Lesson IX

Teaching With Dramatized Experiences

Objectives:

1. To contrast what do these dramatic experiences include

2. To organize their uses for effective teaching

Abstraction:

     Something dramatic is something that is stirring or affecting or moving.  A dramatic entrance is something that catches or holds  our attention and has an emotional impact. If our teaching is dramatic, our students get attracted, interested and affected. If they are affected and move by what we taught, we will most likely have an impact on them. So, why can’t we be dramatic all the time?

     Dramatized experiences can range from the formal plays, pageant no less formal tableau, pantomime, puppets and role playing.

     Plays depict life, character or culture or a combination of all three. They offer excellent opportunities to portray vividly important ideas about life. Pageants are usually community dramas that are based on local history, presented by local actors. An example is a historical pageant that traces the growth of a school.  Play and pantomime require  much time for preparation and so cannot be part of everyday classroom program.

     Pantomime and tableaux, when compared to a play and a pageant are less demanding in terms of labor, time and preparation. These are purely visual experiences. A pantomime is the “art of conveying a story through bodily movements only “(Webster’s  New Collegiate Dictionary). Its effect on the audience depends on the movements of the actor. A tableau )a French word which means picture) is a picture – like scene composed of a people against a background. A tableau is often used to celebrate Independence Day, Christmas, and United Day.

     Dale (1996) claims the puppets, unlike the regular stage play, can present ideas with extreme simplicity – without elaborate scenery or costume  - yet effectively.

     As an instructional device, the puppet show can involve the entire group of students – as speakers of parts, manipulators  of the figures, and makers of the puppet.

*Types of Puppet

·  SHADOW PUPPETS-flat black silhouette made from lightweight cardboard and shown behind a screen.

    ROD PUPPETS-flat cut out figures tacked to a stick, with one or more movable parts, and operated from below the stage level by wire rods or slender sticks
                             
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·    HAND PUPPETS -the puppet’s head is operated by the forefinger of the puppeteer, the little finger and thumb being used to animate the puppet.

·  LOVE-and-FINGER PUPPET-make use of old gloves to which  small costumed figures are attached
                                

·  MARIONETTES-flexible, jointed puppets operated by strings or wires attached to a cross bar and maneuvered from directly above the stage.
                                

 What principles must be observed in choosing a puppet play for teaching? 
      Dale, (1996) quoting from the puppeteers of America offers many suggestions, among which are the following:

·         *Do not  use puppets  for plays that can be done just as well or better by other dramatic           means.

·         *Puppet plays must be based on action rather than on words.

·         *Keep the plays short.

·         *Do not omit the possibilities of music and dancing as part of the upper show.

·         *Adapt the puppet show to the age, background, and tastes of the students.

*Another from of dramatized experienced is a role – playing. Role – playing

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