Performing Arts

TERM 1

Drama: Stimuli and drama techniques

 

Students explore World War 2 stimuli through a variety of non-naturalistic drama explorative techniques.

 

Drama topics include:

 

• Students will be taught how to use different drama techniques in their performances.
• Each lesson will consist of a different style of stimulus being explored.
• Stimuli from WW2 include, picture, song, word, newspaper article, video clips and costumes.
• Developing group skills, listening and communication.

 

Music: Vocal skills

Students explore a variety of ways of preparing and using the voice during a performance. Students will also explore call and response, singing in harmony and polyrhythms.

 

Topics include:

• Learning how to use and prepare the voice.
• Learning vocal techniques such as call and response, round, ostinato, a cappella.
• Working on a vocal performance as a whole class.
• Looking at singing in unison and harmony.

 

Music: Keyboard skills

 Students develop key board skills and learn how to perform melodies and chords on the key boards.

 

Topics include:

• Developing skills to play melodies on the keyboard using right hand and chords with left hand.
• Learning how to read music notation correctly- note lengths/pitches.
• Reading treble clef notation.
• Writing of music notations.

 

TERM 2

 

Drama: Elizabethan Theatre 

 

Learners will study the original performance conditions of the play Macbeth. Learners will gain understanding of the plot, language, characters and compare contemporary and original performance conditions.

 

Topics include:

 

• Plot and character exploration
• Iambic pentameter
• Prose, verse and rhyming couplets
• Costumes
• Staging

 

Music: Keyboard Composing Skills

 

Topics include:

• Learning how to compose melodic patterns at the keyboard in C major and 4/4 time.
• Developing understanding of reading and writing using treble clef notation.
• Learning about and using melodic devices: sequence, retrograde, conjunct, disjunct and repetition.
• Learning about structures in music- Binary, Ternary and Rondo.

 

Music: Music and the Media

Students will explore the musical features of computer and video game music looking at particular features such as jumping bass lines, repetitive melodies and staccato technique. Students will develop their composing skills to devise their own theme tune.

 

Topics include:

• Learning about motifs
• How motifs are developed
• Composing own video game motif

 

TERM 3 

Drama:  Physical Theatre

 

Learners explore how to perform using their bodies and symbolic movements to help tell a story.

Topics include:

• Developing symbolic movements
• Exploring autism using physical theatre
• Developing cultural awareness on special educational needs through movement

 

Music: The Orchestra

 

The orchestra will enable students to learn about the origin and development of the Orchestra and the individual instruments within. Students will learn about the music of Benjamin Britten and participate in a whole class keyboard ensemble performance.

 

Topics include:

• Learning the names / families of instruments within the orchestra and their different sonorities.
• The history of the orchestra and its development.
• How each family of instruments produces a sound.
• Recognising and describing music performed by an orchestra.
• Developing class ensemble skills to replicate an orchestra.

TERM 1

Drama: Greek Theatre

This unit is designed to develop students’ skills in a Greek chorus, using movement and dialogue from a Greek text.

 

Topics include:

• Students explore Greek theatre movements
• Exploration of a Greek chorus
• Students rehearse unison, cannon and shared language and movement
• Students read a Greek script
• Develop a performance using Greek Theatre knowledge and skills developed
• Reflect and analyse performance

Music African Drumming

This unit is designed to introduce students to a genre of music and learn how to play an instrument using key content from that particular style.

 

Topics include:

• Explore the rhythmic musical features and devices used in African music
• Pupils will explore Djembe drums
• They will have the opportunity to perform and compose pieces of music using devices such as call and response, cyclic rhythm, improvisation and polyrhythms.

 

TERM 2

Music Pop Music

This unit is designed to develop student’s ability to identify and discriminate between different pop structures. This unit also provides students with the opportunity to develop their skills of keyboard playing of bass lines and chord sequences in a pop song.

 

Topics include:

• Students explore the structure of a pop music song
• Students learn the structure of music before pop music – binary, ternary and rondo.
• Exploration of playing chords and bass clef notes.
• Learning and development of skills when playing an instrument.

 

TERM 3

Drama: drama and the media

This unit is designed to explore the influence of social media. Social media positive and negative aspects are exploring, including the pressure and dangers it could potentially have on mental health.

 

Topics include:

• Students explore the influence of the media within the 21^st
• Students will look at current affairs and use drama to help them gain a deeper understanding of the positive, negative and pressure of social media.

 

Music Composing a jingle

 

Topics include:

• Students explore the structure of a pop music song
• Students learn the structure of music before pop music – binary, ternary and rondo.
• Exploration of playing chords and bass clef notes.
• Learning and development of skills when playing an instrument.

TERM 1

Drama: Practitioners

 

Students to become familiar with 2 main drama practitioners and styles of theatre.

Students explore naturalistic and non-naturalistic theatre and explore how they have been influenced by Brecht and Stanislavsky. Students use 2 set texts to help the exploration of this unit.

 

Topics include:

• Students explore the work of Konstantin Stanislavsky
• Students explore naturalistic theatre
• Exploration of non-naturalistic theatre
• Exploration of Bertolt Brecht
• Students exploring staging fitting for both practitioners

 

Music: Grime

Students explore Grime genre of music including learning how to perform and compose their own Grime piece.

 

Topics include:

 

• The development and origin of Grime.
• The social/political issues surrounding the genre.
• Recognising the main musical features and how these are developed.
• Case studies on Grime Artists such as Stormzy.
• Performing and composing a Grime piece.

