Scheme of work

This scheme of work is provided to help you make the most of your planning time. Customise this by adding your own activities/lesson ideas to the ‘Activities’ column.

Guided learning hours (GLH): 60

Number of lessons: 30

Duration of lessons: 2 hours

You can run this unit weekly across a year, or teach it in one term. Either way, the unit needs 60 hours. The 60 hours includes: lesson time, workshops, rehearsal time outside of lessons, dress and technical rehearsals on stage, and performance time.

If you are teaching this unit as part of the Certificate, Extended Certificate or Diploma, please be aware that this unit should be completed before the optional units are delivered. However, you could revisit some of the activities outlined in this scheme of work to use as starter activities when delivering the optional units.

This unit works best delivered through several assignments that all cover all of the assessment criteria, to give learners the opportunity to develop throughout the course.

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© Pearson Education Ltd 2014.

Lesson / Unit content* / Activities / Resources
Learning aim A: Explore and develop your acting skills and review your own practice
Learning aim B: Use your acting skills within rehearsal and performance
1 / Develop technical acting skills
The use and control of voice, including:
●articulation
●projection
●breath control
●learning lines
●pitch, inflection and modulation
●tone and vocal colour
●phrasing
●pace
●use of pause. / Teacher presentation: outline and introduce the unit, explain how it will be assessed. Tutor to give out Assignment.
Class discussion:discuss the meaning of the technical language termsreferred to opposite, including definitions and examples.
Teacher-led activities:
●Breathing and mouth exercises.
●Use of poetry for articulation.
●Use of poetry to develop different uses of tone and inflection to communicate different meanings.
●Use of poetry for projection practice, ideally in a large space or outdoors.
Individual/homework activity:learners to keep track of their own progress, using their logbooks. / Print-outs of some poetry
Logbooks – one for each learner
2 / Develop technical acting skills
The use of voice as a skill and technique, including:
●articulation
●projection
●breath control
●learning lines
●pitch, inflection and modulation
●tone and vocal colour
●phrasing
●pace
●use of pause. / Class activity: learners to watch video clips of actors in training carrying out a range of exercises to help motivate them to develop their acting skills.Ideal topics to cover include exploring expression, breathing and pushing sound forward.
Teacher-led activities:
●Breathing and mouth exercises.
●Use of monologues for articulation.
●Use of monologues to develop different uses of vocal colour to develop characterisation.
●Use of monologues for breath control practice and projection.
Individual/homework activity:Learners to keep track of their own progress, using their logbooks. / Monologues
Logbooks – one for each learner
3 / Develop technical acting skills
The use of voice as a skill and technique, including:
●articulation
●projection
●breath control
●learning lines
●pitch, inflection and modulation
●tone and vocal colour
●phrasing
●pace
●use of pause. / Teacher-led activities:
●Breathing and mouth exercises.
●Use of duologues for learning lines.
●Use of duologues to develop and play with pace and use of pause.
●Use of duologues for articulation and projection.
Class activity: learners to discuss physical and mental preparation for performance listen to help them prepare for their presentations in the next session.
Individual/homework activity: Learners to keep track of their own progress, using their logbooks. / Duologues
Logbooks – one for each learner
4 / Piece 1:Duologues or monologues / Rehearsal session: learners should spend session time and non-supervised time working on this piece.
●Learners rehearse for the presentation of a monologue or duologue to achieve the practical criteria.
●Individual/homework activity: Learners to keep track of their own progress, using their logbooks. / Duologues and monologues
Logbooks – one for each learner
5 / Piece 1:Duologues or monologues / Performance session: learners spend session rehearsing and then performing their duologues and monologues
●Learners provide feedback for their peers’ performances, and self-review.
●The session should be recorded. / Duologues and monologues
Video-recording equipment
6 / Feedback session for Piece 1 / Individual activity: learners to reflect on and make notes on their own performance and that of others in their group, recording roles and responsibilities.
