Jacqueline Wilson's Double Act: A look at the book through drama

Jacqueline Wilson is a hugely popular children’s author, her books examining genuine dilemmas and issues faced by young people in real life. She is not afraid to tackle harsh situations head on, and her writing is therefore a natural springboard for classroom drama work, with easy links to PSHE. Although she is generally more popular with girls, I have taken care to make this scheme of work accessible to mixed classes, and to ensure that the key themes (family life, sibling rivalry and friendship) can be explored through drama by both boys and girls.

The scheme is written with a sense of chronological order, so the class could read the book as they move through the lessons. It uses improvisation, games, exercises, and devising work to explore the issues and themes of the book, and broadly covers all aspects of the KS2 National Curriculum Drama Objectives. Group discussion and interaction are woven into the lesson plans, and there are two writing in role exercises which, along with a reading of the book, form key links to literacy.

Number of lessons: 5