SCHOOL DRAMA

WOOLLAHRA PRIMARY Year 6

TERM 3, 2015
School:
Teacher:
Year level:
English Focus:
Benchmarking:

Woollahra Primary School

Laura Robinson
6
Inferential Comprehension, Oracy and
Team work
? (Laura to run benchmarking exercise
one week prior to start date)

Text:

THE BURNT STICK, Anthony Hill

Recourses:

Beyond the Script,

Robyn Ewing & Jennifer Simons

Workshops designed by John Saunders, Robyn Ewing &

Suzannah McDonald

SCHOOL DRAMA
WOOLLAHRA PRIMARY Year 6
TERM 3, 2015
WEEK 1
FOCUS: Context Building
SUPPORT MATERIAL: Prepared (easy to read) name tags for
students, whiteboard or butchers paper and markers, students
workbook and pen.
STRATEGY TITLE: Magic bowl
In a circle, show students how to play the Tibetan magic bowl.
Helps to quiet the mind, chatter and gain focus. Ask them what they
hear. Encourage descriptive words. Imagination.
STRATEGY TITLE: Name
Grouping: whole group
Around the circle, say your name, the name of a family member and
if youve lived in any other city than Sydney.
Teacher starts by choosing someone in the circle they remember and
says their name, family members name and city theyve lived. That
student then chooses another person and repeats until everybodys
name is said. Once your name has been said, cross your arms.
STRATEGY TITLE: Me/You
Grouping: Whole class
Standing in circle. Person A points at self and says Me, points to
person B and says You and starts walking towards person B. Person
A points at self and says Me, points to person B and says You and
starts walking towards person B and so on. Players must not leave
their spot until they have selected their destination.
Encourages concentration, clear speech and intention. Demonstrates
the progress of a story me/you is the action we follow as the story
moves around the group.
STRATEGY TITLE: 10-second objects and 10 second
snapshots
Grouping: whole group
Begin with students walking around the room. Using the body
(completely silent) become the object;
Tree
Toothbrush
Car
Skateboard
Book
Giraffe
Grain of sand

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WOOLLAHRA PRIMARY Year 6
TERM 3, 2015
Students in small groups stand up. Teacher calls out an object and
students have 10 seconds to create it collaboratively. After one or
two attempts, challenge students to create their object silently.
A church
A palm tree
A schoolyard
The bush
A bus
A campfire
A mountain side
Students must collaborate quickly and build on each others ideas.
In the location freeze frame, students must decide who or what they
are and what they are doing in the image. Have classmates reflect
on what they see and can interpret from the physicality of the
students in the freeze frame.
Discussion: Embodying words
Was it easy or difficult to make the objects/images in 10 seconds?
What did you need to do as a group to make the image for us
quickly? Who did what? What made the objects or snapshot images
interesting to look at from the outside? What did they show us?
STRATEGY TITLE: Brainstorm and depicting words
Grouping: Whole class/Individually in work books
Teacher describes to the class their home using emotive and
descriptive language. Ask students what words they remember.
Each student brainstorm, in their workbook, words they
associate with their home.
-choose one word from the list. Return to the circle and take turns to
say and depict in a freeze frame their favourite word.
-choose an emotion they would feel if they were taken away from
their home and not allowed to return. Repeat activity.
STRATEGY TITLE: Word Bank
Grouping: 3-4 students
Isolation
Family
Courage
Loneliness
Sacrifice
Healing
Loss.
The words from the list above are written as headings on seven
large pieces of butchers paper. In small groups students rotate to
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WOOLLAHRA PRIMARY Year 6
TERM 3, 2015
each piece of paper and write words, phrases, pictures etc. that
relate to the theme.
STRATEGY TITLE: Still images with caption
Grouping: 3-4 students
Groups, as above, return to their original word bank and consider
the contributions of others. Groups create a still image that depicts
the essence of their word.