Group activity: lead a group review of the assignment.
Teacher-led feedback: one-to-one feedback with learners. Focus on what they need to do to improve in their next project.
7 / Develop technical acting skills
The use and control of movement, including:
●balance
●coordination
●movement memory
●spatial awareness
●weight placement
●focus and control
●relaxation
●pace, energy and dynamics
●gesture
●facial expression
●trust. / Class activity: learners to watch videos to characterisation exploration through movement and expression skills to help motivate them to develop their movement skills.
Class activities:learners touse a selection of activities to explore and develop their performance, e.g.:
●use of music to evoke emotion and enable the learner to become self-aware of the change in their own and others’ body language
●use of music and improvisation to promote focus and control
●improvisations using mime and music to explore pace, energy, dynamics and facial expressions.
Individual/homework activity: learners to keep track of their own progress, using their logbooks.They should particularly focus on the knowledge and skills they have acquired. / Music
Logbooks – one for each learner
8 / Develop technical acting skills
The use and control of movement, including:
●balance
●coordination
●movement memory
●spatial awareness
●weight placement
●focus and control
●relaxation
●pace, energy and dynamics
●gesture
●facial expression
●trust. / Class activity: learners to watch videos of acting exercises to help motivate them to develop their acting skills. Ideal topics to cover include exploringmovement, the mood of a scene and matching movement with vocal skills.
Class activity:learners touse a selection of activities to explore using storytelling stimuli (perhaps nursery rhymes and children’s stories) to promote and explore use of:
●gesture
●mime
●remembering moves and blocking
●spatial awareness
●coordination
●pace, energy and dynamics.
Individual/homework activity: learners to keep track of their own progress, using their logbooks. / Nursery rhymes
Children’s stories
Logbooks – one for each learner
9 / Develop technical acting skills
The use and control of movement, including:
●balance
●coordination
●movement memory
●spatial awareness
●weight placement
●focus and control
●relaxation
●pace, energy and dynamics
●gesture
●facial expression
●trust. / Class activity: learners touse a selection of activities to look at improvisationand the physicalisation of objects and emotions (physical theatre) to explore:
●balance
●coordination
●blocking
●weight placement
●focus and control
●relaxation.
Learners may use their body to recreate vehicles or household objects or natural environments using mime, music and improvisation.
Individual/homework activity: learners to keep track of their own progress, using their logbooks. / Logbooks – one for each learner
Music
10 / Piece 2:Storytelling / Teacher:project tasks that use one of the following as a stimulus:
●storytelling of well-known or original stories
●physical theatre
●movement.
Class activity:facilitate a discussion about devising and learning lines.
Learners should work in groups and spend session time and non-supervised time working on this piece.
Individual/homework activity:Learners should keep track of their development through recorded sessions/rehearsals, logbooks, research into the outlined performance genres, and self-assessment of their own and the group’s work. / Logbooks – one for each learner
11 / Piece 2:Storytelling / Teacher-led rehearsal session:
●Learners should spend session time and non-supervised time working on this assignment.
●Learners should keep track of their development through recorded sessions/rehearsals, logbooks, research into the outlined performance genres, and self-assessment of their own and the group’s work. / skills checklist
Logbooks – one for each learner
12 / Piece 2:Storytelling / Teacher-led rehearsal session:
●Learners should spend session time and non-supervised time working on this assignment.
●Learners should keep track of their development through recorded sessions/rehearsals, logbooks, research into the outlined performance genres, and self-assessment of their own and the group’s work. / Productions
Logbooks – one for each learner
13 / Piece 2:Storytelling / Performance session: learners spend session rehearsing and then performing their work.
●Learners provide feedback for their peers’ performances.
●The session should be recorded. / Video-recording equipment
14 / Feedback session for Piece 2 / Individual activity: learners to reflect on and make notes on their own performance and that of others in their group.
