John’s class were obviously interested and inspired when they had a visitor to their class from the local community and they enjoyed acting out the story she had told. The stimulus from outside motivated them to think more about how drama could be used, both to tell stories and explore global or local issues. The activities John planned not only motivated the students, but provided many opportunities to practise their language skills.
This shows how positive this way of working with students can be. In addition, developing students’ empathy with their local area can have wider-reaching positive effects than just their education. They will begin to see the richness around them, which often goes unnoticed in the daily rush of going to school, doing chores and trying to feed families.
Question 8 has explored some ways you can exploit the resources of the environment and local community in your teaching. The accounts of other teachers’ practice and the activities you have tried show how you can plan more stimulating lessons. These, of course, are only examples. Not all schools will have a storyteller able to come in to school, but there are many ways to use the environment and hopefully these ideas have inspired you to think about what might be possible in your context.
The outcomes from activity-based teaching of this sort are often displays and presentations. Students hugely enjoy making presentations about what they have done and learned. During the planning process and rehearsing, students have to think about the key facts they wish to talk about and how to make these clear to the audience. This discussion will deepen their own understanding and reinforce their learning. Organising presentations or displays can range from the very small scale, such as surveys or giving a talk to a group, to large-scale presentations to parents, which involve the whole school. The strategic skill of the teacher is in ensuring that such experiences are part of every student’s school life.