Posted in Action Poems, English as a second language, English teaching games, Esl Drama, expressive arts, Mime, Mime for kids, Movement activities

Emotions -a drama workshop for children based on emotions

Drama is a great way of expressing emotions. Explain to the children everything we do and every thought we have comes with a feeling. Sometimes the feelings feel good and sometimes not so good. Some feelings are strong, some are weak. When we feel something we can choos want to do about that feeling. Sometimes we try to ignore it and it goes away and sometime it takes over and we cannot think of anything else. When you get a feeling, first work out what it is and come up with an idea about what to do about it.

When you are feeling…….
Happy
Angry
Bored
Worried
Sad
Excited
Grumpy
Scared
Quiet
Jealous
Embarrassed
Shy

Everyone makes mask with different emotions. Walk around the trying portray their emotions.
The rest of the class has to get what emotion you are portraying.

ACTIVITY: EMOTION ACTION SONG.

The song is a variation on the classic “If You Are Happy, And You Know It.”

When I sing this, I over exaggerate my faces. And I encourage the children to make the faces along with the body language. So often we focus emotion lessons only on faces, but children’s bodies tell us how they are feeling too.

If you are happy, and you know it clap your hands
If you are happy, and you know it clap your hands
If you are happy, and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you are happy, and you know it, clap your hands.

Now replace happy with different emotions:

Mad – cross your arms.
Frustrated – stomp your feet.
Excited – jump up and down.
Sad – make a frown
Scared – hide your face.

Mirror, Mirror

Pair the children up. One child makes an emotion face and their partner identifies the emotion and duplicates it.

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Drama workshop for children based on the Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

A Play  script for children – The Frog Prince

Posted in Aesop's fabes, Animal Stories, Drama, Drama Activities for children, Drama for children, drama for kids, English as a second language, Esl, Esl Drama, expressive arts, Fairy Tales, Panchatantra plays, Storytelling, Storytelling in the Early years, Storytelling techniques

The Three Billy Goats Gruff -A Movement Story

Each child finds a space and sits down. Each child or a group of children are assigned a specific word and a corresponding action. The narrator/teacher reads the story aloud, and when the children hear their word, they must jump up and do their actions. The words are in bold to assist the teacher.

Movement: Action.

Billy goats gruff: Move like a goat and say triplet trip.

Bridge: Two children face each other; they place their arms over their heads and link their fingers together.

Troll: Roar and make an ugly face.

Smallest: Make your body as small as you can.

Middle-sized: Stand up straight.

Bigger/Biggest: Stretch your hands up in the air as high as you can.

Meadow: Get down on your hands and knees and graze on the grass.

Hungry: Rub your tummy.

Brother: Two children link arms.

Brothers: Three children link arms.

Eat: Mime gobbling food.

Narrator: Once upon a time, there lived three billy goats gruff. They spent every winter in a barn that kept them nice and warm. But when the summer came, they liked to trippety trip over the bridge to the beautiful green meadow on the other side of the river. “I’m really hungry. I think I will cross the bridge to eat some lovely green grass in the meadow,” said the smallest billy goat gruff.

What the billy goats gruff didn’t know was that under the bridge, there lived an ugly troll. The troll was nasty and horrible.

Nobody crossed the bridge without the troll’s permission, and he never gave permission.

“I can’t wait to get to the meadow,” said the smallest billy goat gruff. “Who is that trippety tripping over my bridge?” roared the troll.

“Oh, it’s only me. Please let me pass. I only want to go to the meadow to eat some sweet grass,” pleaded the smallest billy goat gruff.

“Oh no, you are not. I’m going to eat you,” said the troll.

“Oh, no, please, Mr. Troll, I’m only the smallest billy goat gruff. I’m much too tiny for you to eat, and I wouldn’t taste very good. Why don’t you wait for my brother, the middle-sized billy goat gruff? He is much bigger than I am and would be much tastier,” said the smallest billy goat gruff.

“Well, I suppose I could wait,” the troll said with a sigh.

“I think I will join my brother on the meadow and eat some lovely lush grass,” mused the middle-sized billy goat gruff.

“Who is that trippety tripping over my bridge?” roared the troll.