 

TERM 2

Drama Exploring styles of theatre

This unit is designed to develop students’ skills in using sources to find out about the past and to make their own judgements about key issues.

 

Topics include:

• Students explore 2 different theatre styles; Theatre in Education and Verbatim.
• Exploration of stimuli’s and elements of theatre in education
• Knowledge and practical skills developed for performing a verbatim style of theatre
• Exploring the story, I love you mum I promise I wont die.
• Students exploring staging fitting for both units of work

 

Music: Jazz and Blues

Students will learn the form and structure of Jazz and Blues and apply this to a performance. Students will learn about the genre and culture of urban music.

 

Topics include:

• Learning of the origin of jazz/blues and its most common musical features.
• Musical elements- analysing features of British pop music group performance skills.
• Students learn how to read and perform syncopated rhythms.
• Students use Bandlab to compose their own reggae style piece.

 

Music: The Beatles and Reggae

Students develop an understanding of chord sequences and the role of improvisation. Students explore syncopation and off beat rhythms used in Caribbean music. 

 

Topics include:

• Students learn about the origin and its links with slavery.
• Students learn about cyclic music.
• Students develop the knowledge of improvisation within music.
• Learning how to perform a 12 bar Blues and improvisation.

 

TERM 3

Drama: devised work

 

This unit of work is designed to allow students to combined all their knowledge from ks3 units of work and work towards a final performance.

 

Topics include:

 

• Reflection / recapping on a range of theatre styles using the movement of the suffragettes
• Recapping on variety of theatres and styles of work
• Reflection on devised work

 

Music: Film Music

Learners will explore how music is added to films to create a soundtrack. They will explore music conventions and compose their own music to accompany a moving image.

 

Topics include:

• Leitmotifs
• Tonalities
• Diegetic, non-diegetic and internal diegetic
• Cue sheets  

 

TERM 1

BTEC Drama, Component 1

Learners explore 3 set texts, roles and responsibilities within a production and reflect on exploration of a theatre style.

 

Topics include:

• Non-naturalistic theatre
• Naturalism
• Verbatim Theatre

Music BTEC:

Grade 1 Theory Skills Component 1 Preparation (LAA) Solo Performance Exploration Introduction to GarageBand skills.

 

Topics include:

• British Invasion (1960s), origin, development, artists and musical features. Performing Love Me Do (The Beatles) as a class ensemble.
• Rock (1970s) origin, development, artists and musical features. Composing a piece of Rock Music independently using GarageBand.
• Synth Pop (1980s) origin, development, artists and musical features. Performing Sweet Dreams (The Eurhythmics).
• Britpop (1990s) origin, development, artists and musical features Performing Wonderwall/ Don’t Look Back in Anger (Oasis).
• Grime (2000s) origin, development, artists and musical features. Sequencing Shut Up (Stormzy) using GarageBand.
• Pop Punk (2000s) origin, development, artists and musical features. Performing chord sequence of All The Small Things (Blink 182).

 

TERM 2

Music Btec:

Component 1 Preparation.

 

Topics include:

• EDM/Music Technology origin, development, artists and musical features. Produce a piece of Synth pop style music using GarageBand.
• Baroque Music origin, development, artists and musical features. Listening tasks.
• Classical Music origin, development, artists and musical features. Listening tasks.
• World Music origin, development, artists and musical features. African Drumming workshop.

TERM 3

BTEC Drama, Component 1

Learners explore 3 set texts, roles and responsibilities within a production and reflect on exploration of a theatre style.

 

Topics include:

• Non-naturalistic theatre
• Naturalism
• Verbatim Theatre

Music Btec:

Component 2

 

Topics include:

• Auditing own skills as a musician and tracking progress towards a performance.
• Preparing 2 projects within performance/ composition/ production alongside an action plan of skill development.

TERM 1

BTEC Drama, Component 2 and 3

Component 2: Learners recreate an extract from a published play.

Component 3: Learners respond to a brief. Learners record their journey and reflect on their final performance.

 

Topics Include:

• Script reading
• Performance skills
• Production knowledge
• Staging
• Lighting
• Costumes

Music Btec:

Component 2 LAA

 

Topics include:

• Skills needed in the industry. Research into the different skills needed and how these are applied as a musician, composer and producer.
• Health and Safety. Workshops around H&S procedures when performing/producing.
• Setting up a performance. Workshops around setting up a PA system, microphones and levelling the EQ of a performance.

 

TERM 2

BTEC Drama, Component 2 and 3

Component 2: Learners recreate an extract from a published play.

Component 3: Learners respond to a brief. Learners record their journey and reflect on their final performance.

 

Topics Include:

• Script reading
• Performance skills
• Production knowledge
• Staging
• Lighting
• Costumes

 

Music Btec:

Component 3

 

Topics Include:

• Exploration of skills for external unit.
• Rewriting an existing song in a given genre as set by exam board.

 

TERM 3

BTEC Drama, Component 2 and 3

Component 2: Learners recreate an extract from a published play.

Component 3: Learners respond to a brief. Learners record their journey and reflect on their final performance.

 

Topics Include:

• Script reading
• Performance skills
• Production knowledge
• Staging
• Lighting
• Costumes

Music Btec:

Component 3

 

Topics Include:

• Exploration of skills for external unit.
• Rewriting an existing song in a given genre as set by exam board.