The Monkey King
The Monkey King (ages 11-12)
This scheme of work uses a number of different drama forms to explore the legend of The Monkey King, a popular story in Chinese culture and mythology. Students will learn how to choreograph movement and portray characters and spiritual concepts. It includes a number of musical pieces which can be used to provide atmosphere to the student’s performances.
The scheme of work contains 6 drama lesson plans.
- Lesson 1: Birth of The Monkey King. Mime and role-play along to the story ‘Legend of the Monkey King’.
- Lesson 2: Martial Arts and Immortality. Choreographing movement using the Shaolin 5 animals and the warm up exercise ‘The Horse Position’.
- Lesson 3: Chaos of The Monkey King. Students perform a whole class movement piece, filmed to music.
- Lesson 4: The Monk’s Journey (Part 1). Use of multiple drama techniques to portray a physical and spiritual journey.
- Lesson 5: The Monk’s Journey (Part 2). Devising and performing character-based scenes based on the story of ‘The Pig King’.
- Lesson 6: The Monkey King Assessment. Students perform in a practical assessment based on the legend of the Monkey King.
Supporting materials include
- The Legend of the Monkey King (Parts 1-3)
- The Pig King
- 4 pieces of oriental music to create atmosphere during activities
Additional resources are included in the appendices
- Basic Drama Skills
- End Of Unit Self-Assessment Form
The scheme of work is supplied as a ZIP file. It contains the scheme of work (PDF, readable on most computers) along with 4 music files (MP3 format).
