Drama can improve the quality of children’s writing and their motivation to write, research from Leeds Beckett University shows.
Working with Leeds Beckett’s Carnegie School of Education and the Alive and Kicking Theatre Company, Key Stage 2 (KS2) teachers in a Bradford primary school were trained in using drama to make writing more meaningful for children.
Alive and Kicking, working with children The Leeds Beckett researchers, led by Dr Tom Dobson and Lisa Stephenson, found that, after two terms, the children became highly motivated to write and developed a personal investment in the process of writing and in their final written pieces. Their writing was also found to be highly sophisticated and to meet the technical requirement of the national curriculum testing.
Dr Dobson, Principal Lecturer with expertise in creative writing, explained: “We observed taught lessons as well as the children’s writing and their reflections on the processes involved. Our findings show that the children’s motivation to write and the quality of their writing is improved by their involvement in drama. The main reason behind this is that drama provides children with an embodied experience of character, setting and story which the children can draw upon in their writing – when children write about their embodied experience, the act of writing becomes a problem-solving activity where the children think about how to translate their embodied experiences into text.
“We observed one class literally run to fetch their writing journals in a drama lesson and the children often spoke about how their writing had ‘real meaning’ for them. Surely these are the kinds of writers our schools should be nurturing.”
The research was funded by the United Kingdom Literary Association (UKLA).
The teachers were trained to use drama and to adopt the identity of a writer when teaching writing to their classes. At a time when government testing of spelling, punctuation and grammar can lead to less creativity in the teaching of writing, this research provides compelling alternative approaches for schools and their teachers to engage children and give them a strong investment in their writing, whilst also being able to satisfy curriculum demands and statutory testing.
John Mee, Associate Director at Alive and Kicking Theatre Company, said: “In all our work at Alive and Kicking we attempt to build dramas that create a problem to be solved and serve to introduce creative thinking, adoption of role, skill sets in art, music, design, story making and storytelling.
“To be able to work with every child and every member of staff across KS2 in our partner schools was terrific. Here we are now with a developed relationship with the lead teacher and an opportunity to take this work on into other schools as we work across the north of England.At Alive and Kicking we have always been intent upon reflecting on the strategies, techniques and forms that we use to create relationships and to build characters, narrative and dramatic tension. Here we have a moment to look at our work through the eyes of the children, the teachers and the researchers in detail and within a theoretical framework that we do not always have time for.
“Our learning from this work will be incorporated directly into our new planning and we will engage the teachers we work with in seeking opportunities to write within and beyond the drama, to build writing links that reflect and steer us into the next action in our stories. The work outlined in this paper should be a clarion call to teachers and teacher trainers to consider the launch pad that drama can offer in terms of context and purpose for writing.”
This journey of broad discovery essentially starts at primary and indeed pre-primary level and provides all children with the opportunity to seek out and explore areas of interest and to develop talent which provide many with a lifelong love of learning. Over the years I have spoken to many parents whose main requirement, when considering the options for their children, is to ensure their children are happy. Happiness and thus mental health are of key importance in a world of increased pressure and expectations. Children supported and nurtured and indeed loved within their school will automatically have a head start and hopefully will develop a hunger for knowledge. Of course the breadth of study and the balance of the curriculum is also key and provides the option for all to explore their individual burgeoning interests. All children develop academically at a different pace. On many occasions I have had to reassure anxious parents that their child is not a failure because they are struggling with their spellings or their fractions. These are just moments in time in the life of a young person and should not be the basis of perceived success nor failure.
Confidence is key together with a large dose of resilience. So your child isn’t going to win a Spelling Bee! But watch them play their musical instrument with pride and courage or hear them sing in front of an admiring audience. Look at their artwork and wonder at their developing sensitivity. Stand back in awe at their prowess on the hockey field and feel proud at their selfless teamwork and support for others. Marvel at their enthusiasm for their castle project in history or their ability to recite verse in French or Spanish. And admire them on the stage in the school production as a child you barely recognise as the one who you take home every day from school!
