Drama Club Poster -- No Divas Allowed

 

Two years ago, I started an after school drama club for upper elementary students. I watched the high school cast for its musical that year and realized that students needed a safe place to try out drama skills before they got to an audition in high school.  

I created a simple version of the poster to show the skills I wanted the students to work on.  To download the Drama Club Poster, click here. I taught several sessions where we focused on drama games and skits.  For each activity I referred back to the poster and the skill we would practice.

If you are interested in starting a drama club in your school, click the links to see the resources I have used.  All of my posts tagged drama are here.

By the way, I taught drama club with a principal who has a narrow view about what is educational.  When she saw this list of skills, she said, "Everyone should be in drama club."  I agree with her.

Happy Friday!

Drama Games for Brain/Movement Breaks

Frequent readers know I have an afterschool drama club.  I also find ways to incorporate theater games in my classroom.  Students get to practice public speaking and inventing stories.  Some of the games are just good for those little bits of time between activities or to break up a long stretch.

The machine game -- students act out a part of a machine with a repetitive motion and a sound effect.  They can become a part of an assembly line by working with a small group of students.  I have played different versions of this game.  Here is one called Conveyor Belt.

Super glue -- students pair up and must pretend that they are super-glued together at a particular part of their body (elbows, shoulders, toes.) They must move from one side of the room (or field) to the other keeping that part connected to the partner. Here is the pin and a link to more resources.

Catch -- the whole class stands in a circle and tosses a bean bag.  The first round, the person with the bean bag introduces himself.  The second round, the person with the bean bag calls out the person she is throwing to. Other suggestions for this game can be found on this site. http://dramaresource.com/games/icebreakers/catch-my-name

I hope you enjoy these resources with your students.

What Color Do You Feel Like Today? Three Color Themed Activities

My sophomore year of school, my English teacher had a question of the day that we would answer for attendance.  Her favorite question was "What Color Do You Feel Like Today?"  We could elaborate briefly. I use that question sometimes with my students during class meeting.

I also learned a related drama game that can be used as a brain/movement break.  Students start by walking around the room until a leader calls out a color.  They continue moving but changing the movement to reflect the color. This could be used as a way to transition activities. "Move from the carpet to your desk in a purple way."

Because students need to think about color in an abstract way, this activity could also be used as an introduction for my forever freebie Color Poems.

I developed the lessons in Color Poems to teach my students about figurative language.
Download Color Poems: Exploring Metaphors and Similes at Teachers Pay Teachers, or Color Poems: Exploring Metaphors and Similes at Teacher's Notebook.

I hope you enjoy these activities with your students.

Play Production Rubric for Readers' Theater

As frequent readers know I enjoy being involved in drama.  (For the record, I enjoy being involved in the drama onstage for an audience. Not the other one.

I run the drama club in an afterschool program.  Here is a link that will get you started on other resources I have posted about that.  Each summer for the last four or five years, I have helped with a musical production.

This year when I worked with my classroom students on plays, I wanted to give them specific feedback that would also relate to their general studies.  Here is the rubric I created:

You can download Play Production Rubric for free on Google Drive here.

This rubric may be used with any play or readers' theater.  Students build fluency with practice.  I hope you find it useful.

Drama Club Pinterest Board

I love teaching drama. During our after school programs, I taught two sessions.  This summer I will help out with a Summer Theater workshop for middle school and high school students.

As a result, I have been collecting resources to use with these students and I'm finding that many of the activities are appropriate for my general education classes.

Below is a link to my Drama Club board on Pinterest.  Most of the activities are free and require very little prep.  I am consistently adding to this resource.

Follow Mary Bauer's board Drama Club on Pinterest.

Camp Skits -- Drama Resources for Summer Camps and Classrooms

I can't believe it's June 1 tomorrow.  I am wrapping up Drama Club on Monday and getting resources ready for the activities I'm teaching this summer.

I have been using camp skits with Drama Club this spring.  I love these short humorous plays for practicing all the skills we have been learning.

Here are my favorite websites for resources:

The Ultimate Camp Resource

Camping Dude.com -- Searchable database with 175 skits

Scoutorama.com

Interview a Fairy Tale Character

This activity started as an improv game I learned at Summer Theater Workshop.  When I introduced it to Drama Club this fall, I decided to add a writing component.

The idea behind this activity is to bring a fairy tale character to modern times and conduct a TV interview.  This activity fits in well when studying fractured fairy tales.

 To download a Google Doc version of the interview transcript blank, click here.  My students love this activity and perform their scripts at the end of the day after our clean up routines. 

