Category: teacher in role

Posted in Drama Activities for children, Drama for children, Fairy Tales, Goldilocks anD the three bears, Still image, Storytelling, Storytelling in the Early years, teacher in role

Goldilocks and the Three Bears Drama Workshop

Posted on by Drama Start Books

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Goldilocks and the Three Bears Drama Workshop

Materials: A copy of the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Bear masks and props (optional). Chairs or stools to represent the three bears’ chairs.

Warm-up: Lead the children in a warm-up activity such as stretching, dancing, or singing. Tell the children that they will be using their imagination to bring the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears to life.

Main Focus: Talking Objects – ask the children to choose an object from the story, such as the porridge, chairs, or beds. Ask the children to imagine what the object might say or feel if it could talk. Encourage the children to use their creativity and imagination to come up with interesting ideas. Ask the children to take turns speaking for their object and improvising a short scene where it interacts with the other objects in the story.

Here are some examples of what the objects might say:

Porridge: “I’m too hot! I’m too cold! Why can’t anyone get me just right?”

Chairs: “I’m so big and uncomfortable. Why can’t someone make a chair that fits me just right?”

Beds: “I’m too hard! I’m too soft! Why can’t someone make a bed that’s just right for me?”

Spoon: “I’m so lonely. Nobody ever pays attention to me!”

Bowl: “I’m so empty! Fill me up, someone!”

Door: “Who’s there? Why are you coming into the bears’ house without asking?”

Window: “I’m so curious. I wonder what’s happening inside the bears’ house?”

House: “I’m just a house, but I’ve seen so much excitement since those bears moved in!”

Mime – ask the children to imagine they are Mama, Papa, or Baby Bear. Ask the children to use occupational mime to show what their bear character might do during a typical day, such as making porridge, reading a book, or going for a walk in the woods. Encourage the children to use their bodies to express different emotions, such as happiness, frustration, or tiredness.

Hot Seating -choose one child to play the role of Goldilocks. Ask the other children to take turns asking Goldilocks questions about her behaviour in the story, such as why she went into the bears’ house, why she tried their porridge, and what she would do differently if she could go back in time. Encourage the children to use their listening and communication skills to ask thoughtful questions and respond to Goldilocks’ answers. Here are some examples of questions to ask Goldilocks in the hot seat.

  • Why did you go into the bears’ house without permission?
  • How did you feel when you saw the bears’ chairs, porridge, and beds?
  • Why did you eat the bears’ porridge even though you knew it wasn’t yours?
  • How did you feel when you broke Baby Bear’s chair?
  • What would you do differently if you could go back in time?
  • How did you feel when the bears came home and discovered that you were in their house?
  • What would you say to the bears if you could apologize for your behaviour?
  • How did you feel when you ran away from the bears and the house?
  • What did you learn from your experience with the bears?
  • If you could have any wish, what would you wish for?

Teacher in Role – ask the other children to take turns acting out different scenes from the story, such as Goldilocks entering the bears’ house or the bears discovering that someone has been in their home. Encourage the teacher to play different characters in the story and interact with the children to help guide and shape the scenes.

Still Image – ask the children to work in pairs or small groups. Assign each group a scene from the story.  Ask the children to create a still image that represents the key moment in the scene. Encourage the children to use their bodies and facial expressions to convey the emotions and actions of the characters in the scene. Here are some examples of scenes from the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears:

  • Goldilocks walking through the forest and coming across the bears’ house for the first time.
  • Goldilocks entering the bears’ house and discovering the three bowls of porridge on the table.
  • Goldilocks trying the porridge and exclaiming, “This porridge is too hot! This porridge is too cold! This porridge is just right!”
  • Goldilocks trying out the three chairs and breaking Baby Bear’s chair.
  • Goldilocks exploring the bears’ house and eventually falling asleep in Baby Bear’s bed.
  • The bears coming home and discovering that someone has been in their house.
  • Mama Bear exclaiming, “Someone’s been eating my porridge!”
  • Papa Bear exclaiming, “Someone’s been sitting in my chair!”
  • Baby Bear exclaiming, “Someone’s been sleeping in my bed, and she’s still there!”
  • The bears discovering Goldilocks in Baby Bear’s bed and confronting her.

Closure: Have the participants sit in a circle. Explain that you are going to play a storytelling game inspired by the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Begin the story by saying “Once upon a time, there were three bears who lived in a cosy cottage in the woods.” Ask the person to your left to continue the story by adding a sentence. For example, “One day, while the bears were out for a walk, a little girl named Goldilocks stumbled upon their cottage.” Continue around the circle, with each person adding a sentence to the story. Encourage participants to use their imagination and come up with creative twists and turns in the story. Continue the story until it reaches a satisfying conclusion or until everyone has had a chance to contribute multiple times.

Click on the links below for more drama workshops based on children’s fairytales.

Posted in Drama, Drama Activities for children, Drama for children, Drama strategies, Drama techniques, Drama workshops for children, Hot seating, teacher in role

Drama learning opportunity based on Little Red Riding Hood

Posted on by Drama Start Books

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A drama learning opportunity based on Little Red Riding Hood

Introduction (5 minutes): Start by introducing the story of Little Red Riding Hood and asking the children if they have heard the story before. Briefly recap the story and ask the children to identify the characters in the story. Explain to the children that they are going to participate in a drama activity that explores the characters and events in the story in a new way.

Warm Up (10 minutes): Lead the children in a simple warm-up activity, such as stretching or jumping jacks. Encourage them to move their bodies and get their energy flowing.

