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Using Theatre to Develop Children’s Writing
The Secret Garden
Written by Rina Sondhi
The development of children’s writing is a national issue. The National Literacy
Strategy has provided a constructive framework of objectives to develop children’s
understanding of word, sentence and text level work. The Literacy Hour provides a
structure for developing opportunities of Shared and Guided Reading and, Shared and
Guided Writing. The key focus of the initiative this year is on Shared Writing, to
develop opportunities for the use of demonstration, scribing and supported
composition during the writing process and applying grammatical skills and
knowledge to develop writing.
The National literacy strategy allows pupils to analyse texts and study language in
more depth, in order to develop their understanding of language. The following
extract focuses upon the use of theatre to develop children’s writing through the
demonstration of the musical ‘The Secret Garden’.
Theatre has a key advantage over books:
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creation of scenes through the use of
lighting,
music,
scenery,
dance,
song,
overall direction and interpretation
Each element provides key opportunities for developing pupils writing through visual
analysis and perception. Theatre can create the same as a 4 pages of writing, only in
minutes.
The Secret Garden:
Select a scene: an example could be when the little girl first enters the secret garden.
 Each pupil concentrates on a particular theatrical element during that scene. A
child is responsible for lighting, dance, music, scenery, song, direction.
 Notes will need to be made during that part of the performance
The following teaching points are discussed with pupils prior to attending the
performance:
Theatre to Develop Children’s Writing
Lighting
Scenery
Music
Songs
Dance
Direction
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effects light
dark/images reflected
shadows created
realistic images
colours used in the background
size of scenery
fast, slow
impact of music
rhythm, pitch
lyrics
repetition for effect in songs
type of dance in connection with
scene
directors interpretation of the play
direction of movement intonation
& expression in a scene
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mood & feelings created
through lighting
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images used
realistic portrayal to
create a century
eerie music to create
effect
lively music
use of song to ascertain
point within the scene
use of dance in a scene
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choice of intonation
expression,
characterisation, and
movement
Developing Writing Opportunities
The Secret Garden: Entering the Garden
Lighting
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Music
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Scenery
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Direction
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How is the lighting used to create the seasons?
Write a sentence to describe the effect: use a subordinate clause in
the sentence ie The snow, glistened on the trees, as the robin flew
by
What mood is created through the music?
Write a sentence using a simile to describe how the girl felt ie Her
heart pounded like a drum
How are the trees used to create a sense of loneliness?
Write a sentence using a metaphor to describe the trees ie Row
after row of naked branches, stripped of feelings!
What effect did the director use to demonstrate the child’s
curiosity?
Write a compound sentence to describe the way the child entered
the garden ie She looked afraid and crept into the garden
Using the relevant pages from the book, draw comparisons between the scenes and
the text.
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What are the advantages a director has through theatre?
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What extra information can an author provide, and a play or scene in a theatre
cannot?
The structure of the Literacy Hour gives pupils the opportunity to develop writing
during the Shared, Guided and independent time. Each of the above activities could be
discussed during Shared Writing.
The pupils feedback their notes and sentences are developed through discussion,
during the whole class teaching time where the teacher scribes and supports the pupils
through the composition process. The sentences are discussed and elaborated on
during Guided Writing.
The theatre can be used to inspire pupils visually and will support all aspects of
creative stimulation, activating the left and right brain to develop learning
opportunities. As a consequence, pupils will have first hand experiences to write
about.
Rina Sondhi