10 Second Teaching Tips
Tips for all levels and ages from our new course Just Add Drama!
The classic game Ten Second Objects can be used to teach vocabulary, to explore course books, grammar and literature, whether you’re a primary, secondary or language teacher.
PRIMARY TEACHING
- Storybook Objects: Call out objects from familiar stories: Jack’s beanstalk, Goldilocks’ chair, The Three Little Pigs’ house. After forming them, ask: “What happens next?”
SECONDARY TEACHING
- Literature Revision: To review a novel, call out key symbols. (Lord of the Flies = The Conch. The Great Gatsby = The Green Light.) Students must decide how to represent an abstract light or a symbol of order through their bodies.
LANGUAGE TEACHING
- Parts of a Whole: Call out a complex word like “Aeroplane.” Once the object is formed, ask questions of individual students, such as, “Which part are you?”, “Where are you going?” or “What do you do?” Students must respond with “I am the wing” or “We’re going to Kathmandu.”
- At primary level, the game works best when it feels like play, imagination and storytelling, rather than performance.
- For older students, the game shifts from vocabulary to conceptual thinking and storytelling.
- For language learners, the 10-second time constraint means that students don’t have time to worry about making mistakes.
10 Second Teaching Tips
Tips for using the drama game Ten Second Objects for Primary, Secondary and Language teachers.
3D Living Pictures
Bring characters from works of art, book illustrations and photographs to life through drama.
Action Clip
Action Clip is the perfect way to bring a freeze frame to life – with a clap of the hands!
Conscience Alley
One person walks down an alleyway made by the group and makes a decision based on their advice.
Cross-Cutting
Cross-cutting is a drama technique where the action switches quickly between two scenes in the same space.
Developing Freeze Frames
Developing freeze frames in exciting ways through movement and exploring the curriculum.
Drama For Writing
Drama provides children with a meaningful and immediate reason for writing.
Flashbacks and Flash Forwards
Expand on a freeze-frame to create the before and after images. Great strategy for story building in drama.
Forum Theatre
The power lies with the audience, as they replace characters on stage to change the outcome of a scene.
Freeze Frames
Freeze frames and still images can be used to communicate ideas, tell a story or bring images to life.
Hot Seating
A character is questioned by the group about his or her background, behaviour and motivation.
Hot Spotting
An amazingly fun and easy way to mix up hot-seating and freeze frames to develop characters
Image Theatre
Participants rapidly sculpt their own or each others’ bodies to express attitudes and emotions.
Mantle of the Expert
Mantle of the Expert involves the creation of a fictional world where students assume the roles of experts in a
Marking the Moment
A drama strategy used to highlight a key moment in a scene or improvisation, using slow-motion, freeze-frames and more.
Role on the Wall
Draw a body shape and add your ideas about any character! A brilliant collaborative class activity for developing thoughts and
Storytelling
Storytelling is one of the most compelling forms of dramatic and imaginative activity.
Teacher in Role
Teacher in role is an invaluable technique for shaping the dramatic process and developing students’ learning. The teacher takes on
Thought Tracking
In Thought-Tracking, characters in a freeze-frame speak thoughts and feelings aloud.
Where Do You Stand?
A fast, fun and effective way of discovering everybody’s opinions about a subject
Whoosh! Bringing Stories Alive through Drama
An interactive technique in which participants become characters and objects in a story as it is told.
10 Second Teaching Tips
Tips for using the drama game Ten Second Objects for Primary, Secondary and Language teachers.
3D Living Pictures
Bring characters from works of art, book illustrations and photographs to life through drama.
Action Clip
Action Clip is the perfect way to bring a freeze frame to life – with a clap of the hands!
Conscience Alley
One person walks down an alleyway made by the group and makes a decision based on their advice.
Cross-Cutting
Cross-cutting is a drama technique where the action switches quickly between two scenes in the same space.
Developing Freeze Frames
Developing freeze frames in exciting ways through movement and exploring the curriculum.
Drama For Writing
Drama provides children with a meaningful and immediate reason for writing.
Flashbacks and Flash Forwards
Expand on a freeze-frame to create the before and after images. Great strategy for story building in drama.
Forum Theatre
The power lies with the audience, as they replace characters on stage to change the outcome of a scene.
Freeze Frames
Freeze frames and still images can be used to communicate ideas, tell a story or bring images to life.
Hot Seating
A character is questioned by the group about his or her background, behaviour and motivation.
Hot Spotting
An amazingly fun and easy way to mix up hot-seating and freeze frames to develop characters
Image Theatre
Participants rapidly sculpt their own or each others’ bodies to express attitudes and emotions.
Mantle of the Expert
Mantle of the Expert involves the creation of a fictional world where students assume the roles of experts in a
Marking the Moment
A drama strategy used to highlight a key moment in a scene or improvisation, using slow-motion, freeze-frames and more.
Role on the Wall
Draw a body shape and add your ideas about any character! A brilliant collaborative class activity for developing thoughts and
Storytelling
Storytelling is one of the most compelling forms of dramatic and imaginative activity.
Teacher in Role
Teacher in role is an invaluable technique for shaping the dramatic process and developing students’ learning. The teacher takes on
Thought Tracking
In Thought-Tracking, characters in a freeze-frame speak thoughts and feelings aloud.
Where Do You Stand?
A fast, fun and effective way of discovering everybody’s opinions about a subject
Whoosh! Bringing Stories Alive through Drama
An interactive technique in which participants become characters and objects in a story as it is told.