“Oh, it’s only me. Please let me pass. I only want to go to the meadow to eat some sweet grass” said the middle sized billy goats gruff.

“Oh no, you are not. I’m going to eat you,” bellowed the troll.

“Oh, no, please, Mr. Troll, I’m only the middle-sized billy goat gruff. I’m much too tiny for you to eat, and I wouldn’t taste very good. Why don’t you wait for my brother, the biggest billy goat gruff?” He is much bigger than I am and would be much tastier,” pleased the middle-sized billy goat gruff.

“Well, I suppose I could wait,” the troll said with a sigh.

“I am alone and hungry. I will join my brothers in the meadow and get some nice and sweet grass to eat,” said the biggest billy goat gruff.

“Who is that trippety tripping over my bridge?” roared the troll.

“Oh, it is only me. Please let me pass. I only want to go to the meadow to eat some sweet grass,” said the biggest billy goat gruff.

“Oh no, you are not. I’m going to eat you,” bellowed the troll.

“That’s what you think!” shouted the biggest billy goat gruff angrily. He lowered his horns, galloped along the bridge and butted the ugly troll. Up, up, up went the troll into the air. Then down, down, down into the rushing river below. He disappeared below the swirling waters. “That taught him a lesson,” said the biggest billy goat gruff. He continued across the bridge and met with his brothers, and they ate grass and played for the rest of summer.

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Posted in Action Poems, Aesop's fabes, creative arts, Drama, Drama Activities for children, Drama for children, Esl, expressive arts, fables, Panchatantra plays, Plays, Plays for Children, the lion and the mouse

Rhyming Tales – The Lion and the Mouse

A king lion and a mouse under the tree

Rhyming Tales
The following poem can be used in a variety of ways: The practionner could read it at story time or the children could act out or mime the different parts for fun or in front of an audience. They could also be recited. Each child could learn four lines each and they could recite it as a choral piece. These stories help children with their vocal expression and give them an understanding of rhythm.

The Lion and the Mouse
There was a lion who lived in a cave.
He was extremely big and terribly brave.
The lion was not frightened of anything
Because he was the fearsome jungle king.
One day he was asleep near his house
When he was woken by a little mouse.
The lion grabbed the mouse with his large paw
He licked his lips and opened his wide jaw.-
The little mouse looked at him with sheer dread –
He didn’t want to be some scrumptious spread. –
“Squeak, squeak, Mr. Lion do not eat me
Some day I will help you so let me be.”
“You help me,” he said “I don’t think so
But I’m not that hungry, so off you go.”
One day while hunting deep in the jungle
The lion tripped over and took a tumble.
Suddenly he was stuck in an evil trap
The other animals began to clap.
He saw some grey elephants and he cried:
“Elephants, please help me I’ve swallowed my pride.”
“Oh Mr. Lion we will not help you
So how does it feel to be in a stew?”
The elephants said with extreme delight
And off they trundled into the dark night.
The lion waited and a few hours passed
Then out of the blue he saw some giraffes
“Giraffes, Giraffes,” he said, “please, please help me.”
The Giraffes looked at him and decided to flee.
He was extremely hungry and very cold
He was terribly tired and feeling less bold.
When all of a sudden down by the lake
He heard the hissing of a slimy snake.
“Snake, please, please help me I’m stuck in a trap,
I feel confused and I’m all in a flap.”
The snake hissed: “Jungle King I must admit,
You really do look like a proper twit.”
Snake laughed and laughed and felt real good
And away he slithered into the deep wood.
The Lion felt a sense of despair’
He was stuck outside in the cold night air.
Then all of a sudden out from his house
Came the patter of the little brown mouse.
“Pardon Lion I’m not one for prying
But please tell me why you are crying?”
The lion told the mouse his whole story
In all its wondrous gruesome glory.
The little mouse began to gnaw and gnaw
The scary lion sat there full of great awe.
At last, the lion roared: “I’m FREE I’m free.”
With that he invited the mouse home for tea.