Teacher in Role (10 minutes): Explain to the children that you are going to play the role of Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother. Invite the children to ask you questions about the story and the events that happened. Use your imagination to respond as if you were the grandmother, and encourage the children to ask follow-up questions to explore the character’s backstory and motivations.

Sound Collage (10 minutes): Explain to the children that they are going to participate in a drama technique called sound collage. Divide the children into small groups and assign each group a scene from the story, such as Little Red Riding Hood walking through the forest. Ask each group to create a soundscape that represents the scene using their voices and other sounds they can make with their bodies or objects. Encourage them to think creatively about the sounds they can make to represent the scene. After each group has created their soundscape, bring the whole group back together and ask them to share their soundscape with the rest of the group.

Hot Seating (10 minutes): Explain to the children that they are going to participate in a drama technique called hot seating. Choose one child to be the “hot seat,” and assign them a character from the story, such as the wolf. Ask the rest of the group to ask questions about the character and their motivations. Encourage the child in the hot seat to answer as if they were the character, using their imagination to create a backstory and motivations.

Still Image (10 minutes): Explain to the children that they are going to participate in a drama technique called still image. Divide the children into small groups and assign each group a scene from the story, such as Little Red Riding Hood meeting the wolf. Ask each group to create a still image of the moment from the story using their bodies and facial expressions to show the emotion and action of the moment. Then, have each group share their still image with the rest of the group, and ask them to guess which moment from the story it represents.

Conclusion (5 minutes): To end the session, gather the children back in a circle. Ask them to share what they learned about the story and how drama helped them explore the characters and events in a new way. Thank the children for participating and remind them that they can use their imagination and creativity in their daily lives. You could also suggest that they try to act out their favorite scenes from the story at home or in the playground.

Posted in Drama for children, Drama strategies, English as a second language, Esl, Esl Drama, fables, Freeze Frame, Hot seating, Movement activities, Movement stories for children, Still image, teacher in role, The Hare and the Tortoise

The hare and the tortoise, a fun drama workshop for children.

Posted on by Drama Start Books

image

Read the following movement story to the children. When they hear any of words in bold they must do the corresponding action. The teacher should go through each action at the beginning.

Boast/boastful/boasting – stand up straight and puff out chest
Woods – children make themselves into trees.
Animals – each child choose a different animal found in the woods and move like that animal.
Hare – make bunny ears with your hands.
Fast – children move as fast as they can
Run/ran – run on the spot
Tortoise – children bend over as if they have something heavy on their back.
Slow/slowly – children move in slow motion around the room.

Once upon a time there was a very boastful hare who lived in a woods with lots of other animals. He was always boasting about how fast he could run. He boasted “I’m the fastest animal in the woods. No one can run as fast as me.” The other animals were tired of listening to him. One day the tortoise said to the hare “Hare, you are so boastful. I challenge you to race.” Hare laughed and said “Tortoise, you will never beat me. You are too slow and steady.” They decided whoever got to the other side of the woods the fastest was the winner. All the other animals in the woods came to watch the race. The hare ran as fast as he could through the woods. After a while he thought to himself “I’m so fast that slow tortoise will never beat me. I think I will take a quick nap.” Soon, he fell asleep. The tortoise walked slowly through the woods. He passed the sleeping hare. The animals watched the tortoise near the finishing line. The animals cheered loudly. The hare woke up and ran as fast as he could through the woods to the finishing line but it was too late. The slow tortoise had won the race. All the animals in the wood congratulated the tortoise. The hare had to remind himself that he shouldn’t boast about his fast pace because slow and steady won the race.

Physical warm up: Get each child to find a clear space. They must make sure that they are not touching anyone else. The children crouch down on the floor and make a ball shape with their bodies. The
teacher explains that all children are magic rocks and that the teacher is a magic wizard. The teacher waves the magic wand and says: “Magic rocks turn into hares.” All the children turn into hares and move around the room as hares. The teacher then says: “Magic rocks turn into magic rocks.” The children return to their clear spaces and crouch down on the floor again as quickly as possible. The magic wizard can change the magic rocks into animal they can be found in the jungle.
Variation: The children can take it turns to be the magic wizard.

Role on the wall: Divide the class into groups of four. Give each group either an outline of the hare or the tortoise and ask the children to write inside the image the different characteristics or personality traits of the hare or the tortoise. If they are too young to write, get them to draw inside the image. Each group talks about their image and what they put inside.

Still Image: Ask each child to make a still image of the Hare at the beginning of the race. The teacher taps each child on the shoulder and they must say how they feel. Then get them to make a still image of the hare at the end of the race. The teacher taps each child on the shoulder and they must say how they feel. Can they tell the difference?

Freeze Frame: Divide the class into pairs. They have to make six images that tell the story of the hare and the tortoise. They then show their freeze frame to the rest of the class.

Teacher in Role: The teacher takes on the role of the tortoise. She tells the children she feels sorry for the hare because he thought he was the fastest in the forest and now he is upset. Ask the children what do they suggest they could do to make him feel better.

Hot seating: One of the children volunteers to be the hare. The hare sits in the hot seat and the rest of the children asks him questions.

Closure: The children sit in a circle. Each child finishes the following sentences “if I could be an animal I would be a………

Turn on some music and everyone dances as their animal.

 

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”

Posted on by Drama Start Books

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 Animal Stories, Christmas plays, 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, Drama workshop for childre, Elements of Drama, Endings, English as a second language, English teaching games, Esl, Esl Drama, fables, Fairy Tales, Hot seating, Mime for children, Role playing stories, Story sacks, Storytelling, Storytelling in the Early years, Storytelling techniques, teacher in role, The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo drama workshop, Voice Production

The Gruffalo – Drama Workshop

Posted on by Drama Start Books