Integrating the Dramatic Arts into the Common Core

Warm-Up Games

  • The Counting Game………………………………………………………………………..……………………….2
  • Pass the Clap……………………………………………………………………………………………………………2
  • Zip, Zap, Zop……………………………………………………………………………………………………..…….3
  • Kitty Wants a Corner………………………………………………………………………………………………3
  • Bippity, Bippity, Bop……………………………………………………………………………….…………..….4
  • The Name Game……………………………………………………………………………………………………….4
  • Now I Know My ABC’s………………………………………………………………………………………………5
  • Who Dun It?...... 5
  • Captain’s Coming…………………………………………………………………………………..………….…….5
  • Human Atom……...……………………………………..……………………………………………………..……..6
  • Breakfast Tag………………………………………………………………………………………………………….7

Classroom Activities

  • True or False………………………………………………….……………………………………………..8
  • Multiple Choice……………………………………………………………………………………………..8
  • Vocabulary Tag…………………………………………………………………………………………..…9
  • Say It……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..9
  • Tableaus……………………………………………………………………………………………………...10
  • Shadow Plays……………………………………………………………………………………………...11

Resources

  • Character Cards………………………………………………………………………………………..…12
  • Situation Cards…………………………………………………………………………………………...16
  • Performance Rubric…………………………………………………………………………………….21

Warm-Up Activities

Warm-up games are an effective way to build a sense of community within a classroom. When students feel more comfortable with each other, it follows that they will be more willing to take risks, particularly in terms of speaking and writing. This section includes various short exercises that are particularly effective at the start of a course but can also be used as a productive way to use time when a lesson runs short.

The Counting Game

Directions: Arrange students in a circle; then inform them that their task is simply to count to ten as a group. Each number must be said individually, and if two or more people speak at the same time, the group is to begin again at one. It is highly encouraged to have students take a few moments to let the initial silence settle before counting. Not only does it help them focus, but it also encourages the idea that there is nothing wrong with silence.

Debrief: After students reach ten, or fail to enough times that people’s interest begins to wane, ask students what worked well and what was problematic. Challenge them to relate this activity to a discussion.

Skills: This game hones students’ discussion skills by having them practice their awareness of non-verbal communication. It is also a good way to build focus and underscores the idea that discussions are not just about talking but also about waiting for the appropriate moment.

Pass the Clap

Directions: Have students stand in a circle, and let them know that they are going to practice sending impulses, in this case, a clap. Choose someone to start. He or she is then going to clap at the person to his or her immediate right. That person “catches” the impulse by clapping, turns his or her body to the right and releases the impulse by clapping a second time. It should be a quick pace, and after a few trips around the circle, it should look like there is a pulse moving. After students have the hang of the pace, introduce the idea of a reverse. To implement a reverse, when it’s a student’s chance to catch the impulse, he or she throws his or her hands into the air and shouts reverse. Students then switch the direction of the impulse, perhaps moving counterclockwise as opposed to clockwise. The impulse must then make three complete trips around the circle before it can be reversed again.

Debrief: Ask students to consider how sending an impulse can be related to the rhythm of a discussion. What should the ideal rhythm look like? What happens is students over-anticipate? Under-anticipate?

Skills: Pass the Clap is a way to have student practice anticipation without jumping the gun, so to speak. While it is particularly useful in creating a group mentality and building focus, the skills can also be translated to a discussion where it is important that students build off each other’s comments and pay attention to the rhythm as a whole.

Zip, Zap, Zop

Directions: Have students stand in a circle. For this game they will again practice sending an impulse, but rather than have it travel clockwise or counterclockwise around the circle, students send the impulse across the circle. Choose a student to begin. He or she makes eye contact with another student across the circle and says “zip” while clapping and then pointing to the student across the circle with whom he or she made eye contact. The second student then makes eye contact with another peer, says “zap” while clapping and then pointing to the student they have made eye contact. This third student repeats the process but says “zop” as they pass the impulse. The pattern should repeat “zip-zap-zop” at a quick pace. After students have a handle on the words and the rhythm, you can begin the elimination aspect of the game. If students pause too long, do not make it clear to whom they are sending an impulse, or goof up the words, then they are out and must step out of the circle. The remaining students should then tidy up the circle by moving in so that there are no gaps.

Debrief: Ask students what was challenging about the game. Often times they site not being able to hear the word clearly, not being ready, or being uncertain to whom the impulse was being passed. This is a good opportunity to discuss non-verbal communication and the importance of clear articulation and eye contact.

Skills: A corner stone of public speaking, eye contact is a skill that students, particularly those who are younger or unfamiliar with their peers, need to practice. This is a low-risk scenario where kids practice the skill without necessarily realizing they’re doing so until the debriefing session.