Here are some other Drama Club posts you may have missed:

Drama Club: No Divas Allowed

What Are You Doing: A Drama Game

Tongue Twisters: A Drama Game

Rumors: A Drama Game

You can purchase all ten forms I use for creative writing assignments and bulletin boards here in my Teachers Pay Teachers store and here in my Teachers Notebook store.  I have included at least two suggestions for each form that are not here on my blog.

Rumors: A Drama Game

Do you remember playing "Telephone"?  All the participants are seated in a circle.  The first person whispers a message to the next person and each person whispers to the next in turn.  The last person tells the message out loud to the group and everyone giggles when the message is messed up.

Imagine a competitive game of "Telephone".  This time the players are divided up into two teams.  Each team is given a message and that message is whispered down the line.  The last person says the message out loud and the team that got the message to the end most accurately wins.

I tried this with Drama Club, but it could easily be an end of the day activity to practice speaking and listening.

Click here to download a list of five messages related to popular middle grade fiction. Students can create their own messages based on any topic you choose.

Here are other blog posts about Drama Club with activities you can include in the regular classroom.

Tongue Twisters -- A Drama Game 

What are you doing? -- A Drama Game

Drama Club -- No Divas Aloud

Tongue Twisters -- A Drama Game

The first activity I usually do with my Drama Club students is call and response Tongue Twisters.  I tell them that actors must enunciate and project and practicing these short sayings does both.  I won't even let them work on accents until I can understand what they are saying in their normal voices from across the room.

I created an original set of Tongue Twisters that are available for free in my freelance curriculum stores:
Click here to download it from my TpT store.
Click here to download it from my TN store.

To help students practice their accuracy, fluency, and expression, model reading one of the tongue twisters, slowly at first to practice accuracy.  Next, have students read in unison after you.  Then distribute the sheets to have students practice in duos and triads.  Students could "perform" their chosen tongue twister or lead the class with call and response.

If you missed the previous Drama Club posts, here they are:

Drama Club: No Divas Allowed

What Are You Doing? A Drama Game
 

What Are You Doing? A Drama Game

Last Monday, I wrote about Drama Club, why I started it and the skills that I am working on with this group.  Today I want to share a popular drama game called "What are you doing?"

One student starts the game by pantomiming an activity.  Another student approaches the first student and says, "What are you doing?"  The first student says a different activity and the second activity must then pantomime that action.

For example:

First student pretends to row a boat.

The second student walks up and says, "What are you doing?"

The first student says, "Painting a fence."

The second student pretends to paint a fence while thinking about a different action for the next student to act out.

Although adults and older teens can manage to take turns without a moderator, I have found that third through sixth graders need me to call on them so the actor is not mobbed.

This activity practices concentration, cooperation, and staying in character when you are not speaking.

Drama Club: No Divas Allowed

 

 

This fall I started an afterschool drama club.  I had the idea for awhile, but what prompted me to set aside time to do it was the audition process at one of the local high schools.  Plenty of students wanted to be in the musical, but they weren't considered good enough to be in the ensemble, so the director went with a musical with just a few parts.

This brought back memories of my own high school experience.  I tried out with others and the director chose a production with only for parts.  At the time, I got the message that acting wasn't for everybody.  I wasn't good enough.

Now as an adult I wondered, where are students supposed to learn these skills?  There aren't many drama programs in the public schools before high school.  Do they just magically show up ready to act, or are these skills taught?  I wanted to create a place where students could try out these skills without the pressure of competition.  (Thus, no divas allowed.)

Fortunately, I my stepdaughter has had the opportunities at our church to learn to act.  I have tried to be one of the helpful stage moms who helps with painting, costumes, and props.  Over the last nine years, I have learned a set of skills I can teach elementary students that can spark their interest in drama.  As you can see from the list below, they also help them in other areas.

Over the next few weeks, I plan to share some of the activities we have done and how I incorporate some of them into my regular classroom.

 

 

Enunciation

Projection

Accent

Concentration

Cooperation

Memorization

Face the audience

Stay in character even when you aren’t speaking!

 

Happy Birthday Poems of Silliness--Free Gift for You

Two years ago next week, I started a poetry blog for children with a commitment that I would post (or schedule) a poem each day.  I want to celebrate achieving this goal by giving my friends and followers a special freebie.


Click here to download Tongue Twisters from my TpT store.
Click here to download Tongue Twisters from my TN store.

I was working with a summer theater workshop and used tongue twisters to help the actors practice enunciation and projection.  It occurred to me that the same exercises would help students read orally with accuracy, appropriate rate and expression -- a Common Core Standard.

To help students practice their accuracy, fluency, and expression, model reading one of the tongue twisters, slowly at first to practice accuracy.  Next, have students read in unison after you.  Then distribute the sheets to have students practice in duos and triads.  Students could "perform" their chosen tongue twister or lead the class with call and response.

To have students write their own alliteration, find a free lesson and printable here.