Pretending to Learn: Teaching drama in the primary and middle years

by John O'Toole

Pretending to Learn by John O'Toole and Julie Dunn gives teachers the confidence, knowledge and skills to teach drama in the primary and middle years. Based upon over sixty years of combined teaching experience, this ebook includes an overview of how drama works, ten detailed exemplars of practice and a companion website that offers a range of rich and exciting resources.

First published by Pearson Education more than a decade ago, Pretending to Learn rapidly became a respected and widely used resource which was awarded The Australian Teacher Reference Book of the Year in 2003. The authors have now updated the content, expanded the exemplars and enriched the readers experience. With hyperlinks to the latest drama curriculum, a linked glossary of drama terms and direct access to a website where teachers can find assessment materials, music, images and printable resources, this edition is a drama teaching resource completely re-imagined for the digital age.

The ebook is written in three sections. The first provides a rationale for why drama is important in primary and middle schools, and prepares the teacher with an appropriate mindset to approach it confidently. The second section provides in detail all the organisational, logistical and practical tools you will need to plan, implement and evaluate drama in any classroom. These two sections have been considerably expanded and updated from the original, based on what users have told us they need. The third section comprises ten exemplars of practice - up from eight in the first edition, with several new ones, and all of the retained originals entirely revised. These exemplars span the learning needs of children from Foundation Level (early childhood) to Years Seven and Eight (in Australia, usually lower secondary).

369 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 18, 2002