Activity 6 - Entering an institution

Aim

To explore what it was like to go into an institution.

Curriculum area(s)

• Year 5 and above
  • Drama
  • English

Suitable for adults with learning disabilities?

Yes

Learning outcome(s)

Students understand the experience of entering an institution as a child

Time required

20 minutes

Resources

• Activity 6/Resource 1 - extracts from Mabel's life story
• Activity 6/Resource 2 - Ruth Cook's story of her sister going into Prudhoe
• Lennox Castle interview with James Lappin (Video 2; 2 mins to 4.19 mins)

Activity

1. Read, watch or listen to the stories of children going into a large institution.
2. In threes, choose Mabel, James or Ruth’s sister and create a short play about this experience. The characters are:

• one child
• one relative
• one nurse.

Ideas for follow up

Write a letter to your family a week after they left you, telling them about your life.

Extension - Drama - Entering into an institution 2

Aim

To be immersed in the experience of arriving into the hospital.

Curriculum area(s)

• Year 7+
  • Drama
  • Art
  • English

Learning outcome(s)

Students create a movement piece that charts entering into an institution for the first time.

Time required

20 minutes

Resources

• Activity 6/Resource 3 - audio track: [[[media-0]]]

Activity

1. Students listen to the track with eyes closed. They imagine themselves as a new arrival at a hospital. 
2. Discuss what images students saw, what feelings they encountered. Is there a narrative or story told in the audio? 
3. In groups of four or five, create a movement sequence to accompany the audio track. 
4. Perform and share.

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