FOLLOW UP:

Write a recount of a time you were lost or lost something or

someone you loved. Take time to describe the person or thing
and how you felt when they were gone. Underline the 3 most
descriptive words.

WEEK 2
FOCUS: Introduce factual and emotional context for the
story.
SUPPORT MATERIAL: Name tags, last weeks homework, printed
copies of Stolen Generations information sheet (follows), preallocated pairs for research, 1 x A3 page per pair and coloured
markers for each pair, students workbooks and pens
STRATEGY TITLE: Magic Bowl
STRATEGY TITLE: Me/You introduce silence
Grouping: Whole class
Re-cap Me/You and then play in silence.
STRATEGY TITLE: One before the last
Grouping: whole group
Set game up by having the class repeat the teachers actions. Pause
between each action (e.g. hands on head, touch nose, wiggle hips) so
that the class can copy it. Once established, ask class to copy the
action before the one you just did. i.e touch your nose (class does
nothing, wiggle your hips (class touches their nose), clap your hands
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SCHOOL DRAMA
WOOLLAHRA PRIMARY Year 6
TERM 3, 2015
(class wiggles their hips) etc. Speed up as they get the hang of it and
start again slowly each time they end up copying the current
movement.
STRATEGY TITLE: 10 Second Situations
Grouping: 4 students
Re-cap 10 Second Objects and extend strategy groups will now
depict a situation rather than an object. Students must be sure that
they know who each person in the freeze frame is i.e. my mother,
friend, a policeman etc. Situations can depict any real-life scenario
e.g.
A family returning to their home after a house fire
A family on Christmas morning

(Laura can make some of these up depending on what interests the

studnets)

SHARE HOMEWORK: Students to share their best 3 words or

sentence from follow up writing. Can include on a large piece of
butchers paper.
RE-CAP: What words can students remember from last weeks word
banks?

STRATEGY TITLE: Researching. Introduce context.

Grouping: Pairs & then groups of x4
Students read fact sheet on Stolen Generations to build up their
field knowledge. They record their understandings. Discuss in small
groups.
In groups of x4 students must create a series of x4 freeze frames to
depict the history.
For more good basic info see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=wLWV0XN7K1g&feature=related
Teacher leads a discussion on the knowledge they have developed
on this topic.
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WOOLLAHRA PRIMARY Year 6
TERM 3, 2015
STRATEGY TITLE: Interview planning
Grouping: Pairs
Working in pairs, you are journalists planning an interview with a
member of the stolen generations. Write a list of 10 questions that
you will ask your subject and select your favourite question to share
with the class or have the students run the interviews out loud.
FOLLOW UP:

Letter writing. Write a letter to someone special in your

family about what you learned about the stolen generations
and how that information made you feel. Underline the
sentence that best describes how this information makes you
feel.

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WOOLLAHRA PRIMARY Year 6
TERM 3, 2015
INFORMATION SHEET THE STOLEN GENERATIONS
The 'Stolen Generations' are the generations of Aboriginal children
taken away from their families by governments, churches and
welfare bodies to be brought up in institutions or fostered out to
white families.

The forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children

from their families was official government policy from 1909 to
1969. That means that someone who is 45 today could have been
removed from their family when they were 3 years old. But, the
practice had begun in the earliest days of European settlement,
when children were used as guides, servants and farm labour, and it
continued after 1969.

Children could be put into an institution or mission dormitory,

fostered or adopted. From the 1950s, many children were fostered
or adopted by white families after spending time in a childrens
home.

Under the White Australia and assimilation policies Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander people who were not of full blood were
encouraged to become assimilated into the broader society so that
eventually there would be no more Indigenous people left. At the
time Indigenous people were seen as an inferior race.

Children were taken from Aboriginal parents so they could be

brought up white and taught to reject and forget their Aboriginality.
They were expected to become labourers or a servant, so in general
the education they were given was very poor. Aboriginal girls were
sent to homes established by the Board to be trained in domestic
service.

