Grade by Grade
B. Drama / D. Visual Arts · Drama and Visual Arts

Drama: Sharing Our Drama and Reflecting

B1.4 B2.1 B2.2 B2.3About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can choose audio, visual and technology aids that help a familiar audience understand my drama.
  • I can share my thoughts, feelings and ideas about a drama I watched or was part of.
  • I can give kind, helpful feedback with evidence.
  • I can name my strengths, interests and areas for growth in drama, and set a goal.

Words to know

familiar audience
People you know who watch your drama, like your class or your family.
audio aid
Something the audience hears: music, sound effects or a recording.
visual aid
Something the audience sees: props, costume pieces, lights, a backdrop or a sign.
feedback
Comments that tell someone what worked and what could be better.
evidence
The proof for what you say: "I knew he was scared because his voice shook."
area for growth
Something you are still learning to do better.

Remember from Grade 2

You shared dramas with a familiar audience using simple props, sound effects and lights. You learned to be a good audience member and to talk about your strengths and what to improve.

In Grade 3, you will plan your aids carefully so each one has a job, give feedback with evidence, and set goals for yourself.

Lights, sound... action!

Imagine a drama about a canoe trip at night. The room goes dark. A flashlight glows like the moon. You hear loons calling from a speaker, and quiet paddling sounds. Suddenly, a crack of thunder!

The audience feels like they are on the lake. Simple aids did that!

A red canoe pulled up on rocks beside a calm lake at night, with a full moon shining on the water.
A lake at night in Ontario. Lights, sound effects and props can help an audience feel like they are right here on a canoe trip. AI-generated image
Kind of aidExamplesWhat it can do
audio (sound)music from a tablet, sound effects (crinkled paper for fire, a shaken baking sheet for thunder), a recorded soundscapeset the mood, show the place, make a surprise
visual (sight)a costume piece, a prop, a flashlight, a sign that says "The North Woods, 1820", a painted backdropshow who and where, and when the drama happens
technologya slideshow picture behind you, recorded music, a video recording of your dramashow a setting you can't build, and let you watch yourself afterward
Aids for a familiar audience

Every aid needs a job

Before you add an aid, ask: "How does this help the audience understand the drama?" If it doesn't help, leave it out. Too many aids can distract the audience from the actors.

Responding to drama

After watching a drama (yours, a family member's, a play or a show), share your thoughts, feelings and ideas. Try these sentence starters:

  • I noticed... (what you saw and heard)
  • I felt... when... (your feelings)
  • I think... because... (your ideas, with evidence)
  • I wonder... (your questions)

Feedback with evidence

Good feedback is kind, specific and helpful. Try "Two stars and a wish":

  • ⭐ Something that worked, with evidence: "Your low, slow voice made the giant seem scary."
  • ⭐ Another thing that worked.
  • 🌠 A wish: "I wish I could have heard the last line. Maybe turn toward the audience."

"It was good" is kind, but not specific. "Your pause before you opened the box made me hold my breath" is specific and uses drama words.

Your low, slow voice made the giantseem scary.Your pause before you opened the boxmade me hold my breath.Wish: I wish I could have heard the lastline. Maybe turn toward the audience.
Two stars and a wish. Each star names something specific that worked, and the wish gives one helpful idea.

Looking at yourself: strengths, interests and growth

Actors keep getting better by thinking about their own work:

  • Strength: something you do well. "I stay in role even when people laugh."
  • Interest: something you love in drama. "I love making soundscapes."
  • Area for growth: something to work on. "My voice gets too quiet when I'm nervous."
  • Goal: a plan. "Next time, I will take a big breath and speak to the back of the room."

A video recording is a great tool: watch it and look for evidence of your strengths and areas for growth.

Worked example

Example: Planning aids for a drama

Your family is putting on the old maple tree drama for grandparents on a video call. Let's choose aids that each have a job.

  1. Show the place: a slideshow picture of a big maple tree on a tablet behind you (technology, visual).
  2. Show the time: a few real fall leaves on the floor, and a sign: "October" (visual).
  3. Show who: Ava wears a hoodie; Mr. Singh wears a safety vest or a hard hat (visual, costume pieces).
  4. Build tension: a recorded sound of a truck engine getting closer when the narrator says "The saws arrive tomorrow" (audio).
  5. Check: Are there too many? No. Each one tells the audience where, when, who, or makes tension.

