Drama can be used to improve the quality of children’s writing. This is because, when children are acting out a story, they’re learning about genre, narrative and how characters function in stories, which improves their knowledge of story structure. As well as this, by taking on a character and becoming immersed in their life and world through drama, children can experience how it feels to be a certain person with a particular personality, which enables pupils to write more thoughtfully and creatively. Drama is also ideal for developing and extending vocabulary.
Today, to enhance our Big Topic, Year 4 have been taking part in a drama workshop delivered by The West Yorkshire Playhouse. The session was based on our current class novel ‘The Firework Maker’s Daughter’ by Phillip Pullman.
After being transported into the story, the children thought about the various characters and how they may have been feeling at different parts in the novel. We were all very impressed by the standard of rich, descriptive language floating around the room.
Following this drama experience, Year 4 will be producing some descriptive writing. The children’s motivation to write has been enhanced by their involvement and enjoyment of today’s workshop.
