Explore and Create

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Curriculum Context

Subject: Drama
Year Level: Year 11 (NZ Curriculum Level 6)
Focus Area: 1.2 – Participate in creative strategies to create a drama
Assessment Context: Achievement Standard from the NCEA Level 1 Drama suite
Key Big Idea: Titiro whakamuri, kokiri whakamua – Drama is influenced by whakapapa and is a way to respond to and share identity, culture, and perspectives.
Key Competencies Integrated:

• Thinking – Reflecting on and developing ideas and contexts
• Participating and contributing – Responding to group dynamics and building collaboration
• Relating to others – Working with empathy, sharing ideas, and building whanaungatanga

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Lesson Focus

Learning Intention:
Students will explore and apply drama conventions as creative strategies to begin devising a short piece of drama.

Success Criteria:
By the end of the lesson, students will:

• Identify and define at least three drama conventions accurately
• Begin constructing a collective narrative using chosen conventions
• Use improvisation and embodied practice to test out dramatic ideas with others

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Conventions Focus

Conventions prominently displayed (already in class):

• Slow motion
• Narration
• Freeze frame
• Mime

Note: Suitable for a low-ability class – scaffolded and paced for clarity and engagement.

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Materials Needed

• Whiteboard and markers
• Printed handouts (1 page) with simple definitions of 4 conventions and 2 short exemplar prompts
• Timer/phone
• Open space for movement
• Paper and pens for written task

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Lesson Structure (45 minutes)

🔹 1. Whakawhanaungatanga & Introduction (5 mins)

Purpose: Establish calm, safety, and clarity.

Delivery (Reliever):

• Greet students warmly, encourage a circle formation where visible.
• Share the learning intention clearly: "We're going to explore key drama conventions today, use them creatively, and test out some drama ideas with each other."

Short Warm-Up Activity: Each student introduces themselves with a simple physical gesture (e.g. bow, stretch). Others copy back. Builds connection and group focus.

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🔹 2. Written Reflection Task (20 mins)

Objective: Build foundational understanding of drama conventions.

Step-by-Step:

1. Hand out printed "Drama Conventions Quick Guide" (1 A4 sheet – definitions + 2 exemplar creative prompts).
2. Students choose three drama conventions from the sheet.
3. For each convention, students:
   • Write the name
   • Define it in their own words (1–2 sentences)
   • Write a creative example of how it might be used in a scene (e.g. a freeze frame of a protest, or a narrator introducing a lost pirate)

Scaffolds:

• A sample entry is modelled on the board:

  Convention: Narration  
  My definition: A voice that explains what's happening during the action.  
  My example: A narrator explains how the main character found the letter – while the character acts it out silently.
  

• Students are supported by sentence starters on the board to reduce cognitive load. Teacher/reliever circulates, prompting ideas and helping students link their writing to simple story contexts (e.g. “What might a slow-motion scene show?”).

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🔹 3. Practical Exploration (20 mins)

Objective: Embody and test the conventions in short group work.

Set-up: Students will work in groups of 4 (3 groups total).

Instructions – Structured Improv (10 mins):

• Give each group a short starter called a “drama spark” (e.g. “Someone goes missing in a festival crowd”, “Finding an old letter”, “A secret is overheard”).
• Students must choose 2 conventions from their written task and try to incorporate them into a 1–2 minute improvisation.
• Emphasis is on experimenting – not a finished product.

Performance and Peer Feedback (10 mins):

• Each group performs for the class.
• After each, the audience answers:
  • “Which conventions did they use?”
  • “What moment stood out and why?”

Encourage: Positive, affirming feedback. Highlight courage and creativity.

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🔹 4. Wrap-Up & Reflection (Final 2–3 mins)

Questions (quickfire or exit slip):

• “What was one convention you enjoyed using today?”
• “What’s one idea you’d like to explore more next time?”

Close with whakataukī: "Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini."
"My strength is not that of a single warrior but that of many."
(Reinforce theme of collaboration and creativity)

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Reliever Notes and Tips

• The focus is on confidence-building, student-led learning, and having fun with the basic building blocks of drama making.
• Don’t correct student choices in performance – instead, guide reflection through questioning.
• Look for moments where students show whanaungatanga, kotahitanga, or imaginative courage – highlight and celebrate these!

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Optional Extension (If Time Allows or Fast Finishers)

Invite students to sketch a “scene map”: a simple storyboard-style layout showing how their chosen conventions could unfold in a short play. (E.g. Panel 1: Freeze frame of a surprise birthday… Panel 2: Narrator says “It was meant to be a simple day but…”)

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Key Values Emphasised

• Manaakitanga – Creating safe and inclusive spaces for all voices
• Whanaungatanga – Building strong relationships through teamwork
• Kotahitanga – Collaborating as a united creative group

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Teacher Follow-Up Suggestions

• Next lesson could take these raw improvisations and develop them into scripted scenes.
• Use this session as a basis to track participation & engagement for formative assessment of creative strategies (NCEA Level 1 Standard 1.2).
• Consider linking to the "Big Idea" of whakapapa — students exploring their own stories or local histories in devised drama.

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Prepared for: New Zealand Year 11 Drama
Based on NCEA Level 1 Creative Strategies Standard (AS91002)
Lesson duration: 45 minutes
Abilities targeted: Entry-level to developing
Instructor: Relieving Teacher (Printable version recommended)