 

 

Posted in Aesop's fabes, creative arts, Drama, Drama Activities for children, Drama for children, drama for kids, Drama strategies, Elements of Drama, Esl, Esl Drama, expressive arts, fables, Fairy Tales, Freeze Frame, Hot seating, Mime, Panchatantra plays, Role playing stories, Still image, Storytelling, teacher in role, Voice Production

Drama Lesson based on “The Lion and The Clever Rabbit”

The following is a Drama workshop to do with children in primary or elementary school. It is a useful workshop if you want to focus on the issue of Bully and isolation. It is based on the fable from the Panchatantra called “The Lion and the Clever Rabbit”. Here is a link to a version on you tube.

Once the teacher has told the story or watched the video ask the children to get into groups of four.

Physical warm up: In each group there is a monkey, an elephant, a snake and a rabbit. Get the children to move around the room and sound like their different animals. Get them to find the animal that is like them from the other groups and interact and play with them. The teacher gives a loud roar and the animals are frightened.

Teacher in role: The teacher in role as the Lion roars at them. She says “I’m very hungry and I’m going to eat all the animals in the jungle one by one.”

Still Image: In their animal groups the children make a still image of how they feel when they think the Lion is coming to get catch them and eat them.

Thought tracking: Once all groups are in the still image then the teacher out of role goes and touches them on the shoulder. Each animal has to say how they feel at that moment.

Conscience alley: Once the children are out of their still image they make two lines facing each other. The teacher in role as the the Lion walks in between the line as the children speak out as his conscience. The children in the line on the left hand should speak out that it is wrong to scare and eat the other animals and the children on the right hand side should speak out saying that he is right to scare and the eat the animals.
Examples: The left side could say “the animals are scared”, “what about their families?”,
“they want to stay in the jungle and play with their friends”.
The right side could say: “none of the other animals like you”, “you are hungry and you need to eat”, “you have no friends so you don’t care what they think of you”.

Hot seating: The teacher in role as the Lion sits in the hot seat. The children who are being themselves ask the Lion why he is behaving this way. Why does he want to eat all the animals in the jungle? Why is he horrible and mean to the other animals?

Group discussion: Get the children to get into role as their original animals. Tell them that they are going to change the ending of the story because the way the Clever Rabbit treated the Lion was as bad as how the Lion treated the other animals. They must come up with a more positive ending.

Group improvisation: The groups all improvise their endings in front of the other groups. The teacher takes on the role as the Lion in each group.

Role on the wall: Put two outlines of a Lion on the wall. Let the children choose words that describes the Lion before he got stuck in the well and one for after he was rescued from the well.

Closure|relaxation activity: Sleeping Lions – get the children to lie still on the floor and pretend to be a sleep. If they move then they are out and have to wake up with aloud roar.

Posted in Aesop's fabes, Drama, Drama Activities for children, Drama for children, drama for kids, English as a second language, English teaching games, Esl, Esl Drama, expressive arts, fables, Fairy Tales, Panchatantra plays, Role playing stories, Story sacks, Storytelling, Storytelling in the Early years, The Twits by Roald Dahl, The Twits play