The dominant views in white society and government was that

Aboriginal people were bad parents and that Aboriginal woman did
not look after their children. The lack of understanding and respect
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SCHOOL DRAMA
WOOLLAHRA PRIMARY Year 6
TERM 3, 2015
for Aboriginal people meant that many people who supported the
child removals believed that they were doing the right thing. Some
people believed that Aboriginal people lived poor and unrewarding
lives, and that this process would help Aboriginal people to better
themselves.

No one knows how many children were taken. Many parents whose
children were taken never saw them again, and siblings were
deliberately separated from each other. Many Aboriginal people still
do not know who their relatives are or have been unable to track
them down.

SCHOOL DRAMA
WOOLLAHRA PRIMARY Year 6
TERM 3, 2015
WEEK 3

FOCUS: Building empathy.

SUPPORT MATERIAL: Last weeks homework, pre-allocated groups
of 4 or 5, students workbooks & pen, caption strips and textas (one
per group) and digital camera.
STRATEGY TITLE: Magic bowl
STRATEGY TITLE: Me/You silent
Grouping: Whole class
STRATEGY TITLE: World of Upside down and Downside up.
Grouping: Whole class
Teacher begins with action words; walk/freeze, stretch up/ get down,
clap/stomp, forward, back. Students to follow commands. Now
establish a world of opposites. Walk=run & run=walk. Good to
establish focus and build energy.
STRATEGY TITLE: The Layer Game
Grouping: Whole class
1. Class creates a sequence where everyone in the circles name
is said once. Can help by folding arms when your name has
been said. Once everyone's name has been said once, repeat
the same sequence and practise it so it can be done quickly
and easily.
2. Using a ball, beanbag or rubber duck, class create a new
sequence (different order) by tossing the object to one
another (one catch each). Practise for speed and ease.
3. Combine sequences 1 and 2, doing both simultaneously.
READ: to the bottom of page 9: you can remember many things
when you are almost 5 years old.
STRATEGY TITLE: Brainstorm descriptions
Grouping: Whole group
Teacher can draw up two sides on white board.
Groups to brainstorm adjectives to describe Pearl Bay Mission.
READ: from page 10 to the bottom of page 19: Yet nothing goes on
forever.
STRATEGY TITLE: Brainstorm descriptions
Grouping: Whole group
Group to brainstorm adjectives to describe Dryborough Station.
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SCHOOL DRAMA
WOOLLAHRA PRIMARY Year 6
TERM 3, 2015
STRATEGY TITLE: Creating parallels
Grouping: Whole group.
Ask students to share memories of when they were 5 years old
starting school, a birthday party, a holiday, Christmas, a new sibling.
STRATEGY TITLE: Freeze Frames w. caption
Grouping: x4-5
Groups to create a still image of a moment in time at either Pearl Bay
Mission or Dryborough Station. Teacher can allocate place.
Each student to have a specific role. Groups must consider:

Space and place: WHERE the action is happening?

Roles:
important)?

WHO they are in the image (very

Tension:

WHAT is happening?

Time:

WHEN the action is happening?

Once the group has established the image they need to check that
they know who everyone else is. Once the location, context and
characters are clear, group to agree on a caption that describes
their image. Share with class & class guess which place it is.
Discuss different in images, actions taking place,
expressions etc.
FOLLOW UP:

Describing environments. Select your favourite or special

place in your home and write a description of what it looks
and sounds like, the things that happen here, how people feel
when they are here, something in particular you remember
happening here. Try to paint a picture with your words.
Underline the sentence that you think is most descriptive to
share with the class next week.

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SCHOOL DRAMA
WOOLLAHRA PRIMARY Year 6
TERM 3, 2015
WEEK 4

FOCUS: Exploring dialogue.

