Drama Unit Planner

Year 5-6 Suggested Duration 5 lessons x 30-45mins.

Unit/Topic/Theme The Big Question

The Paper Bag Princess “Does who you are, define what
you can do?”

Achievement Objective Level Elements

Role
Practical Knowledge 3 Students will use elements and Time & Space
techniques of Drama to explore Action
dramatic conventions.
Developing Ideas 3 Students will initiate and develop Tension
ideas with others and improvise Focus
drama in a range of settings.
Communicating & 3
Students will present and respond to
Interpreting Techniques
drama, identifying ways in which
elements of drama combine with
ideas to create meaning.
Understanding & Context 3 Voice
Students will investigate the purposes
Movement
of drama in past and present contexts
and describe how communities
express themselves through drama.
 Gesture
Learning Outcomes. The children will… Facial Expression
 Explore the feelings, attitudes and qualities of a character
Conventions
through role on the wall. (PK)
Freeze frame
 Use and develop the conventions of freeze frame and spoken
Spoken thoughts
thought to explore events and characters. (PK, DI)
Teacher in role
 Discuss a range of ideas to solve problems that occur within
the drama. (DI, CI, UC)

Summative Assessment Opportunities Essential Skill Development
 Children’s individual entries to role Communication Some strategies
Social
on the wall. (LO1) Communication
 Presentation of drama work. (LO2) Problem solving
 Discussion and presentation of Self management
ideas. (LO3)

Collaboration with Other Learning Areas Resources / Materials

Visual Art: Visual presentation of role on the wall.  Paper Bag Princess by
Robert Munsch.
English: Shared reading to establish comprehension
 Large sheets of newsprint
of story. and pens
 Key questions to guide
Teaching Learning Sequence formative assessment and/or
develop the Drama
Children to get into groups of 4-6. Explain that they are Thinking about how roles are
going to write down words to describe a ‘typical’ prince, defined in stories and the
princess and dragon. Ask them to think about fairytales, preconceptions they hold about
myths and poems they have read previously. Hand out certain characters.
outline of each character. On the inside groups are to
write words about their personalities and attitudes.
Around the outside they are to write words about their
appearance and role.
Display on wall.

Introduce story “Paper Bag Princess” by Robert Munch.

Explain that it was set in a time when there were castles
and dragons.
Display front cover, what characters do you expect to find Get children thinking about the
in this story? story before hearing it.

Read story:
What characters have we been introduced to? (pg. 4)
What is the first problem we have come across? (pg. 4)
Does she still look like a princess? (pg. 6) Questions to help with
What do we know about the dragon? (pg. 8) deepening children’s
What is Elizabeth’s new problem? (pg. 8) understanding of the story and
Why is Ronald not happy to be rescued by Elizabeth? the concepts within it.
(pg. 22)
What does Elizabeth mean when she calls Ronald a
toad? (pg. 24).

Read description of Elizabeth.

Discuss her inner and outer qualities. How does she act?
What do we know about her personality? What would you
expect her to be like/how would you expect her to act?
In groups of 4-6, children to complete a role on the wall
exploring Elizabeth’s character. Display on wall.
Facilitate discussion about what has been written once
Children make their own entries
on the character outline. Either
inside (personality, feelings and
attitudes) or outside the outline
work has been displayed, “Why do you think Elizabeth…” (external appearance).

Think back to the work we did at the beginning of the

lesson. Relating back to the big
How is Elizabeth different from the princess descriptions question. Thinking about roles
you wrote previously? characters have and what is
If this was an ‘ordinary’ fairytale, which character would expected of them. This story
be the rescuer and who would be rescued? changes that.
How are dragons normally portrayed?
Why do you think this is?

Key questions to guide

Teaching Learning Sequence
 formative assessment and/or
develop the Drama
Remind children of the text read last lesson. What were Setting the scene of the book will
some of the places mentioned in the story? What places allow children to explore the
would we need to include if we were to create the setting area and add to the belief of the
of the book in the classroom. Create story setting in work.
classroom- give children a starting point (e.g. – the river
will be here). Draw map of the setting that children create
on whiteboard for all to see.

Create village:
Explain that the children will be creating a village and that Children take some ownership of
they will be the villagers. drama.
What types of jobs and roles do you think villagers might
have had when this story was set? Help children think of ideas if
Children to give ideas and suggestions. Teacher to give previous knowledge is lacking.
examples if ideas are lacking.

Group children and give them roles and jobs. Organise children into roles so
In their groups, children to find a place in the village that time is not wasted and all
where they would like to be (e.g. – all the blacksmiths will roles are taken.
be in this part of the village etc.)