The Twits – A Play based on a Roald Dahl Classic

image

The following is a play adapted from Roald Dahl’s classic “The Twits.”
Characters: Mr Twit, Mrs Twit, three narrators, four little boys, Roly Poly Bird, monkeys and birds – you can have as many monkeys and birds as you want.
Narrator 1: Mr and Mrs Twit were truly awful people. They were awful in every way. They were awful on the inside and awful on the outside. They never realised that if you are ugly on the inside, you’ll be ugly on the outside too.
Narrator 2: Everybody knows that if you’re beautiful on the inside, you’ll be beautiful on the outside, even if your feet are too big and your ears are too small and you have a wonky nose. When you think beautiful thoughts they shine out of your face like sunbeams. Mr and Mrs Twit never, ever thought beautiful thoughts, so you can imagine how awful they were to look at.
Narrator 3: They hated everything and everyone, and even hated each other. They only thing they loved doing was playing nasty tricks, and they were always trying to see which one of them could be the nastiest.
Mrs Twit: Hmmmmm, what kind of trick can I play on Mr. Twit today? I know! I’ll put some worms in his spaghetti. He’ll never know because I’ll put lots of sauce and cheese on it.
Mr Twit: Where is my dinner?
Mrs Twit: Here it is, dear.
Mr Twit: Hey, my spaghetti is moving!
Mrs Twit: It’s a new kind called squiggly spaghetti. I think it’s delicious.
Narrator 1: Of course, there were no worms in Mrs Twit spaghetti.
Mr Twit: I don’t like it. It is too squishy and bitter.
Mrs Twit: Stop complaining and finish your dinner. I didn’t slave over a hot stove for nothing.
Mr Twit: Okay, okay. (Continues to eat, making faces the whole time, then finishes and wipes his mouth on his sleeve.)
Mrs Twit: Do you want to know why your spaghetti was squishy and bitter?
Mr Twit: Why?
Mrs Twit: Because their were worms in it! Ha, ha, ha!
Mr Twit: (running away with his hand in his mouth) I’ll pay you back for this!
Narrator 2: That very night ……
Mr Twit: Hmmmm, what can I do to get Mrs Twit back for putting worms in my spaghetti? I know since she hates frogs so much, I’ll catch one and put it in her bed before she goes to sleep!
(Mr and Mrs Twit go to bed)
Background noise: Ribbit, Ribbit!
Mr Twit: Good night. (Giggles to himself.)
Mrs Twit: Hey, there’s something in my bed.
Mr Twit: What? Something squishy and slimy.
Mrs Twit: Yes, how did you know?
Mr Twit: Oh, I was wondering…
Mrs Twit: Wondering what?
Mr Twit: If It could be a ….
Mrs Twit: A what?
Mr Twit: A frog!
Mrs Twit: Ewww!
Mr. Twit: What’s wrong?
Mrs Twit: There is one in my bed. (Kicks and kicks and kicks and kicks.)
Mr. Twit: Are you okay?
Mrs Twit: Ohhhh …(faints)
Mr. Twit: Hee, hee, hee!
Narrator 3: If you think that’s bad, see how they are to their people.
First little boy: Hey, let’s climb that tree!
Second little boy: But it’s in Mr and Mrs Twit’s yard.
Third little boy: Never mind, we can be quick.
Fourth little boy: Okay, let’s go.
Narrator 1: What the boys didn’t know was Mr. Twit had spread sticky stuff on the branches of the tree, so that he and Mrs Twit could have tasty things for supper, like bugs and birds and small children. As they climb the tree, the first little boy notice something was wrong.
First little boy: Hey, we are stuck.
Second little boy: What do you mean?
Third little boy: Try to get up?
Fourth little boy: Ahh! I can’t.
First little boy: Take your pants off!
Other little boys: Huh?
Narrator 2: The first little boy who was the smartest, knew that it was just their pants that stuck to the tree, and if they took them off, they would be able to get away.
First Little boy: We’re free, we’re free!
Other little boys: We’re free! We’re free.
Narrator 3: All this time, Mr and Mrs Twit had kept some monkey in a cage not far from the tree. They had been caught in the same way that the Twits had try to catch the little boys. When the birds would come and try to roost on the Twits’s tree the monkeys would shout:
Monkeys: There is sticky stuff all over the tree.
If you land on the branches, you will never be free.
So fly away! Fly away! Stay up high!
Or you’ll finish up tomorrow in a hot bird pie.
Narrator 1: The Roly Poly Bird, who watches over all birds, animals and insects decided that enough is enough and that he’d better get involved.
Roly Poly Bird: What is going on here?
Little boys, monkeys and birds: The Twits are awful, they won’t leave us alone.
Roly Poly Bird: Well, let’s see what we can do. Since the Twits have turned your life upside down, maybe we can return the favour and show them what it is like.
Narrator 2: So, all the monkeys, the birds and the little boys set to turn the Twits house upside down. One day, when the Twits were out, they glued all the furniture in the house to the ceiling! Imagine the Twit’s surprise when they came back that day.
Mr Twit: (opening the door) Whoa!
Mrs Twit: What?
Mr Twit: Everything’s upside down!
Mrs Twit: I know! We’ll stand on heads and everything will be right side up.
Mr. Twit: Good idea!
Narrator 3: Just then, one of the birds that had helped to the glue the Twit’s furniture flew in and dripped some glue on the Twits’ heads, but they were far too excited to notice. This was the last and most important part of the Roly Poly Bird’s plan.
Mrs Twit: Ready?
Mr. Twit: Okay!
(The Twits stand on their heads.)
Twits: Oh no! We’re stuck!
Narrator 1: The Twits were indeed stuck. They stayed stuck, no matter how hard they tried to get away and eventually they shrank and shrank until there was nothing left of them but two stinky piles of old clothes.
Everyone: Hooray!
The End

