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