Edexcel introduction to explorative strategies: Too Much Punch for Judy

Before students undertake Units 1 and 2 of the Edexcel specification they need to explore the full list of explorative strategies, drama mediums and elements as part of their programme of study.

This practical scheme of work will help them learn about, and try out for themselves, all of the explorative strategies listed as part of the Edexcel specification. This will also help students to understand how they contribute to dramatic form and help them feel confident about using them during the practical elements of Units 1 and 2.

Students will also start to learn how to write about the effectiveness of these strategies in order to prepare them for the written documentary response that is required when they undertake Units 1 and 2 further on in their GCSE course. They will start to use drama vocabulary with ease and have a wider understanding of the dramatic choices available to them.

I often find with my Year 10 students that they have a range of different experiences from KS3. When they start the course some are very confident in their use of drama techniques and vocabulary and others are not. The transition from Year 9 into a GCSE class is a big one, and it is important that students start to approach their work in a more mature and complex way.

This scheme of work offers this challenge by pushing students to create work with more depth and tackle thought-provoking issues. It explores a serious topic and asks students to tap into their emotional range and take situations seriously. As an introduction to the GCSE I find that this scheme offers students a way of studying the explorative strategies that is not dry or laborious. Often they don’t realise how much they have learnt and how many strategies they have covered until it is pointed out to them at the end. They will start to use these explorative strategies with more confidence and understand how it raises the level of their work.

Number of lessons: 7