Persecution

This scheme has been designed for the Edexcel Unit 1 practical exam. It is written as one six-hour workshop, but could easily be broken up into two or more sessions or even single lessons. It allows students to explore the topic of persecution in relation to a variety of historical and current events, while also applying the use of key drama skills. I have delivered the scheme this year to a GCSE group of a widely mixed ability, including SEN and G & T students. All the students were able to engage with the material in an imaginative and creative way and achieved their target grade or above. 

Each of the tasks is linked to a different stimulus, so there is plenty of material for the students to work from in the practical sessions and reflect on within their written coursework. The scheme covers key historical topics such as the treatment of African Americans in the southern states of the USA in the 1930s and the persecution of the Jews in 1930s and 1940s Germany. It also uses fictional stimuli with George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, as well as putting the topic into a contemporary context for students by looking at the work of Amnesty International. I have also included some timing guides for each activity.

Learning objectives
Throughout these workshops students will:

• Use different dramatic strategies to explore the theme of persecution
• Work individually and as part of a team to develop ideas
• Respond appropriately and creatively to different stimuli
• Make in-depth evaluations of their own and others’ work