Product reviews for Uncharted Territories

When I first started teaching way back in 1989, I taught some KS3 English and was asked to use a dog-eared set of books with the title, The Island, printed in white against a gaudy, bold cartoon like illustration. Inside were all sorts of activities encouraging pupils to think, plan and problem solve about their survival after ending up on this barren landscape with many activities that were cross-curricular in nature. 

Publishing has moved on and now things are more ambitious and sophisticated. Uncharted Territories - adventures in learning by Hywel Roberts and Debra Kidd is a beautifully produced book and clearly a labour oflove. Its foreword (written by David Cameron - not that one surely??) makes it clear that it aspires to be 'more than a handbook ... more than a toolkit.' Indeed, to this reviewer it is clearly a manifesto for cross-curricular learning bridging the KS2/KS3 divide and in Drama terms is heavily influenced by the work of Dorothy Heathcote and her acolyte, Luke Abbott, not just in its 'children as experts' writing reports but also in its appeal to the essentials of children's play to encourage 'the best kinds of thinking'. It begins with a short, 'Statement of Intent' to place use of the 'imagination' as the key to learning. Indeed, in the age of Greta Thunberg its words are resonant: 'Our planet is facing challenges .... we need to look to the future ... empowering children with the belief that they can be agents for change .. .' 

As for the, book itself its lofty aims are not schemes of work but, 'prompts, provocations and possibilities ... to get you excited about learning'. The layout of the book goes some way to achieve this aim. The dustcover is dual purpose and opens out to be a chart to display some of the lovely illustrations inside. 

Each chapter takes not so much a theme but a specific location to fire the imagination and uses eye catching woodcut type illustrations for children to immediately begin asking questions. Hence, the first location is The Forest, with an implied narrative and mystery set up by a series of suggested questions children could ask before thinking of their own. I liked the approach of asking children to pose questions which immediately puts the onus on them as learners. The only question I get asked in the classroom is 'Can I go to the toilet?' The chapters are then sub-divided into suggestions for activities in the primary and secondary settings;'stopover'- more detailed road-tested lesson suggestions with the given age range and somewhat fascinatingly, the 'bedrock' section which gives a theoretical underpinning to the whole process. Indeed, the authors go to some trouble to explain research on brain function in relation to the acquisition of knowledge along with movement and free play. The forest chapter aptly teems with ideas and it would be easy to pie and mix what would work for a particular class. In terms of suggested Drama activities they are highlighted in bold print and link to a section at the back titled, Useful Drama Techniques. 

Initially they seem quite limited: freeze-framing; still image; teacher in role; thought tracking but the whole thing is imbued with a Heathcote feel and enthusiasm. 

Other chapters cover different locations, such as, The Graveyard, The Ship, The Universe, The Zoo, The Wasteland, and are structured in the same way with dozens of suggestions for work and enquiry. The authors make it clear that suggested activities should see children, 'wading knee deep in experiences that demand more than just memorisation'. It is no surprise that this book is, in part an antidote to testing, rigid curriculum models and all the other complexities of a top down curriculum. Instead it seeks to promote the importance of empathy, oracy, emotion and the purpose of narrative as a way to drive the imagination. 

Pupil well-being is also at the top of its agenda. The cynic in me thought for a moment that it was making an argument for creativity that has already been lost. However, the theoretical sections (which are far from dry academic stuff) save the thesis of the book and make it a useful book for Drama teachers in need of thematic ideas, Heathcote fans or teachers at KS2 who want new ways to unlock the imagination of all children. As a book, its ambition is to be applauded and it is a thing of beauty in itself. Take a look yourself!