Group activity: lead a group review of the assignment.
Teacher-led feedback:one-to-one feedback with learners. Focus on what they need to do to improve in their next project.
15 / Piece 3: Naturalistic performance
Use acting skills in the preparation for the performance of a published work to an
audience, including:
●learning dialogue
●learning blocking and stage directions
●interpreting and developing a character appropriate to the context of the extract
●receiving and giving constructive and
positive feedback
●using exploratory dramatic techniques. / Teacher: select a naturalistic script for Piece 3 as the performance style/genre.
Class activity:facilitate a discussion about auditioning.
Class activity: learners to discuss exploring characterisation.
Class/group/paired activities:learners to use exercises to help them explore scenarios such as:
●auditioning; learning dialogue
●casting; interpreting character
●scene or extract selection.
Individual/homework activity:learners to keep track of their own progress, using their logbooks. Learners to research piece. / Script
Logbooks – one for each learner
16 / Develop technical acting skills
The use of voice as a skill and technique, including:
●articulation
●projection
●breath control
●learning lines
●pitch, inflection and modulation
●tone and vocal colour
●phrasing
●pace
●use of pause. / Group/paired activity:provide support to help learners explore their character’s voice using:
●clarity and articulation
●projection
●breath control
●remembering lines
●pitch, inflection and modulation
●tone and vocal colour
●phrasing
●pace
●use of pause.
Individual/homework activity:learners to keep track of their own progress, using their. / Script
Logbooks – one for each learner
17 / Develop technical acting skills
The use and control of movement, including:
●balance
●coordination
●movement memory
●spatial awareness
●weight placement
●focus and control
●relaxation
●pace, energy and dynamics
●gesture
●facial expression
●trust. / Group activities: suggest exercises to provide support while learners explore their character’s movement and body language using:
●balance
●coordination
●remembering moves
●spatial awareness
●weight placement
●focus and control
●relaxation
●pace, energy and dynamics
●gesture
●facial expression.
Individual/homework activity: learners to keep track of their own progress, using their. / Script
Logbooks – one for each learner
18 / Use acting skills in the preparation for the performance of a published work to an
audience, including:
●learning dialogue
●learning blocking and stage directions
●interpreting and developing a character appropriate to the context of the extract
●receiving and giving constructive and
positive feedback
●using exploratory dramatic techniques. / Teacher-led activity: learners explore their characters using exercises covering naturalistic techniques such as:
●given circumstances
●Stanislavski’s ‘magic if’
●use of imagination and the suspension of disbelief.
Individual activity:ask learners to fill in their logbook to review their progress.
Teacher-led activity: learners may explore their characters using exercises covering naturalistic techniques such as:
●sensory memory
●emotional memory
●focus and concentration.
Individual/homework activity: fill in logbooks, detailing exercises and reflecting on own contribution. / Script
Logbooks – one for each learner
19 / Use acting skills in the preparation for the performance of a published work to an
audience, including:
●learning dialogue
●learning blocking and stage directions
●interpreting and developing a character appropriate to the context of the extract
●receiving and giving constructive and
positive feedback
●using exploratory dramatic techniques. / Teacher-led rehearsals: facilitate rehearsals by focusing on:
●blocking
●line-learning techniques
●character interaction and relationships
●director’s notes as feedback.
Teacher-led rehearsals: facilitate rehearsals of the text/scenes or extract by focusing on:
●speed run
●the character’s voice
●spatial relationship
●diction
●projection.
Individual/homework activity: learners to keep track of their own progress, using their logbooks. / Script
Logbooks – one for each learner
20 / Use acting skills in the preparation for the performance of a published work to an
audience, including:
●learning dialogue
●learning blocking and stage directions
●interpreting and developing a character appropriate to the context of the extract
●receiving and giving constructive and
positive feedback
●using exploratory dramatic techniques. / Teacher-led dress rehearsal of text:the use of an invited audience is recommended.
The final rehearsal may focus on:
●line knowledge
