Drama and Science

                              FOCUS: INQUIRY BASED LEARNING!

Science and technology are closely linked, especially through the skills of scientific inquiry, technological problem solving, and communication. The world as we know it today has been affected in many important ways by science and technology. (MOE, 2009, p.4) This being said, inquiry based learning paired with drama strategies will allow students increased opportunities to explore and understand various topics. Drama can infuse science with emotions, excitement, fun, and interaction. Such context provides a holistic experiential approach in learning science.

  Here I argue that using drama strategies in science lessons will engage and motivate students (be aware that some students might find drama terrifying) engage and motivate teachers – creativity in teaching! help model abstract ideas that can’t normally be seen and so help students create meaning help teachers see what students are thinking provide an opportunity for students to discuss and reason with scientific ideas

Curriculum Connections
Success criteria states that students should use a variety of forms (e.g., oral, written, graphic, multimedia) to communicate with different audiences and for a variety of purposes (e.g., create a song or short drama presentation for younger students that will alert them to the dangers of exposure to intense light and sound).

Warm Up Strategy #1: Thumbs Up Thumbs Down

Simple yet effective! This warm up activity can be used as a diagnostic assessment to see where your students are at in a science lesson. All it takes is students to put their thumbs up or down in order to convey their understanding of a scenario, topic or concept. Additionally, it can act as an assessment in order to see if students retained anything from the lesson. For example we had the opportunity to watch this strategy in action in a grade 5 classroom. Our professor would ask the students questions/facts about bees for a science lesson. She would state a fact and thumbs up meant true and thumbs down meant false whole middle meant they were unsure. This activity allowed us to see how much information they already knew about bees in a fun and engaging way, instead of merely stating facts. The teacher can readjust the next lesson or section of the lesson as needed based on student response. To hold students more accountable for their “truthfulness” the teacher can call on someone who signaled a thumb up to explain the concept to the class, or partner students who understand with those who don’t and let them teach each other for a few minutes.

Strategy #2: Collective Draw

I found this strategy very inclusive and engaging! We had the opportunity to watch a class engage in a science drama lesson that began with a collective draw of a bee, as they were completing a lesson on the importance of bees. A collective draw entails all students illustrating an image together as they think and learn about various aspects of such an image. I found that it Invites students to reflect on setting, characters, theme, and events in a story. This strategy gives students an opportunity to practice recall, and to create and “read” signs or semiotic systems of meaning-making through a collaborative, visual art process. Additionally it allows for inclusivity and peer / self assessment as students get to share their drawings with one another.

Guiding questions while completing the collective draw

• How did it feel to work collectively on a drawing?
• What images do we see from the story?
• What story do these images tell together?
• What parts of the story appear the most? Why?
• What image/idea resonates with you the most?
• Tell us why/turn to a partner and share why.

Strategy #3: Readers Theatre

Reader's theater is a strategy for developing reading fluency. It involves children in oral reading through reading parts in scripts. In using this strategy, students do not need to memorize their part; they need only to reread it several times, thus developing their fluency skills. The best reader's theater scripts include lots of dialogue.

Success criteria that connect to curriculum

• It promotes fluency.
• It helps readers learn to read aloud with expression.
• It helps build reading confidence.

Additionally I found a great article that goes into more depth on the importance of incorporating readers theatre and science!! It has resources and scripts to use that incorporate science and drama. Some of the findings state the following

“Students are much more likely to retain science facts and concepts when they’re incorporated into a fun activity,”

“Kids are crazy about animals, and they’re crazy about Readers Theater,” says Vicki Palmquist, cofounder of the Children’s Literature Network. “Just Imagine how enthusiastic they are about combining the two.”

“Science tends to be one of those areas where feelings are left out,” says Vargus. “Readers Theater can help students identify with animals; it’s a way of personalizing science learning.”

Check it OUT!Science Books & Readers Theatre

Differentiated instruction / Modifications

• For second language learners, students of varying reading skill, students with learning disabilities, and younger learners
• Use easier scripts with fewer words for younger or struggling readers.
• Write the script (or the student's part of the script) with print that is easy to read i.e. larger or in preferred font. Supply Braille scripts when needed.
• Give the student their part in advance. Encourage them to practice at home with their parents
• Have students read parts together.
• Allow advanced students to write parts of the script.
• When assigning roles, be sensitive to students' individual needs. Assign roles accordingly; provide extra, individual practice if needed.

Curriculum Connections: During today's class we were able to hit the following success criteria and specific expectations.

Grades 4/5/6 Drama:
B2.1 Express personal responses and preferences and make connections to themes and issues presented in their own and other’s drama work.

Grade 4 Science:
3.3 Identify factors that affect the ability of plants and animals to survive in a specific habitat.

Grade 6 Science:
3.1. Identify and describe the distinguishing characteristics of different groups of plants (e.g., flowering plants) and animals (e.g., insects).

Reflection: Wow!!

Before this class I was unaware about how drama is so valuable. As the course progresses I can see how these strategies not only act as an assessment tool, but they truly engage students, motivate them, and allow them to think deeper. These tools can and should be used throughout the curriculum. It is clear that the learning is elevated, not merely based on the “fun” students have, but what these strategies allow them to learn and retain !!! I think this class allowed me to have more of an “AHA” moment, as I was able to finally see these strategies in action with real students. They had fun, they were engaged, they LEARNED !!! It was great to see them get excited about science, share their ideas, and learn from one another.

References

Bafile, C. (2005). Reader's Theater: Giving Students a Reason to Read Aloud.