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Posted in Drama, Drama Activities for children, Drama for children, drama for kids, Drama games for 3 year olds, Drama games for 4 year olds, Drama strategies, Elements of Drama, Endings, English as a second language, English teaching games, Esl, Esl Drama, expressive arts

Drama Activities for ESL Students



Game: The Dog Show 

Level: Pre Intermediate +

Aim: Questions

Minimum number of participants: 2

Resources needed: Clear Space

Instructions: This is a communication activity where the students have to use their imagination. There is an opportunity for the students to use mime and provides a chance to use the teacher in role drama technique. Get each student to imagine that they are a dog owner. They must each mime interacting with their dog. Once they have done this and got use to the size of their dog get them to imagine that they are competing in a dog show. The teacher takes on the role as a judge of the show. She/he interviews each of the dog owners individually and ask them the following questions.

What type of dog is it?

Where did you get him from?

What type of personality does he have?

What dog tricks can he do? Can you show us?

Why should you dog win the show?

The Judge/teacher can decide at the end of the activity who wins the show. The winner/winners can take a photo at the end with their dogs. (Still image).

Game: Alibi

Level: Pre intermediate +

Aim: To ask questions and to communicate in a spontaneous manner.

Minimum number of participants: 6

Resources needed: A clear space.

Instructions: Explain what an alibi means. Create a crime scene scenario.
Divide the class into groups of 4 or 5. Get one group to be the suspect send them out of the room to get their story straight. Meanwhile the suspects are getting their story straight. Get the other group to be the investigators to compile a series of questions. After the students are finished preparing invite the suspect back and the interrogation begins. Each group interviews each suspect and then they compare notes and decide whose story didn’t match up and they must come to a consensus who they will officially excuse.

Different scenarios

Bank robbery

Kidnapping

Shop lifting

Extension: More advanced students could hold a trial in which each group could be assigned different roles.

Posted in creative arts, Drama Activities for children, Drama for children, drama for kids, Drama strategies, Elements of Drama, English as a second language, English teaching games, Esl, Esl Drama, expressive arts, Mime, Mime for all ages, Mime for children, Mime for kids, Movement activities, Movement stories for children, Role playing stories, Still image, Storytelling, Storytelling in the Early years, Storytelling techniques

Mime Workshop for all ages

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Mime theme image 2

Main objective of workshop: Mime encourages confidence and awareness of self and of others. It encourages physical control, simplicity of thought and movement and more importantly it stimulates the imagination.

Sub aims:

  • To introduce relaxation exercises and understand their role in a drama class.
  • To promote group work and co-operation.

Relaxation exercises

Be a star: Lie sown on your back and spread your arms, palms up to the side and open your legs. Stretch the limbs all together. Feel you are making a four pointed star. Suddenly the star collapses. Feel the tension disappear.

Be Hercules: In the same position, imagine that the body is being pushed down by a heavy weight so that all parts of the body are being pressed into the ground suddenly the weight is removed. Feel yourself float on the ground.

Shake off the ants:  In the same position, imagine you are tied to the ground but you can wiggle. A colony of ants finds and begins to crawl over you. Commence to wiggle the body until the last ant leaves you. Then collapse.

Be a rubber puppet: Imagine you are made of rubber and there are strings attached to your shoulders which someone can pull from above. You are being pulled up and you find your limbs fly out in all directions. Even the feet can be pulled off the ground at times, finally the strings are cut and the body relaxes.

Mime Activities:

What’s in the Box: All the students sit in a large circle. The teacher asks them to imagine there is a magic box in the centre of the circle. The teacher can ask what size is it? What colour is it? Ask can everyone see it. This is a fun mime game. Everyone sits in a circle. Ask the children if they can see the box in the centre of the circle. Ask them what colour it is? What shape it is? Tell them it can be a different shape and colour, depending on where you are sitting in the circle. This is because it is a magic box.  The teacher goes into the centre of the circle first and mimes opening the box and taking out an object. She then mimes holding the object and the class must guess what it is. When the children guess correctly the teacher mimes putting it back in the box and closing it. The child who guessed correctly takes a turn at taking an object out of the box.