●projection
●blocking
●communication of meaning
●characterisation.
Individual/homework activity: learners to keep track of their own progress, using their logbooks. / Logbooks – one for each learner
21 / Piece 3: Naturalistic performance / Performance session: learners spend session rehearsing and then performing their work.
●Learners provide feedback for their peers’ performances.
●The session should be recorded. / Video-recording equipment
22 / Feedback session for Piece 3 / Individual activity: learners to reflect on and make notes about their own performance and that of others in their group.
Group activity: lead a group review of the assignment.
Teacher-led feedback: one-to-one feedback with learners. Focus on what they need to do to improve in their next project.
23 / Assignment 1
Use authorised assignment briefs from Pearson. Alternatively, use adapted or centre-devised assignment briefs. / Teacher input: Introduce Assignment 1 and facilitate for the following activities to take place:
●auditioning; learning dialogue
●casting; interpreting character
●scene or extract selection.
Individual/homework activity: learners to keep track of their own progress, using their logbooks. / Assignment brief
Script
Logbooks – one for each learner
24 / Assignment 1
Use authorised assignment briefs from Pearson. Alternatively, use adapted or centre-devised assignment briefs. / Group/paired activity:learners to explore their character’s voice using:
●clarity and articulation
●projection
●breath control
●remembering lines
●pitch, inflection and modulation
●tone and vocal colour
●phrasing
●pace
●use of pause.
Individual/homework activity:learners to keep track of their own progress, using their logbooks. / Script
Logbooks – one for each learner
25 / Assignment 1
Use authorised assignment briefs from Pearson. Alternatively, use adapted or centre-devised assignment briefs. / Group/paired activity:learners to explore their character’s movement and body language using:
●balance
●coordination
●remembering moves
●spatial awareness
●weight placement
●focus and control
●relaxation
●pace, energy and dynamics
●gesture
●facial expression.
Individual/homework activity:learners to keep track of their own progress, using their logbooks. / Script
Logbooks – one for each learner
26 / Assignment 1
Use authorised assignment briefs from Pearson. Alternatively, use adapted or centre-devised assignment briefs. / Teacher-led activity:learners may explore their characters using exercises such as:
●use of imagination and the suspension of disbelief
●applying research findings to the role/character.
Teacher-led activity:learners may explore their characters using exercises and techniques such as:
●sensory memory
●emotional memory
●focus and concentration.
Individual/homework activity:remind learners to fill in their logbook to review their progress. / Script
Logbooks – one for each learner
27 / Assignment 1
Use authorised assignment briefs from Pearson. Alternatively, use adapted or centre-devised assignment briefs. / Teacher-led rehearsals: facilitate rehearsals of the text/scenes or extract by focusing on:
●blocking
●line-learning techniques
●character interaction and relationships
●director’s notes as feedback.
Teacher-led rehearsals:facilitate rehearsals of the text/scenes or extract by focusing on:
●speed run
●the character’s voice
●spatial relationship
●diction
●projection.
Individual/homework activity: remind learners to fill in their logbook to review their progress. / Script
28 / Assignment 1
Use authorised assignment briefs from Pearson. Alternatively, use adapted or centre-devised assignment briefs. / Teacher-led rehearsalsof text: the use of an invited audience is recommended.
The final rehearsal may focus on:
●line knowledge
●projection
●blocking
●communication of meaning
●characterisation.
Record the performance.
Individual/homework activity: learners to keep track of their own progress, using their logbooks. / Video-recording equipment
Logbooks – one for each learner
29 / Assignment 1
Use authorised assignment briefs from Pearson. Alternatively, use adapted or centre-devised assignment briefs. / Performance session: learners spend session rehearsing and then performing their work.
●Learners provide feedback for their peers’ performances.
●The session should be recorded. / Video-recording equipment
Assignment that you have designed for this unit
30 / Feedback session for Assignment 1 / Individual activity: learners to reflect on and make notes about their own performance and that of others in their group.
Group activity: lead a group review of the assignment.
TOTAL = 60 hours

*See the specification for full details of unit content.