Silent Child and Goldilocks ( below)

THE SILENT CHILD/SILENT BEAR 

Purpose: To introduce the group to Teacher in Role and Group in Role strategies

Resources: Two pictures of Child’s room before and after. [Chart paper/ Chart Board.]

First game: Detective Murder. Class in circle, Teacher nominates one as murderer. Tap on shoulder as others have eyes closed. Murder winks and people who are caught fold arms (are dead). Murderer tries to catch all. All are detectives who want to find murderer. Tension is that you might be killed if murderer winks at you.

Task 1
The purpose of this is to place the group into a group role where their curiosity will be roused fast (they will find out “What’s Up”) and they will engage in the dramatic fiction as one entity. Teacher explains that he will be asking class to work as a group. He will take on the role of a special unit head in a hospital and they will need to adopt the roles of experts whose help is needed in dealing with a particular patient whose case is causing him particular concern. Please write your name and function on the sign in sheet/slip of paper.

Task 2

Formal placing aids seriousness of task. Groups first experience of Teacher in Role (TIR). Pupils sit in a square representing the office of the Director. TIR as Director comes in and apologises for taking their valuable time. This case is confidential nobody must to discuss this outside the room.

USE NARRATIVE LINK HERE SEE BELOW IN BLUE

Task 2b: Teacher shows the first picture, slowly, arousing curiosity.

Task 3: Participants examine the drawing. In groups of four/five, come up with questions they might have. TIR Answer as best as possible as there is much information he does not have yet. TIR Asks why they find those particular questions significant? During this interchange, the pupils are invited to say what their particular expertise is. NOT BEFORE.

Task 4: Speculation on facts should create commitment to solving the case.
TIR says that he has another picture of the room drawn the day after the events.
Second Picture laid side by side with the other picture. Participants construct their version of events.

In role the students

A) Guess what has happened

B) Wonder what should be done next?

Task 5: Moving in to other roles less shadowy that their “professional” ones.

Head of Unit (TIR) says how impressed he is with their expertise. He then asks what might be the next step.  They might ask to interview the father /mother.

After this interview head asks what the behaviour of the father tells us about the case.

Task 6: Explore the situation in pairs
as expert and child’s mother, teacher and friend . This activity can be done as double pairs (2 and 2) and one from each group report back to the whole group.

Task 7: Two way mirror: Group as parents interact with child. First father, then mother, then mother and father together. [The missing voice…possibility here]

Task 8: What do you think life is like at home? Show scenes from family life based on Parents’ evidence. Small group scenes, which would interpret how the damage was caused, on that night in the girls’ bedroom.

Task 9: What should happen now? Ask the group. Role-play different activities trying out different ways in which the parents could persuade the girl to return home when made well. The Experts role-play different scenarios involved, under the direction of the Head of Unit (TIR).

Task 10: What is life like in 6 months’ time? Explore what you think happened to the family. Pick one person who was affected by events and show us their monologue.
Perhaps a monologue on chairs/ video/ or family photo.

Narrative link

“There is a young child in my care in this hospital who is seven years old. She was brought here a few days ago following a mysterious incident at her home. One morning her parents found her sitting outside her bedroom door, when they entered her room they found it in some state of confusion.” It was wrecked" they said. They asked their daughter what had happened but she refused to speak. She had not spoken since. She is obviously very shocked though I emphasise that she is physically well. The only way in which she referred to what had happened during the night is in the form of two pictures. She drew them yesterday. The first one shows her bedroom in its usual state. The second one shows it in the condition in which the parents found it when they went there on that morning a few days ago. “Adapted from O’Neill, C. and Lambert, A. (1993). Drama Structures. Stanley Thornes. London. Pp. 155-161.

 Goldilocks and the Three Bears

For Infants

Using the similar plot and characters as Silent Child, this drama can be adapted with little change for Infants.

Teacher, having read the Three Bears story  sets up the group as helpers of people who have problems- Superhelpers.( Click Link) 

Task 1: teacher tells pupils that Baby bear got blamed for doing all the damage. He won’t speak. He won’t eat or go to school.

Task 2: Superhelpers have been asked to try to help him to deal with the problem. Class ask TIR as Baby Bear to tell them what happened. Baby bear says it was Goldie who did the damage but no one believes him because he was always in trouble anyway.  Who do we need to talk with now?

Task 3: Class in role as Superhelpers talk to Goldie. Advise her to tell the truth. Also  How would she like it if someone did the same to her?

Task 4: Class in Role as Superhelpers talk to Goldie and Baby Bear together. Here you might make use of a special needs assistant to help out in role as one of the characters.

Task 5: When problem is solved. Congratulate children in being able to solve problems.