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

Drama: Planning Together, In and Out of Role

B1.3 B2.1About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can ask questions that help a drama move forward.
  • I can work with others, in and out of role, to find solutions to a problem in the drama.
  • I can explore a problem from more than one point of view.
  • I can share my personal response to a drama and connect it to my own life, giving evidence.

Words to know

out of role
Being yourself, not your character. Out of role, actors plan, ask questions and make decisions together.
in role
Being your character. In role, you speak and act as the character.
perspective
A point of view: how one person or character sees a problem.
meeting in role
A drama convention where everyone, in role, comes to a meeting (like a town meeting) to talk about a problem.
teacher in role
When the teacher or a grown-up joins the drama as a character to ask questions or add a challenge.
conscience alley
A drama convention: a character walks slowly between two lines of people, who each give advice or say thoughts, to help the character make a hard decision.
personal connection
A link between the drama and your own life, feelings or experiences.
evidence
Proof from the drama (something a character said or did) that supports your idea.

Remember from Grade 3

You planned dramas in and out of role, used "Yes, and..." to build on other people's ideas, and explored themes and issues from more than one side. This year you will lead the drama forward by asking good questions and finding solutions together.

Who gets to decide?

Imagine your family must decide what to do on Saturday. Your little brother wants the playground. Your mom wants to clean the garage. You want to go skating.

Nobody is "wrong." Each person has a different perspective. To find a good plan, you have to ask questions, listen and look for a solution that works.

That is exactly what actors do when they plan and shape a drama together.

Asking questions that move the drama forward

Good drama questions open up new ideas. Try questions that start with:

  • Who...? "Who else in town cares about the tree?"
  • Why...? "Why does the mayor want a parking lot?"
  • What if...? "What if the owls had babies that couldn't fly yet?"
  • How...? "How could the town get parking and keep the tree?"

Out of role, these questions help you plan. In role, characters can ask them too, to push the story ahead.

A huge old oak tree with a hollow in its trunk standing in a grassy town park.
A big old tree like the one in the Maple Creek drama. Think about who in town might care about it, and why. AI-generated image
CharacterPerspective on the oak treeWhat they need
Grandpa Leo"This tree is part of our town's history."to keep the tree he planted
Mayor Chen"People can't find a place to park for the farmers' market. Businesses are losing customers."more parking spaces
Mr. Ferreira, owner of the bakery"My customers drive around and around, then give up and go home."customers who can park nearby
Jaya"The owls live there! Where would they go?"a safe home for the owls
A parent who uses a wheelchair"The closest parking is three blocks away. That's hard for me in winter."accessible parking close to the shops
Many perspectives on one problem
The oldoak treeGrandpa Leoneeds: keep his treeMayor Chenneeds: more parkingJayaneeds: a home for owlsMr. Ferreira (bakery)needs: customers who can parkA parent in a wheelchairneeds: parking close to shops
Five characters, five perspectives on one tree. Each person needs something different, which is why this is a real issue with no easy answer.

Many perspectives, one solution

Look at the table. Everyone has a good reason! That's what makes this a real issue: there is no easy answer.

When you explore multiple perspectives, you don't just choose a "good guy" and a "bad guy." You try to understand why each person feels the way they do. Then you can look for a solution that helps as many people as possible. For example: build the parking lot on the empty lot behind the arena, and keep the tree.

Three drama conventions for solving problems

  • Meeting in role: everyone comes to a town meeting in role. Each character speaks. A chairperson (often the teacher or grown-up in role) keeps order and asks questions.
  • Teacher in role: a grown-up joins the drama as a character. They can ask hard questions ("But who will pay for a new parking lot?") or bring news ("The tree cutters are here early!").
  • Conscience alley: a character who must make a decision walks slowly between two lines of people. One side gives reasons for, the other side reasons against. At the end, the character announces the decision.
Reasons to CUTReasons to KEEP"The bakery islosing customers!""Where will theowls live?"Mayor Chendecision!
Conscience alley seen from above (each person is a head and shoulders): the mayor walks slowly between two lines. One side gives reasons to cut, the other reasons to keep. At the end, she announces her decision.
Worked example

Example: Conscience alley for Mayor Chen

Mayor Chen must decide: cut the tree or save it? Let's run a conscience alley. (At home, with fewer people, one person can walk back and forth while another person whispers advice from both sides.)

  1. Form two lines facing each other. Left side: reasons to cut the tree. Right side: reasons to keep it.
  2. Mayor Chen walks slowly down the middle. As she passes, each person speaks in role.
  3. Left: "The bakery is losing customers!" Right: "Where will the owls live?" Left: "People who use wheelchairs need parking close by." Right: "Leo planted this tree 70 years ago!"
  4. At the end, the mayor stops, thinks (a long pause builds tension), then says her decision: "We will build the parking lot behind the arena and keep the tree."
  5. Out of role, talk: "Was it a fair solution? Whose perspective was hardest to hear?"

