Drama Games for Story Books

Story books and poems are a great starting point for drama, and these two ideas are based on The Tiger Child by Joanne Troughton, but can be adapted easily for other material. They are from my book Drop Of A Hat.

TEN SECOND OBJECTS
Divide the class into groups of four to six students. The members of each group have to work together to make the shape of an object with their bodies. The teacher calls out the name of an object then groups have just ten seconds to make the object.

Before reading the story, ask the children to make the objects listed below. This will give added interest later, as all the objects appear in the story.
– Fire
– Fish
– Comb
– Jungle

(How to play Ten Second Objects.)

SOUNDSCAPE
Show the children the cover of The Tiger Child and ask them where they think the story takes place (jungle/rainforest). Explain that we’re going to make our own sounds to create a picture of the rainforest. The teacher will act as the conductor, while students use their voices to ‘paint’ a sound picture of the jungle where the Tiger Child lives.

• Invite suggestions for sounds which might be heard in the rainforest e.g. monkeys, insects, streams, birds, frogs, raindrops, creaking branches.
• Allocate sounds to the students so that you have a variety.
• Control the shape of the piece by raising your hand to increase the volume – or bringing it to touch your lap for silence.

Find out more about Soundscapes here.

Story books and poems are a great starting point for drama, and these two ideas are based on The Tiger Child by Joanne Troughton, but can be adapted easily for other material. They are from my book Drop Of A Hat.

TEN SECOND OBJECTS
Divide the class into groups of four to six students. The members of each group have to work together to make the shape of an object with their bodies. The teacher calls out the name of an object then groups have just ten seconds to make the object.

Before reading the story, ask the children to make the objects listed below. This will give added interest later, as all the objects appear in the story.
– Fire
– Fish
– Comb
– Jungle

(How to play Ten Second Objects.)

SOUNDSCAPE
Show the children the cover of The Tiger Child and ask them where they think the story takes place (jungle/rainforest). Explain that we’re going to make our own sounds to create a picture of the rainforest. The teacher will act as the conductor, while students use their voices to ‘paint’ a sound picture of the jungle where the Tiger Child lives.

• Invite suggestions for sounds which might be heard in the rainforest e.g. monkeys, insects, streams, birds, frogs, raindrops, creaking branches.
• Allocate sounds to the students so that you have a variety.
• Control the shape of the piece by raising your hand to increase the volume – or bringing it to touch your lap for silence.

Find out more about Soundscapes here.