Pass the object: This is a follow on from the Magic Box game. The teacher mimes taking an object out of the box, for example a mouse, a rotten egg, a cream cake, chewing gum, lipstick or a puppy, and the children guess what it is. When they have guessed she passes the object around the circle. The children should react as if they were holding the actual object in their hands. Eventually the last child in the circle gets rid of the object and the teacher goes to the box and takes out a new.

Locomotion: Get the students consider the ways that people walk. The teacher gets the children to walk around the room. Then call out different ways of walking

Walk like  a …..

•           Toddler

•           child in high heels

•           child wearing heavy wellington boots

•           child splashing in a puddles

•           child stuck in mud

•           child walking on stony beach

•           child walking on hot sand

•           someone walking on fire

•           someone walking wearily

•           an old frail person.

Chain Mime: Divide the class into 2 or 3 groups. Have at least 6 in each group. Number the students from one to six. Get each member of the group to leave the room except for number one. The other groups stay in the room. You then give number one an action to mime. You then call number 2 into the room and number one mimes to number 2. They do not talk. Number 2 can not say anything and she has to do mime exactly what she saw to number 3, then number 3 comes into the room and watches number 2 very carefully. Number 3 does the mime for number four and so on. When number 6 comes into the room she has to guess what the original mime was. This is like broken telephone but it is done through mime. Here are some suggestions for mimes:

•           Riding a horse

•           Skiing

•           Washing dishes

•           Eating hot food

•           Counting money

•           Telling someone you love them

•           Eating spaghetti

•           Singing

•           Playing tug of war

•           Washing your dog

•           Ballet dancing

•           Moon walk

•           Playing basketball

•           Singing opera

•           Walking in the desert

•           Playing tennis

•           Making pancakes

•           Opening a present that you do not like

The other groups watch how the mime changes with each person. This is a fun game and helps with observation skills.

Basic Situation: Divide the class into small groups and they must use body language and facial expression to 5 ways of showing that their are

•           Cold

•           Hot

•           Surprised,

•           Frightened

Meetings

The class gets into pairs. Each pair stands back to back. When the teacher calls out go they must turn around and pass their partner if

•           They were strangers

•           They were a casual acquaintance

•           Meeting some one they haven’t seen for 10 years

•           Meeting someone that owes them money.

Group Mime: Divide the class into groups and give each group one of the following outlines for a group mime. Allow the class 10 to15 minutes to prepare

The Concert   

  • Audience arrive for outdoor concert
  • Band enters with different instruments
  • Audience is very enthusiastic, claps, jumps up and down and waves hands in the air.
  • One person faints
  • Security arrives and removes him and her
  • No one takes any notice
  • Band plays on
  • Girl gets up on the stage and tries to touch members of the group
  • Security removes them
  • It starts to rain and after awhile everyone goes away disappointed

Hijack

  • Passengers board the plane
  • Welcomed by the air hostess
  • The plane takes off
  • One hijacker takes over the plane and an other one holds up the passengers
  • One passenger faints
  • This distracts the hijacker for a second
  • Pilot overcomes him
  • Airhostess holds him and the handcuff are put on him
  • Pilot overcomes the second hijacker and handcuffs him to hijacker 1
  • All the passengers have a strong drink and cheer the pilot as he brings the plane to land.

The Bank Robbery

  • Cashiers arrive bored and yawning they open up their desks and talk to each other
  • People come in and walk up to the cashiers and put in and withdraw money
  • Suddenly two robbers come in wearing masks
  • They make everyone lie on the floor and they hold up the bank clerks and make them hand over the money
  • Little old lady trips up robber and he falls and spills the money
  • Security guard then holds up robbers and takes off their masks.

Other ideas/themes for group mimes: Camping, The Circus, Christmas morning, The big mistake.

Starting  to use mime in a Drama session;

Start beginner groups on occupational mimes and later move to emotional mimes. Mime starts within and is then portrayed by the body. Never forget that through mime is that art of movement it is also the art of stillness.

