Example Workshop

Crave English Literature Workshops have been established to assist students in their understanding of English Literature set texts. Through drama based workshops we aim to inspire students to explore and analyse the characters, issues and context in an informal environment, which we hope will give the students a better understanding of the text as a whole.
Each workshop is tailor made to the needs of your school and students, therefore they appeal to all academic abilities. They are especially ideal for students with low level reading or learning difficulties as they provide a practical understanding of the text.

Unfortunately, the curriculum rarely gives the resources and time for teachers to explore these avenues within the classroom.
CRAVE THEATRE PRODUCTIONS hopes to bridge this gap.
The workshops can be used as preparation for exams/coursework or as an introduction to the text. The performance part of the workshop is also an ideal opportunity for Speaking and Listening assessments as you will be invited to watch

Our Objectives
- Present each book as a story with characters that students can relate to and understand;

- Facilitate activities for students based on the text including physical exercises, improvisations, and pieces that we have scripted around the main themes and characters of the story;

- Encourage students to find ways to relate to the characters and plot through play, discussion and practical performance;

- Engage the students through the workshops to ultimately create a deeper and broader understanding of the text, this can then be applied in their examinations;

- Provide a secure, informal and comfortable environment for the students to explore ideas and feelings about the text and encourage participation and teamwork.

EXAMPLE WORKSHOP

This is a template of the kind of work we have to offer. We understand that different students will have different needs as well as what you, the teacher would like to focus on in terms of issues, themes and characters.

For shorter texts such as Heroes, the workshop could be achieved in one full school day. However for longer texts or for a deeper analysis, we also offer 2 day workshops. This will be discussed between the workshop leaders and the individual teacher at a preliminary meeting.

Heroes by Robert Cormier

This particular workshop may be structured as the following:

     Plot and Structure
Use of Language and Style
Setting and Historical Context
Characters
Issues and Themes
We will begin the day by reminding ourselves of the story- students will be asked to contribute towards forming a timeline of plot and events, outlining the structure of the book. Particularly in this case, we would talk about Cormier’s use of flashbacks and how this contributes towards the overall effect of the book. We will also asses any prior knowledge of the text, touching on setting, style, characters, themes and motivations. The use of language and Style can also be explored at the request of the teacher.

We will then begin delving deeper into the book, exploring the setting and historical context. Heroes is set in a time of War- the effects of War on the country and on the person is imperative to understanding the character’s thought process in that time. War would be explored through group discussion on what it means to us today, battles that are being fought now and personal experiences students may have of these. This will then be brought back to the context of WW11 and how the lack of privilege and choice would have affected the characters in Heroes.
The exercise may be structured as the following: The group is split into pairs of A & B- A will be playing the part of a reporter and given a set of questions based around the effects of war. B will be asked to answer these questions, firstly as a modern youth and secondly as a young person living during WW11. These will be presented to the class, and A & B will have the opportunity to swap. The purpose of this exercise is to develop a rapport with the characters by students putting themselves in that particular situation, faced with the choices, fears and hopes that at the time, would rule their lives.

Next we will focus on the characters of the book, highlighting how the context in which they are brought up in, affect their behaviour and interaction with each other. We will explore this through exercises of the physical embodiments of certain characters. e.g In the opening chapter of Heroes we meet Francis through a long description of his face. Students will be asked to listen to this description with their eyes closed. in the meantime they will be given certain ‘props’ e.g. the particular scarf, bandages, hat that Francis wears. They will be encouraged to walk the room ‘as Francis’ to help them explore how he may be thinking/feeling at particular times. Think about why he dresses this way, how his body language may reflect how he is feeling. We will layer the exercise by adding the other fact we already know – parents dead, he has murder on his mind….who is Nicole?.....
The benefits of these initial exercises are that it gets the students thinking in the mindset of the book, helping to engage them in the story and the characters. The more they ‘feel’ about the book the more they will care about writing the exam.

The afternoon will be spent analysing the Issues and Themes of the text. In Heroes, we would look at the themes of Heroism, betrayal, trust, revenge, loyalty and friendship. All these topics have a double meaning in Heroes as they are expressed through the lack of them as oppose to their presence. For example, Francis is branded a Hero because of his bravery in sacrificing his own life in an act of War. However, personally, his own intentions were not to fulfil an act of bravery, but to banish his guilt by dying. To everyone else, he is a Hero, but to himself, he has failed. Situations such as these will be explored through text which we have prepared in the form of monologues and duologues. These will be written based on the characters in the book, however they will be formed around the subtext i.e conversations that were never had, thought processes that are not obvious. This will encourage the students to develop a broader understanding of characters and relationships and help them realise the motivation behind the things that do occur in the story. The students will be given time to work on these with guidance and direction from the workshop leaders through the course of the afternoon. These will then be presented to the group (and any one else who wants to watch!), followed by a discussion on each performance.

There will be sufficient time at the end of the workshop to discuss the day and cement what we have discovered.