Conscience alley let us hear many perspectives before a decision. The solution tries to meet several needs: parking for the bakery and for people who use wheelchairs, a home for the owls, and Leo's tree.

Worked example

Example: Sharing a personal response with evidence

After the drama, your grown-up asks: "What did you think of the drama? Did it remind you of anything?" Let's answer like a drama expert.

  1. Say your feeling or opinion: "I felt sorry for Mr. Ferreira at first, which surprised me."
  2. Give evidence from the drama: "...because when he said customers were giving up and going home, I realized his bakery might close."
  3. Make a personal connection: "It reminded me of when the outdoor rink near our house was closed and everyone had to drive far to skate."
  4. Connect to the key idea or issue: "It showed me that solving a problem means listening to everybody."

A strong response gives a feeling, evidence from the drama, a personal connection and a link to the key idea.

Planning out of role

  • Say "Out of role" before you plan. Then everyone knows you're speaking as yourself.
  • Use "Yes, and..." to build on ideas, and "What if...?" to suggest a new direction.
  • If two ideas clash, try both quickly and see which works better.
  • Say "In role" or put on your prop when you're ready to go back in.
Just for fun

What did the owl say at the Maple Creek town meeting?

"Whooo is going to save my tree?"

Hands-on activity

Kitchen-table town meeting

You need: 2 or more people, the role cards from the first drama lesson (or new ones), a spoon or small bell as a "gavel", and paper and a pencil for notes.

  1. Out of role: choose a problem for your town meeting. Use Maple Creek's oak tree, or invent one: "Should the town build a skatepark or a dog park?" "Should the library stay open later?"
  2. Each person chooses a character with a different perspective. Write one sentence on your role card: "I want ___ because ___."
  3. A grown-up plays the chairperson (teacher in role). They tap the spoon: "This meeting is now open!"
  4. In role: each character speaks. The chairperson asks questions: "Why does this matter to you? What if we tried...?"
  5. Together, look for a solution that helps the most people. Vote in role.
  6. Out of role: each person shares a personal response: one feeling, one piece of evidence from the meeting, and one connection to their own life.

Your turn

1

What is the difference between being in role and out of role?

2

Write a "What if...?" question that could move the Maple Creek drama in a new direction.

3

What is a perspective?

4

In conscience alley, what does the character walking down the middle have to do?

5

Name one character in the Maple Creek drama who wants the parking lot, and give their reason.

6

Finish this response with evidence: "I think Jaya was brave because..."

7

What does a grown-up do in teacher in role?

More practice: warm-up

1

Which question word helps you imagine a new direction: "What if...?" or "What colour...?"

2

True or false: In a good drama about an issue, only one character has a good reason.

3

What can you say so everyone knows you are speaking as yourself?

4

Name the convention where everyone comes to a meeting in role.

5

What is evidence in a drama response?

More practice: on your own

1

Write a "Why...?" question that a reporter in role might ask Mayor Chen.

2

Suggest a solution for the oak tree problem that helps at least two characters. Explain.

3

Your friend's idea for the drama is very different from yours. How can you work together?

4

Make a personal connection: has a place or thing you love ever been changed or taken away? How did you feel?

5

Why is it helpful to play a character whose perspective is different from your own?

Challenge

1

You are the chairperson (teacher in role) at the town meeting, and everyone is arguing. Write two things you could say in role to move the meeting toward a solution.

2

Write a full personal response to the Maple Creek drama with a feeling, evidence, a personal connection and the key idea.

3

Invent a new character for the Maple Creek drama with a perspective nobody has yet. Give their need and one line they would say in role.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which question opens a new direction for a drama?

2.

A perspective is ___.

3.

In conscience alley, the character in the middle ___.

4.

When a grown-up joins the drama as a character to ask questions, it is called ___.

5.

Which response gives evidence?

6.

Actors say "out of role" when they ___.

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Grade 4 students plan and shape the direction of a drama by posing questions and working with others to find solutions, both in and out of role (B1.3). They express personal responses and make connections to characters, themes and issues, supporting their ideas with evidence from the drama (B2.1).

How to help:

  • Play the chairperson (teacher in role). You don't have to act well! A hat and a spoon "gavel" are enough. Your questions guide the drama.
  • Choose real, low-stakes local issues ("skatepark or dog park?") so your child can practise seeing several sides.
  • After stories and shows, ask for a response with evidence: "What made you think that?"

Common difficulties:

  • Making one character the "villain." Ask, "What does Mayor Chen need? Is that a fair need?"
  • Talking all at once. Use a talking object (only the person holding it speaks).
  • Responses without evidence. Model a sentence frame: "I think ___ because in the drama ___."