Head of Department: Lorraine Cushnie (lorraine.cushnie@buxton.derbyshire.sch.uk)

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KEY STAGE 3

At KS3 we aim to give students a wide range of experiences through a variety of topics and stimuli to develop their skills as performers, theatre makers and critical audience.

Students will be formally assessed 3 times during the course of the year.  They will then be given the opportunity to reflect on their work and progress in Drama and will set a target to help them move forward and improve.  Students will also develop their ability to give peer feedback to improve their own and others’ work.

To support your child, you can talk to them about what they are doing in lessons, take them to the theatre or watch streamed theatre at home, help them with their homework or check their understanding of what they need to do.

The KS3 curriculum is currently in transition with changes being made to the schemes and when they are taught, therefore at the moment year 7 and year 8 are studying some of the same topics.

YEAR 7

Drama Expectations and Basic Skills

In this unit students will learn the expectations for all future Drama lessons – lesson routines, how to work in a group and discuss work, and being respectful. They will also develop basic performance skills such as voice and physicality and learn about staging, still image and body as a prop.

Assessment will be on AO1 – group work and AO2 – baseline performance

Darkwood Manor

This unit looks at Mrs Brown’s attempts to sell her haunted house, Darkwood Manor, bringing to life local characters in the nearby village. The focus is also on how to create atmosphere and develop characterisation. Students will learn about soundscapes, mime, improvisation, thoughts aloud and lighting design.

Greek Theatre

In this unit students will learn about the conventions of Greek Theatre focusing on Choral and Mask work. They will learn protagonist and antagonist through the Greek myths of Prometheus and Pandora.

Assessment will be on AO1 – group work AO2 – group performance

Treasure Island

During this unit students will explore elements of the story of Treasure Island, looking at extracts from a play adaptation. They will develop their characterisation skills and learn about character motivation and how to communicate this in performance. Techniques such as soundscape, body as prop, choral movement, hotseating and still image will be used in the exploration of the play and characters. Students will also learn about set design.

Assessment will be on AO1 – group work AO2 – group performance

Storytelling

In this unit students will develop their creativity, narration and storytelling skills.  This unit aims to bring together all the skills and techniques learned across the year into an extended devised performance as well as introducing new techniques such as slow motion, transitions and creative use of props and objects.

YEAR 8

The Truth Is Out There

This unit looks at aliens and conspiracy theories in a light hearted manner. Students will learn about different types of comedy such as character driven comedy and physical comedy while developing their own comedic skills. They will begin to learn about how to read a script and the idea of interpretation as well as the techniques of marking the moment, soundscape and body as a prop.

Greek Theatre

In this unit students will learn about the conventions of Greek Theatre focusing on Choral and Mask work. They will learn and protagonist and antagonist through the Greek myths of Prometheus and Pandora.

Assessment will be on AO1 – group work AO2 – group performance

Treasure Island

During this unit students will explore elements of the story of Treasure Island, looking at extracts from a play adaptation. They will consider how to stage scenes while developing their characterisation skills and learning about communicating character motivation in performance. Techniques such as soundscape, body as prop, word fighting, choral movement, hotseating and still image will be used in the exploration of the play and characters. Students will also learn about set design.

Assessment will be on AO1 – group work AO2 – group performance

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Students will explore the story and characters of the Shakespearian comedy while learning about tableau, status, and dramatic irony.  They will explore the different worlds of the play – Athens, the Fairies, the Lovers and the Mechanicals and the role of sound design in performance.

YEAR 9

Physical Theatre

In this unit students will explore the theatre style, Physical Theatre learning building blocks to create movement and apply story and character. They will then bring a scene from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime in the Physical Theatre style

Assessment will be on AO1 – group work and AO2 – group performance

D.N.A by Denis Kelly

This unit focuses on exploring script. They will look at scenes from D.N.A, learning about character objective, given circumstance and sub-text and how they can be used to bring scenes from the page to the stage. They will also explore how to show relationships on stage. Students will learn about costume design.

Assessment will be on AO1 – group work and AO2 – group performance

Shakespeare/Trailers

Students will explore 2 Shakespeare plays, consolidating their learning from across KS3. They will consider plot, characters and different interpretations. They will then create a trailer for a Shakespeare play of their choice.  They will work as a company and take on one or two roles (performance, design, filming or directing) within the company devise, rehearse, design and record and film trailer.  This unit will allow all students to develop those transferable skills embedded in the subject – organisation, creativity, time management, teamwork, communication and planning while also developing their Drama skills.

Assessment will be on AO1 – group work AO2 – group performance or design