SUPPORT MATERIALS: Last weeks homework, students
workbooks & pen
STRATEGY TITLE: Magic bowl
STRATEGY TITLE: Me/You w. gesture
Grouping: Whole class
With extension: passing gesture. Replace the words me and you
with gesture and eye contact. Person A passes a new gesture
(monster hands) to person B, person B repeats gesture (monster
hands) to person A and then passes a new gesture (rabbit ears) to
person C and so on. Eye contact and focus are essential for this to
work.
STRATEGY TITLE: The Layer Game
Grouping: Whole class

SHARE HOMEWORK: Best sentence from the description of a place.

Share what a special place is. What makes it special?
READ: from page 20 to the bottom of page 23: sending him to
the Fathers at the Pearl Bay Mission.
STRATEGY TITLE: Hot seating preparation
Grouping: Pre-allocated groups of 4 or 5
Brainstorm on the board who these characters are;
John, Liyan (his Mum), Charlie Warragin (the head stockman), Jabal
(the elder), Mrs. Grainger, etc
In groups 4-5 now discuss what we know and what we dont know
about these characters. What have we noticed so far? Groups come
up with questions that they would like to ask characters.
STRATEGY TITLE: Hot seating
Grouping: Pre-allocated groups of 4 or 5
Teacher to model hot seating.
Five students selected to play characters from the story. Class
questions the characters, probing for information about thoughts
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WOOLLAHRA PRIMARY Year 6
TERM 3, 2015
and emotions, descriptions of the camp and their thoughts on the
situation. Allow more than one group of students to play roles.
READ: from the bottom of page 23: And then an idea came to
her. to the bottom of page 33 got into the truck and drove
away.
STRATEGY TITLE: Mrs. Grainger tells Mr. Grainger
Grouping: Pre-allocated pairs
Pairs establish who will play Mr. and Mrs. Grainger. Students will
create a scene between Mr. and Mrs. Grainger that takes place that
evening, to find out what they think and what they plan to do.
QUESTIONS..
- How do you feel about the policy to remove Aboriginal children
from their parents?
- Do you think it is right to defy the law?
- Do you think you should tell the police and welfare departments
about what happened?
Discuss your characters views with your partner & prepare small
scene if possible.

FOLLOW UP:

Diary entry. In character as Mr. or Mrs. Grainger, write a

diary entry about the situation that has taken place on your
property, how you feel about it and what you plan to do.
Narrative with dialogue. Write a short narrative story about
Mr. and Mrs. Graingers conversation, including dialogue. This
may or may not be presented next week.

WEEK 5
FOCUS: Structure of a story.
SUPPORT MATERIALS: Last weeks homework, students
workbooks & pen, digital camera.
STRATEGY TITLE: Magic bowl
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SCHOOL DRAMA
WOOLLAHRA PRIMARY Year 6
TERM 3, 2015
STRATEGY TITLE: Me/You w. gesture, emotion
Grouping: Whole class
STRATEGY TITLE: World of Upside down and Downside up.
Grouping: Whole class
STRATEGY TITLE: The Layer Game
Grouping: Whole class
Laura to confirm which follow up exercise they will share.
STRATEGY TITLE: Reflection
Grouping: Whole class
Time: 3 minutes
Reflect on last weeks close shave for John with the welfare visit to
Dryborough Station.
STRATEGY TITLE: Discussion dramatic tension and
structure
Grouping: Whole class
Time: 10 minutes
Discuss the concept of tension/drama without it theres nothing to
watch. What is unsaid in the scene? Look at structure and how
things are revealed through a story. How is the structure working in
The Burnt Stick? Why, when we know the ending at the beginning, is
there still suspense?
READ: from page 34 There was much laughter. to the bottom of
page 51 and he had no visitors.
FOLLOW UP:

Letter to Mother. Write a letter from John to his Mother when

he arrives at Pearl Bay Mission. Describe his environment,
including the people there, how he feels and perhaps what he
thinks/hopes might happen.

