Teaching science through oracy and drama

We need oracy in science for clear explanations, structured reports and presentations, concise instructions etc. This can all be taught through oral activities and drama. And as Pie Corbett says, “If you can’t speak it, you can’t write it!” Our aim is to support teachers to incorporate oracy and drama activities into science lessons in order to improve oracy and writing in the subject. What are the aims of this session? Our aim is for participants to have a really enjoyable time learning how to integrate oracy games and drama into science lessons. We want them to leave the session feeling that oracy and drama activities are easy to carry out and create real engagement in the classroom. We want them to be planning their own ideas of what to do in their next lesson before they leave the session. What will we do in this session? 1.We’ll cover definitions of what oracy is and why it is key to learning and living a successful life. 2.Participants will learn how to play quick and easy oracy games which can integrated into science lessons. 3.Participants will learn how to create oral texts to use in science lessons. 4.Participants will learn how to adapt an oracy game to fit a topic they will be teaching in the near future. 5.Participants will be briefly introduced to a website so they can access resources after the event. Who are the session leaders? Jules is a primary teacher and the director of Storytelling Schools. She has published a series of stories to teach science concepts. David’s specialism is in art drama and science in his work teaching ITT at the University of Hertfordshire. He has also published books on these topics. Jules and David have been developing training and resources to support the teaching of oracy in science through drama and storytelling for the last 15 years in various ways and have come together to create this session.