Explain that children are to create a freeze frame and a Children to create freeze frames
spoken thought for their character based upon the role or of what their character would be
job they have been allocated. doing. Help children to think
Gain children’s ideas about what a freeze frame and about and in role.
spoken thought is and then clarify. Children need time to form ideas
Give children time to think about role/job, their freeze and try different freeze frames
frame and spoken thought. before they pick one. Teacher to
walk around and help those who
need it-offer suggestions.
Children to organise themselves around the village and
get into their freeze frames. Creating village scene. Children
Teacher to walk around village and stop at each group. know their roles and the village
Teacher to place hand on shoulder/arm to signal that the set up.
spoken thought should be spoken.
Rest of the class to be in freeze frame until it is their turn
and then return to freeze frame once spoken thought has
been said.

Explain teacher in role to the children. Show object that Clarify how the drama will take
will be worn to signify teacher in role as a village elder. place and what form it will take.
Put object on to create scene/problem.

The problem:
“I have had word that a dragon has been spotted in the Problem based on the pretext.
mountains near the village.”
Creating scene:
Teacher in role to explain situation/problem.
Call a village meeting to discuss what could be done
about the dragon.
What could the dragon do to our village? Sharing ideas and opinions.
How could we stop this from happening? Thinking how the characters
What weaknesses to dragons have? may react to the situation/
Children to state their opinions and thoughts in character. problem.
Tell villagers that they will have to think of a plan to get Setting expectations and goal for
rid of the dragon and come back to another town meeting future lessons.
the next day.
 Key questions to guide
Teaching Learning Sequence formative assessment and/or
develop the Drama
Children to get into their role/job groups.
Recap problem to the children.
Getting back into character
Give children time to recap/explain any plans that they
thoughts and role.
may have to get rid of the dragon to their groups.
Teacher in role. Call village meeting.
Entering the drama.
Ask for ideas and plans that the different groups have
come up with to get rid of the dragon.

Create tension:
Questioning the children will
To make children think about their plan and how it would
challenge their ideas and relate
work, teacher in role to ask:
to the big question ‘Does who
“How will you manage that?”
you are, define what you can
“What will you use as weapons?”
do?’ the questions will make
“But you are only a [role/job], how will you manage that?”
children think about their role in
“Are you brave enough?”
the village and slaying the
“How will you protect yourself?”
dragon.
“Are you sure that plan will work?”
“What makes you think you can do it?”
Coming together to think of a
plan as a village. Let children do
As a village, make a plan that everyone believes would
this in role, teacher facilitates by
work to get rid of the dragon. Facilitate discussion.
asking questions and letting
everyone have a turn.

Key questions to guide

Teaching Learning Sequence formative assessment and/or
develop the Drama
Teacher in role:
Call village meeting. Introducing new problem to the
“We all know that we have been waiting for better village.
weather to come so that we can go and slay the dragon.
However, while we’ve been waiting the weather has been
getting worse. We were not prepared for such a harsh
winter. The wood is completely frozen and wet, our
livestock is dying out in the cold and our harvest supplies
are very low. We only have one bag of coal left and with
the roads blocked there is no way to get any more.
What should we do?” Express what their character is
Villagers improvise reactions and give ideas and feeling. Possible solutions to
suggestions. problem.

“I have this note that was delivered to me in the night. It is

from the dragon in the mountains. He writes that he has Giving a possible solution to the
been watching us and can see that we are struggling with problem. A new decision to be
the harsh conditions and would like to help us. His plan is made.
to fly to the village and use his fire to help defrost some of
the land and wood. That would mean that the livestock
could eat the grass and we could burn the wood in our
fires. Get villager’s reactions to the
What do you think to the dragon’s offer of help?” latest instalment.
Villagers to give responses and opinions. Questions to help gain ideas.
“Do you believe the dragon?”
“Do you think he really wants to help us?”

“He could have come and attacked us at any point so far Helping children to think of both
and he hasn’t.” sides of the argument. Giving
“If we do not let him help us this situation will only get them new angles to look at.
worse. We will have no way to heat our houses or cook
our food and we will not have any livestock left come
spring. The old and young will surely die and the rest of
our village will be ill and weak.”
Have discussion at the village meeting about the two
options.
Allow the dragon to come and help.
Children to create a freeze frame and spoken thought of
their reaction when they first see the dragon. Children improvise reaction in
Teacher to tap some children on shoulder and ask them role.
for a spoken thought.

“I think we can all agree that life is much better for us now
that the dragon has helped us through the winter. Our
livestock have survived and fattened up. Our supply of Teacher in role.
wood has kept us warm even when the weather was at Putting an end to the problem/
its worst and we are all still fit and healthy. The dragon situation.
has even agreed to come back next winter to help us out
again if we need it.”

Ask children to think back to the first lesson and the

descriptions of the dragon they wrote.
In groups children are to write a new description about
the dragon, based on the drama they had just created.
Share new descriptions. Reflecting back on first thoughts.
Relating back to big question.
What have we learnt about roles people have/portray and Looking at roles portrayed and
what different roles can do? how that affects how people see
you and what you do.