Four aids, each with a job: the tree picture (place), leaves (time), costume pieces (characters) and the truck sound (tension).

Just for fun

Fun fact: In old radio dramas, sound-effects artists clopped two coconut shell halves together to sound like horse hooves. Nobody listening could tell the "horse" was really a coconut!

Worked example

Example: Reflecting after watching a recording

Dev watches a video of his drama about a lost dog in a snowstorm. Let's help him reflect.

  1. I noticed: I kept my searching body the whole time, bent forward, hand over my eyes.
  2. Strength (with evidence): I stayed in role. Even when the dog toy fell over, I kept looking for the dog.
  3. Interest: I liked making the wind soundscape with my voice.
  4. Area for growth: I turned my back to the camera, so you couldn't see my worried face.
  5. Goal: Next time I will "cheat out": turn my body partly toward the audience.

Dev named a strength, an interest, an area for growth and a goal, using evidence from the video.

stage (seen from above)back to the audiencecheating outaudience
Seen from above; the pointer shows where each actor faces. On the left, the actor's back is to the audience. On the right, two actors cheat out: they still talk to each other but turn partly toward the audience, so their faces can be seen.
Hands-on activity

Living-room theatre night

You need: a drama you made (from the last lesson or a new one), up to four aids, a phone or tablet to record (ask a grown-up), and paper.

  1. Make a ticket or a small poster for your show.
  2. Choose up to four aids. For each one, say its job.
  3. Perform for a familiar audience (family, a friend, or a video call). Ask a grown-up to record it.
  4. Ask your audience for two stars and a wish.
  5. Watch the recording together. Fill in a drama journal page:
  • My strength:
  • Something I'm interested in:
  • My area for growth:
  • My goal for next time:

Safety: if you use a flashlight, never shine it into anyone's eyes.

Your turn

1

Name one audio aid and one visual aid.

2

Your drama happens on a beach. Choose one aid that shows the place.

3

What question should you ask before adding an aid?

4

Turn "It was good" into specific feedback for an actor playing a sad character.

5

What are the parts of two stars and a wish?

6

Write one strength and one area for growth of your own in drama.

7

Why is a video recording useful for an actor?

More practice: warm-up

1

Who is a familiar audience?

2

Finish the sentence starter: "I felt... when..." about any show or movie you've seen.

3

Is a slideshow picture behind you a visual aid or an audio aid?

4

True or false: More aids always make a drama better.

5

Say one thing you love doing in drama (an interest).

More practice: on your own

1

Your drama happens at night in a spooky old house. Choose one audio aid and one visual aid, and give each a job.

2

Your little brother played a bear. Give him two stars and a wish.

3

Change this area for growth into a goal: "I talk too fast."

4

A friend says your drama was "boring". How can you ask for more helpful feedback?

5

Why should feedback include evidence?

Challenge

1

Your drama is set in the Arctic in winter, but you are performing in your living room in summer. Plan three aids (audio, visual and technology) that help a familiar audience believe the setting.

2

You watched a puppet show at the library. Respond with "I noticed", "I felt", "I think... because" and "I wonder".

3

Why is it important to say your strengths, not only your areas for growth?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is an audio aid?

2.

Before adding an aid, you should ask ___.

3.

Which feedback is the most specific?

4.

"I will face the audience next time" is a ___.

5.

In "two stars and a wish", the wish is ___.

6.

Your interests in drama are ___.

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Grade 3 students communicate feelings and ideas to a familiar audience using audio, visual and/or technological aids (B1.4), express thoughts, feelings and ideas about drama experiences (B2.1), describe how drama elements and conventions shape work (B2.2), and identify their strengths, interests and areas for growth as participants and audience members (B2.3).

How to help:

  • Recording a short performance on a phone and watching it together is one of the best reflection tools. Keep recordings private.
  • Model feedback with evidence: "I could tell the character was proud because you stood so tall."
  • Keep a simple drama journal (one page per performance).

Common difficulties:

  • Over-using aids. Limit to four and ask "What's its job?"
  • Vague feedback ("good", "funny"). Ask "What exactly did they do?"
  • Being hard on themselves. Insist on a strength before an area for growth.
  • Safety: flashlights should never shine into eyes; keep cords and props out of walkways.