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Schools
Classes for Primary & Secondary Schools
Theatre, drama and the arts offer a unique platform for teaching that is often undervalued and misunderstood. Instead of focusing solely on performance, we focus on the process, the transferable skills involved, and the content of the curriculum being taught. We think of theatre in wider terms than performance, but as a creative way to implement a lesson plan for any given topic. This opens up a whole new style of learning for students, and fresh, invigorating opportunities arise.
Our ability to teach school topics through theatre and the arts offers a wonderful addition to any school and is a vital investment in the future of education. Where else can students safely explore situations outside of their everyday experience, explore diversity and adapt their communication style to suit a variety of experiences, cultures, and situations?
Karen Ryder Theatre School has a unique curriculum and one that is continually updated, adapted, and specifically created for each learning need. Our approach fosters creativity, and inspires and instils a commitment to learning, providing students with the skills to value themselves and each other.
Theatre
As a Learning Opportunity
Curriculum and topics can be brought to life and utilised via the best natural resource any school has – a child’s imagination and their youthful ability to suspend disbelief. It is proven to engage learners and their curiosity, to ask questions, and to retain information as they actively learn, all the while developing essential life skills through oracy, teamwork, listening, gaining new perceptions, exploring the world around them, problem solving, information processing skills, reasoning and enquiry skills, creative thinking and evaluation skills.
Curriculum
for KS1 & KS2
Imagine seeing a child who doesn’t engage easily in a classroom suddenly acting out The Battle Of Hastings, travelling the world and immersing themselves in different cultures, having a chat with a Tyrannosaurus Rex, voyaging across the oceans and continents and learning about their biomes, surviving Expedition Everest or deciphering hieroglyphics.
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Imagine meeting the potential of a child who is bursting with creativity and thinks outside the box. Imagine them knowing this way of being, this different way of thinking is not only ok, it is beautiful.
Learning
& Topic Based Workshops
Karen Ryder Theatre School can meet your specific needs for half day, full day, blocked weeks, or full term projects. We have taught a vast range of topics through theatre, and have never met a topic we can’t bring to life in our theatrical way. You name it, we can breathe fresh life into it. Below is just a small sample of the topics and workshops we have taught;
✦ Africa
✦ America
✦ Anglo Saxons
✦ Anti- Bullying Week
✦ Biomes
✦ Black History Month
✦ British Values
✦ Circus
✦ Continents
✦ Dinosaurs
✦ Egyptians
✦ Elizabethans
✦ Evolution
✦ Fairy Tales
✦ Frozen Planet
✦ The Mayans
✦ Mini Beasts
✦ Mountains
✦ Muck & Mixtures
✦ Oceans
✦ Pirates
✦ Recycling
✦ Remembrance Day
✦ Romans
✦ Shakespeare Week
✦ Normans
✦ Technology
✦ Tudors
✦ Vikings
✦ Wonder
✦ Woodland
✦ World Book Day
By role playing, bringing topics alive, learning important facts through characters, poems, scripts, and placing students right in the very heart of the core subject, as educators we can develop their interest, their learning styles, and their retention. This ultimately boosts learners confidence and evokes a desire to push themselves further in all areas of learning.
Theatre provides opportunities to work both collaboratively and independently, whilst providing rich and varied contexts for pupils to acquire, develop and apply a broad range of knowledge, understanding and skills. The possibilities are endless.
Theatre creates a new and exciting learning platform that can easily encompass whole class learning, small groups, partnered works and independent learning.
Teaching through theatre lends itself to diversity, overcomes barriers and allows for inclusion and adaptable participation.