WW1 Poetry Into Performance Drama Unit and Lesson Plan

This WW1 poetry drama unit and lesson plan explores the narrative poem, ‘The Hero’ by Siegfried Sassoon and brings it to life through mime, freezes, movement, speaking aloud, thought-tracking, improvisation, tableau and by creating a powerful mini performance of the poem. Students explore the rhythm of the poem, the concept of what it means to be a hero, the language of the poem, its characters and story and - most importantly - the strong contrasts it presents. This is a great mini unit for drama lessons and English lessons and the resulting powerful poem performance can be given on topic days or in school assembly.