Occupational Mimes: lift a bucket, box, brush. Place the same objects on a shelf or table, place them, carefully on top of each other. Use scissors, shears, pickaxes, fishing rod. Use activities such as sewing buttons, cooking, putting on clothes, painting, cleaning windows.

Character Mimes: Portray different types of character, the young girl, the old woman, the rich lady, beggar, clown. Watch people around you.

Emotional Mimes: These are the hardest to portray. Feel, understand, convey happiness at receiving a gift. Sadness at hearing bad news, shock, horror, love etc..,

More mime games

What’s the Chair?

Place a chair in the centre of the circle and particiapnts take turns to mime what they imagine it to be:, for example:  a post box, a kitchen sink, a dog, a naughty schoolboy, a new car.

The person who guesses correctly takes their place in the middle.

Take over

•           in a circle, walking on the spot

•           leader makes a gesture, in time, that the everyone else imitates

•           continue for 8 beats or so, then shout the name of a particiapnt and they must change or add to the action

•           this can continue until the group have warmed up

What’s my job?

All sit in a circle.  Give everyone an occupation (e.g. policeman, astronaut, postman, teacher).  Use each occupation twice, and make sure the occupations are kept secret.

Students use the space to mime their own occupation.  Their task is to spot the person with the same occupation as them.  When they have done this they should approach their partner, and without speaking, check that they are both miming the same job.

They should sit down in their pair when they think they have found them.

The game continues until everybody is sitting down.  The teacher should check they are all correct at the end of the game!

 

Posted in Drama, Drama Activities for children, expressive arts, Role playing stories

Acting out some emotions:

Emotions emoticons

  • try to maintain each expression for 10 seconds, even if other people lose it!
  • try to challenge yourself further, you can try to manage links between each emotion convincingly!

Try out the following:

  • waiting for something
  • confusion
  • physical ache or pain
  • thinking about something deeply
  • bored
  • something’s caught my attention
  • quietly amused
  • trying to remember something, but failing
  • remembering something painful
  • remembering something happily
  • frustration
  • anger
  • elation
  • trying to hide your irritation
  • scheming, or devising a plan
  • despair
  • verge of tears
  • relief

Now let’s try some more complex techniques, still not involving words:

  • Guffaw (short laugh)
  • Sniff, perhaps to show awkwardness
  • Clearing throat, perhaps to show you’re trying to clear your thoughts or perhaps to get attention
  • Sigh, perhaps from tiredness or perhaps because you’re relieved or frustrated
  • Muttering in panic, irritation or disbelief
  • Mmmm, perhaps thinking, perhaps ‘agreeing with yourself’ or confirming your own thoughts
Posted in co-operation, creative arts, Drama, expressive arts, Fairy Tales, Role playing stories

The Magic Forest!

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This is an excellent activity to do with a variety of age groups. For younger children you can read out the story and get them to use their imaginations to fill in the gaps. For older children they could fill in the gaps in groups. At the end they could do a group picture/painting of their magic forest. They could also do a group improvisation based on their story.

The Magic Forest

Once upon a time there was a young child called Matilda. Matilda’s parents were the king and queen of the magic forest. The king, Matilda’s father was very ……………….. and the queen, Matilda’s mother was always ……………….. Matilda was the kind of child who never …………………… but always ………. Sometimes the king, the queen and Matilda would ………………… but they never ……………… All of them would sometimes go …………and Matilda would feel ……….. One day while walking in the magic forest, Matilda lost her way. She tried and tried to see if she could get back home to the castle. Matilda became ……….. After a while a wizard came hobbling along the path and told Matilda ………………… The wizard also gave …………. The first thing that Matilda did was ………. and she …………

Finally, after wandering around for a long time, Matilda recognised the path back to the castle. She hurried towards it but suddenly she came across a …………… Now she felt ………… As the sun was setting Matilda trudged through the castle gates and into the castle where the king and queen were very, very, very, …………..  Her father the King told Matilda ………… Matilda felt …………. So told the king and queen……………… It had been a very tiring day for Matilda and she fell asleep. The king and queen watched Matilda as she slept and thought ……………

The next morning Matilda woke up and said to her self “……………………………………………………………………….”