Justification:
Arts education in Australia plays an integral role in developing creative, confident individuals with a sense of enjoyment, purpose and identity (Ewing, 2010). “The arts have the capacity to engage, inspire and enrich all students, exciting the imagination and encouraging them to reach their creative and expressive potential” (ACARA, 2016)). Through the Arts students learn to both critically and practically to explore, experiment, create, analyse, critique and ultimately discover multiple meanings within artwork (ACARA, 2010). Through studying the Arts, students build confidence and collaboration, while developing their own sense of self, others and place in the world (Ewing, 2010). Learning the Arts also had a flow-on effect of improving the learning outcomes in other disciplines such as mathematics, and reading (Catterall, Chapleau and Iwanaga, 1999). Fiske (1999) also indicated that learning through the Arts, provided different ways to engage students, enabled students to make connections to themselves, each other, as well as the world, and was a way of challenging already successful students. Through the Australian Arts Curriculum, students will experience and learn about five Arts subjects: being dance, drama, media arts, music and visual arts. The focus on following resource package will be in the area of Drama.
Drama is based on human experiences, so draws attention to our motives, attitudes, experiences, our actions, and all the different ways we interact (Dinham, 2016 and ACARA, 2010). Therefore, drama becomes an expression and exploration of “personal, cultural and social worlds through role and situation that engages, entertains and challenges” (ACARA, 2016). Through drama meaning is made when the student take-on different roles such as drama makers, performers and audience. Through these roles students enjoy, reflect and analyse their own and others stories and point of views (ACARA, 2016). In drama students actively use “body, gesture, movement, voice and language, taking on roles to explore and depict real and imagined worlds” (ACARA, 2016).
The following Drama Package called “Exploring Emotions” is designed for Prep to Year 2 students to assist in establishing and exploring their emotions. We learn about ourselves and our identity from how we emotionally react. The resources packages look at four aspects of acting to express an emotion. These are facial expressions, body language, movement, and voice. Each section includes activities that engage and enable students to explore, experience and analyse how to portray different emotions to others. Through this drama package my aim was for students to be provided with an opportunity to creatively express themselves (Dinham, 2016), as well as to explore and find themselves (Prants, 2019). It is only by students understanding emotions and how they are portrayed, that they are better equipped to recognise and respond to these emotions in others in daily life (Kids Helpline, 2019).
Please Note:
Sassoon Primary Font has been used throughout the Student and Teacher Resources. This is the font of choice at the school I have been assigned to, chosen based on how students are taught handwriting and letter formation.
Please find below the Student and Teacher Resource Packages
References:
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2016). The Arts: Understand how the Arts works: Introduction. Retrieved 11th April 2019 from: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/the-arts/introduction/
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2016). Understand how the Arts works: Rationale. Retrieved 11th April 2019 fromhttps://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/the-arts/drama/rationale/
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (201). Shape of the Australian Curriculum: The Arts. Accessed 12th April 2019 from http://docs.acara.edu.au/resources/Shape_of_the_Australian_Curriculum_The_Arts_-_Compressed.pdf
Catterall, J., Chapleau, R., and Iwanaga, J. (1999). Involvement in the arts and human development: General involvement and intensive involvement in music and theatre arts. In E. Ficke (Ed.), Champions of change: The impact of arts on learning. Washing. DC: The Arts Education Partnership and the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. Retrieved 12th April 2019 from https://www.education.sa.gov.au/sites/default/files/champions_of_change_the_impacts_of_the_arts_on_learning.pdf?v=1457323140
Dinham, J. (2017). Delivering authentic arts education. South Melbourne, Victoria: Cengage Learning Australia.
Ewing, R. (2010). The Arts and Australian Education: Realising potential. Retrieved 11th April 2019 from http://www.arts.qld.gov.au/images/documents/artsqld/Research/The-Arts-and-Australian-education-Realising-potential.pdf
Fiske, E. (1999). Champions of change the impact of the arts on learning. Washington: Arts education partnership. Retrieved 12th April 2019 from https://www.education.sa.gov.au/sites/default/files/champions_of_change_the_impacts_of_the_arts_on_learning.pdf?v=1457323140
Kids Helpline. (2019). Helping Kids Identify and Express Feelings. Retrieved 11th April 2019 from https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/helping-kids-identify-and-express-feelings
Prants, M. (2019). The Importance of Drama in Primary Education. Scribd Inc. Retrieved 10th April 2019 from https://www.scribd.com/doc/18042787/The-Importance-of-Drama-in-Primary-Education
LaneWay 2 Teaching 