The school’s Learning Adventure during the second half of the spring term is called The Legend of the Lorax, and is an adaptation of the story of The Lorax by Dr Seuss. Working in conjunction with a team of four actors, the school staged a dramatic stimulus based upon the book, but unlike standard approaches to theatre in schools, the children are invited into the story as opposed to remaining as spectators. As the story emerges, children are given opportunities to participate within the events, framing them as powerful actors who can problem solve the scenarios they are presented with. By the end of the stimulus, the children had become the key protagonists, and were invested with the responsibility of saving the day by finding the Lorax and restoring the environment of Gricklegrass.
Combining both theatre in education and mantle of the expert approaches, this innovative project aims to provide a highly motivating context for learning, with rich links to a range of curriculum areas, including science, PSHE, the expressive arts and a range of purposeful opportunities for writing. Following the dramatic stimulus, children respond to the key themes within their classrooms, developing ideas for how to solve the key problems and the tasks that need to be completed. The teachers then respond to the children’s ideas, planning classroom tasks which build upon these, whilst also addressing key objectives from the curriculum. As the project continues, the actors return at the mid-point to further develop the story, building upon the children’s ideas, and ensuring that the story develops organically in response to these. The actors return at the end of the project, bringing the story to a resolution based upon the children’s ideas. In this sense, the project is a collaboration between children, teachers and actors, who go on an exciting story adventure together, which is filled with a wide range of purposeful and engaging opportunities for learning.