It is not a book about how to teach writing but rather a book about how
to provide engaging activities and contexts that offer a range of audiences and purposes
for writing.
The book is for all primary teachers including ITT students and other educators with lim-
ited knowledge and understanding of drama and its potential to support writing.
The book is divided into two parts:
Part I: Drama as a Helping Hand focuses on simple drama strategies which provide a help-
ing hand in the writing classroom. These approaches use drama to stimulate or illustrate
a particular aspect of writing.
Part II: Drama as a Compelling Context focuses on one or more drama lessons where
imaginary contexts provide compelling audiences and purposes for writing.
Each idea is explained via separate examples for key stages one and two where
appropriate.
Definitions of the drama strategies referred to in the book are provided for further
clarification.
Suggestions for resources and further reading are included for those who wish to extend
their knowledge and understanding of drama as a learning medium.
Why use drama for writing
Real-life experiences can provide many opportunities for writing but can be difficult to
organise on a regular basis. However, drama can provide a wealth of experiences for
writing, both real and imagined because, although drama is an imaginary experience, it
is the tangible enactment of that experience that helps children with recall and response
when writing.
DOI: 10.4324/9781003315742-1
