Under this heading, the key areas that will be introduced during the starter are listed. A full list of the key concepts covered in Starters and Plenaries for Drama is available in the Resources section.

Where possible, the starters and plenaries are referenced to the levels listed in the Arts Council England’s Drama in Schools (Second Edition) (2003). Not all activities have a reference, however, since Drama in Schools (Second Edition) does not explicitly mention themes such as concentration, getting to know each other and group work – although it is important for students to practise such elements. A full list of the references to Drama in Schools (Second Edition) is provided in the Resources section.

It is assumed that your drama studio has basic furniture, eg chairs, and that if handouts or cards are needed during the lesson, these will be prepared in advance. However, if specific materials, such as paper, scissors, glue, props, etc are required for a particular activity, they are listed under this heading.

This is a list of what should be achieved in the starter.

Guidance on how to organise the starter is provided under this heading. If there are digital files to use with the activity, they are also provided here. A full list of digital files is provided in the Resources section.

Ideas for ending the lesson with a suitable plenary are provided here.

Several of the starters in Starters and Plenaries for Drama can be used over a number of lessons and adapted, depending on the focus of the topic. Suggestions for varying the main starter activity are provided here. These variations are particularly useful for older age groups, or for students in the higher ability range.

The starters and plenaries in this resource can be differentiated according to ability, at the teacher’s discretion. The suggested variations to an activity may be useful here. Use the list of key concepts in the Resources section to choose the activities that would be most appropriate for your students.

If your drama lesson is one hour in length, the starter should take no more than ten minutes. Most of the starters in this resource are designed for that amount of time. However, some starters naturally lead into the main area of the lesson, so the timing can be varied according to the needs of your students and the content of the lesson.