Latest Thinking
Activities for Remembrance
09 Nov 2008
We use the following activity as an introduction to our Poppy Stories workshop.
Aim: To encourage children to make an emotional connection to the experiences and stories of people who have lived through war.
Resources: Picture of battlefield and poppyfield. Poem Flanders Field or music such as last march.
Size of group: Small groups and individual work
Time: 20 minutes
Instructions
- Begin by splitting the group into small groups of around 5.
- Introduce the concept of the poppy, its significance and it's symbol.
- Show the children your image of the poppy field - ask them to work in groups to create a still image of the poppyfield.
- Share the images
- Now ask the children to think about the field when it was a battlefield - what would have taken place there? How do those people feel? Encourage the children to use all of their bodies, explore different heights of activity - what can that show?
- Share the images
- Now ask the children to create an image of the moments before these people entered the battlefield - how are the feelings different?
- Share the images
- Then ask the children to think about linking their images, starting with entering the battlefield and moving through to the poppy field. How can they show what happened to their characters?
- Ask the children to move through their images to the music, or to the poem. Share each others pieces, explore the emotions and responses the children have to the work.
Development Opportunities: Children could develop their character and investigate the war through their eyes - looking at life as a soilder, family life etc in further drama and/or writing.
My favourite part of working with Bounce was being a superhero.
Keystage 2 student - After school club