Hats Scheme of Work

(ages 12-13)

This six-lesson scheme uses hats as a starting point to develop characters from cards and text, building background and motivation across practical sessions. Lessons progress through frozen pictures, hot-seating, profession-based tableaux, text interpretation and Stanislavski work, finishing with a whole-class improvisation for assessment. Activities include a Musical Hats warm-up and a themed improvisation exercise. Note the scheme requires you to provide hats and a piece of jazz music referenced in lesson two.

What Students Will Learn

Students will learn to create rounded characters from props, cards and text, developing believable history and motivation. They practise frozen pictures, hot-seating and Stanislavski-based approaches, explore representing professions and interpret text for drama, and apply these skills in ensemble improvisation assessed as a whole-class piece.

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6 detailed lesson plansA complete, practical teaching sequence for the unit.
Lesson-by-lesson activity guidanceUse the unit structure, skills focus and classroom tasks without starting from scratch.
Linked classroom resourcesMusic, Resources are included where they support the lesson sequence.

Week 1: Introduction – Creating a Character
Focuses on creating characters inspired by different hats. Students use frozen pictures and short dialogue to develop initial characters and test physical and vocal choices.
Week 2: Building a Character’s History
Develops character depth through questioning and roleplay. The class uses hot seating alongside the 'Musical Hats' warm-up, supported by a pacy jazz track mentioned in the lesson.
Resources Include
Music
Faster Does It
Week 3: Developing the Character Further
Explores characters in different professions to extend identity and status. Students represent professions using frozen pictures to refine physical and situational choices.
Week 4: Interpreting Characters from Text
Focuses on interpreting written text to create dramatic representation. Learners decide how to dramatise provided text and plan a performance approach.
Resources Include
Resources
Breakfast
Week 5: Improvised Characters
Introduces Stanislavski techniques to inform improvised behaviour and objectives. The class applies these methods in the exercise 'Murder on The Orient Express' to create improvised scenes.
Resources Include
Resources
Orient Express Cards
Week 6: Spontaneous Improvisation Assessment
Uses spontaneous improvisation as the summative assessment. Students improvise events at an eventful party to demonstrate character history and ensemble skills.