Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: The elements of drama

20 minutes

Find Out: The campaign

25 minutes

Take Action: Anti-violence commercial

5 minutes

Reflection

Tune In: The elements of drama

Step 1

Explain to students that they are going to learn about how the elements of drama can be manipulated to have an impact on an audience. Tell the class that the elements of drama can appear, not just in live performances, but also on TV or in films.

Step 2

Ask the class to name any elements of drama that they can remember, or know of (this is a good opportunity to revise prior learning or introduce the elements of drama from scratch).

Note: In the Student Worksheet, we have used the elements of drama as outlined in the Australian Curriculum. Feel free to adapt these to suit your local syllabus.

Step 3

Hand out the Student Worksheet. Read through the definitions of the elements of drama with the class. Take time to answer questions they might have. Say that you will be using this worksheet a bit later in the lesson.

Step 4

Explain to the class that they will be looking at a television advertisement that uses the elements of drama to get an important social message across to the audience. Ask the class if they can think of any examples of where they have seen any of the elements of drama in a popular television commercial.

Explain that using the elements of drama in advertisements can have a strong and lasting impact on the community. This is what Danny Green, an ex-boxer, wanted to do when he started his Australian campaign against the coward’s punch.

Find Out: The campaign

Note: If your students have completed an Introductory Workshop or are otherwise familiar with the STOP the Coward Punch campaign, move straight to Step 2. If your students are not yet familiar with the campaign, we suggest you complete Step 1.

Step 1

Ask the class if they have heard of the STOP the Coward Punch campaign and what they think a coward’s punch might be. Explain that there have been many deaths of young Australian men due to the coward’s punch. Danny Green’s campaign aims to stop people from dying from this senseless form of violence.

Show the class this short video which presents an overview of the campaign:

Coward's Punch - Case Study (https://youtu.be/9vTuZ3EHvhI)

Facilitate a class discussion about the video - what do they think of the campaign and its outcomes?

Step 2

Have students choose a partner. Give each pair a number ranging from 1 to 12. The number corresponds to one of the elements listed in the Observation Table on the Student Worksheet. Ensure each pair knows which element to look for and understands the meaning of their element.

Note: If you have a small class, you may need to assign some groups with more than one number, or skip some elements.

Learning support: Some students may need assistance understanding the definitions of the elements of drama. A modified Observation Table could allow some students to describe three things they see or notice about the advertisement.

Step 3

Explain that the advertisement will be shown three times. In the first viewing students just watch the ad and in the second and third viewings, they look for observation points in connection to their element of drama and write these on the worksheet. They should try to make their examples as specific as possible.

Swipe Out Violence (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfRtZZWZLek)

Step 4

Lead a discussion about what the class observed. Did they notice their element in the advertisement? If so, explain how.

Have students fill in some dot points for each element of drama whilst listening to other pairs discussing their observations. Ensure each pair has an opportunity to share so that students can complete the Observation Table on the Student Worksheet.

Some questions you might raise in the discussion:

How does talking directly to the camera affect the audience?
What types of characters are seen in the ad?
How is sound or light used to create tension?
What settings do we see?

Step 5

Have a brief discussion about how effective this advertisement might be at preventing violence amongst young people.

Take Action: Anti-violence commercial

Step 1

Invite the pairs to join with another pair to form a group. Students will have ten minutes to discuss, rehearse and quickly prepare their own television commercial for Stop the Coward’s Punch. Groups should choose at least two of the elements of drama to help them create a powerful message about coward punches. The commercials should go for no more than 60 seconds.

Step 2

Observe groups working and encourage their creative efforts.

Step 3

Allow groups to perform their commercials. Before they begin each performance, actors can tell the class which elements of drama they have tried to emphasise in their performance. The class should observe the different group performances, noting the use of the chosen elements of drama.

You might like to encourage the use of these constructive feedback stems:

I really liked…
I noticed how you applied the element of… by…
Maybe next time you could consider...

Reflection

Invite students to reflect on the following (using the Student Worksheet):

What did you find interesting or surprising about the STOP the Coward Punch campaign?
How well did your group perform today and what improvements would you have liked to make to your improvisation work with the elements of drama?

Coward Punch - Dramatic Elements

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