Drama Games for Story Books

by | Drama Games, Star Tip, Storytelling, Vocal Warm-Up

Illustration of The Tiger Child by John Shelley

Illustration by John Shelley from ‘Drop of a Hat’ by David Farmer

From ‘Drop of a Hat: Drama Lessons’ – Now Available

I share several lesson plans based on stories and poems in my latest book, Drop Of A Hat. Story books can be a great starting point for drama, and here are two suggestions for working with The Tiger Child by Joanne Troughton. You can watch a video of the story below or buy the wonderful book from Amazon.

These two simple but extremely fun and effective activities can be used with The Tiger Child or any other story.

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 are mentioned in the story.
– Fire
– Fish
– Comb – Jungle\

(How to play Ten Second Objects online)

SOUNDSCAPE
Show the children the cover of The Tiger Child. Ask them where they think the story takes place (jungle/rainforest).
Explain that we are going to use 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
– If appropriate, allow everybody to choose their own sound
– Control the shape of the piece by raising your hand to increase the volume or
bringing it to touch your lap for silence
– With a large class, divide the participants into sections, allocating a particular sound for each section, then conduct them accordingly

The above is an extract from the latest book by David Farmer.

Drop of a Hat: Drama Lessons, Games and Activities is for any teacher who wants to bring the curriculum to life through drama and creativity. Each lesson is based on a story, poem or theme and divided into bite-sized sections. If you’re looking for a quick fix, just choose a couple of activities. If you’re new to drama, there’s a section at the back describing the games and strategies in detail.

You’ll find approaches for using drama to raise standards in literacy and to explore stories, characters and themes. Topics covered include global warming, looking after pets, dealing with bullying and exploring issues around refugees. There are over a dozen activities for using Drama in Science as well as a lively introduction to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. There are activity sheets and cards to accompany many of the activities.

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