WEEK 6
FOCUS: TBC Laura & Suzannah
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SCHOOL DRAMA
WOOLLAHRA PRIMARY Year 6
TERM 3, 2015
SUPPORT MATERIAL: Last weeks homework, students workbooks
& pen, Show, Dont Tell cards, printed from following worksheet
good to print on cardboard.
STRATEGY TITLE: Magic bowl
STRATEGY TITLE: Me/You emotions
Grouping: Whole class
With extension: passing emotions. Person saying You endows that
word with an emotion that the receiver must take on when they say
Me. Receiver then endows the next You with a new emotion that
the next receiver must take on before they pass it on with a new
emotion i.e.
1. (angry) You
2. (angry) Me? (sad) You
3. (sad) Me? (happy) You
Highlight that we are looking for an emotional state that can be
identified, not just a silly voice. Introduce the extension by
brainstorming a range of emotional states.
STRATEGY TITLE: Show, Dont Tell
Grouping: Whole class
Using the attached worksheet (see below), students are given a
characteristic, action or description that they must reveal without
naming it.

Recap on story. How might John be feeling? Get students to journal

for 10 minutes as how it might be right now for John. Perhaps John can
be telling his own story own tale. After some time, get students to
underline and then write on a small separate piece of paper their
favourite sentence.
STRATEGY TITLE: Writing poetry.
Grouping: x5 students
All pieces of paper thrown into bowl. Student selects a new piece of
small paper & allocated into groups. They are to arrange the
sentences into a poem and then present it to the class.
These poems can then be written down and displayed on the wall
READ: from the top of page 52 Many years later... to the end.
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SCHOOL DRAMA
WOOLLAHRA PRIMARY Year 6
TERM 3, 2015
Activity to be devised by Laura & Suzannah.
Follow up exercise: Alternative ending:
In groups x4-5, students are to write an alternative ending to the
story. This can be done with software or written form. They may
even like to perform or describe this ending to the group.

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SCHOOL DRAMA
WOOLLAHRA PRIMARY Year 6
TERM 3, 2015
SHOW, DONT TELL (Laura will need to copy and cut out
cards to hand around)
Students are given a card and asked to construct a sentence that
will give readers/listeners the information on the card without
stating the fact.
Laura and Suzannah can demonstrate with.
The character is. late for work
The character is. eating a really hot spicy noodle soup
The character
is

The character
is

The character
is

The character
is

SUNBURNT

VERY STRONG

EXHAUSTED

WAITING FOR
BUS

The character
is

The character
is

The character
is

The character
has

TERRIFIED

EXCITED

LOST

HAS A
BROKEN ARM

The character
has

The character
is

The character
has

The character
is

A TOOTHACHE ON THE ROOF

OF A HIGH
BUILDING

A BLEEDING
NOSE

FLYING A
PLANE

The character
is

The character
is

The character
is

The character
is

STUCK IN A
LIFT

WRITING A
NOVEL

PAINTING A
PORTRAIT

LEARNING TO
SWIM

The character
is

The character
is

The character
is

The character
is

CRYING

FRIGHTENED
OF SPIDERS

CHOPPING
ONIONS

HAVING A
NIGHTMARE

The character

The character

The character

The character
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SCHOOL DRAMA
WOOLLAHRA PRIMARY Year 6
TERM 3, 2015
is

is

is

is

GETTING
MARRIED
TODAY

VERY TALL

VERY SHORT

BLIND

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SCHOOL DRAMA
WOOLLAHRA PRIMARY Year 6
TERM 3, 2015
WEEK 7

To be devised by Laura & Suzannah McDonald

STRATEGY TITLE: Magic bowl

STRATEGY TITLE: One before the last and World of Upside
Down & Right-side up
Stretch up/get down
Turn to your right/turn to your left
Touch your nose/touch your head
Happy/Sad
Frightened/ Brave
Snake/lizard
Etc

Laura to choose some warm up games to play with.

STRATEGY TITLE: Me/You emotions silent, emotion (remove

sound), action
STRATEGY TITLE: Students are to present alternative ending.
Laura & Suzannah design final strategies together.

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