Kitty Wants a Corner

Directions: Once again, arrange students in a circle, and select one student to stand in the center; he or she is the kitty. Next, have the kitty walk up to a student and say, “Kitty wants a corner” to which the student responds, “Ask my neighbor” and points either left or right. The kitty must then move to the designated neighbor and repeat the phrase “Kitty wants a corner,” to which the new student says “Ask my neighbor” and points to the person to his or her left or right. While the kitty is busy asking for a corner, the other students must exchange places with someone from across the circle. The kitty’s objective is to try and get into one of the empty spaces of the circle while students are in mid-cross. Whoever is left in the circle is the new kitty.

Debrief: Discuss with students again the importance of non-verbal communication and the idea that it is important to take risks.

Skills: This is an interesting game to play at the beginning of a course because most of the time, the first students who are willing to attempt to cross the circle tend to be stronger at discussions. Again, this game fosters non-verbal communication and emphasizes the fact that students need to depend on each other in a classroom community.

Bippity, Bippity, Bop

Directions: For this game, arrange students in a circle. Let students know they will have to remember some commands. If you, the person in the center of the circle, point at a person and say “Bippity, Bippity, Bop” they must say “Bop” before you finish the line or else they are out. If, however, you point at a person and just say “Bop” they are to say nothing or else they are out. For the next command, point at a person and say “007.” Everyone must find a partner to stand back to back with and put up their fingers in the typical James Bond pose. Whoever does not find a partner is out. The final command is “Angel,” and the person at whom you point is to press their hands together while one of their neighbors creates a halo with his or her hands above the original person’s head, and the other makes angel wings behind the original person’s back.

Debrief: Ask students what techniques worked well for getting students out. Why do they think this was? Ask them to identify who did a particularly good job at the game.

Skills: The silliness of the game helps kids break out of their shells, and the elimination aspect of it ensure that they are working with all of their peers, rather than their close friends. It’s an effective ice breaker.

The Name Game

Directions: This is a simple memory game to help students remember each other’s names. Have students brainstorm a list of adjectives that begin with the first letter of their first name and a list of nouns that begins with the first letter of their last name, though be aware that you might need to review what nouns and adjectives are. Next, have them choose their favorite combination. Choose someone to introduce him or herself and share the selected combination. For instance, a student might say “My name is Jake Pennington, and I am a jolly penguin.” The person to his left would go next and say “My name is Anne McCartney, and I’m an Amorphous Microphone. This is Jake Davidson, who is a Jolly Penguin.” The student to Anne’s left would introduce him or herself, Anne, and Jake. Continue in this fashion until all students have introduced themselves and their peers.

Debrief: Ask students which names were the easiest to remember and which were the hardest. Ask them why they thought this was. It is also fair to ask what kind of lesson this activity shows about word choice and repetition. The more something is repeated, often the easier it is to remember, which holds true for studying. Also, in terms of writing, it should remind students that it is important to choose words that are atypical but not so far removed that they become obtuse.

Skills: This game works well for basic memory practice, potentially as a writing warm-up, if students take one of the combinations and write a story about it, and it also is an effective way to get students to learn each other’s names.

Who Dun It?

Directions: Select one student to be a detective and send him or her out into the hallway or to someplace where the discussion cannot be heard. Next, select an assassin, who will “murder” people by winking at them. If a student is murdered, he or she will fall down to the ground, and it is the detective’s job to guess within three tries the identity of the assassin. For the first few rounds, it is easier for students to get a handle on the game if they are standing in a circle; however, as they become more adept at guessing the assassin, permit them to mill around the class because the added movement makes identifying the murderer more challenging.

Debrief: Ask students what the effective assassins did to make it difficult to identify them as the guilty party. It might also be interesting to ask students what they were doing when they were not the assassin. Did it make them look guilty, even if they weren’t? This is an effective lead-in to a discussion about body language and how we’re always communicating.

Skills: This game fosters an awareness of body language, both in terms of reading and expressing. It also helps students work on making eye contact and paying attention to subtly hints.

Now I Know My ABC’s

Directions: Begin by writing the alphabet on the whiteboard. Next, select two student volunteers to come to the front of the room, and as a word of caution, this activity works better if you begin with students who err on the side of verbose. As a class, choose a conflict the two students might be having such as one of the students wants to copy the other’s homework or they can’t decide who should have the last slice of pizza. The two students at the front of the board must now act out this conflict, but they must do so in alternating sentences that go in alphabetical order. For instance, the first student might say “Absolutely not. You cannot have the last slice of pizza,” to which the second student responds “But I paid for it.” The first student then says “Can’t you count? You’ve had three slices, and I’ve had two.” They continue so on and so forth, working their way through the alphabet. The round is over when students hesitate too long, miss a letter, or finish the alphabet.

Debrief: This is an interesting activity to discuss in terms of what was easy, what was difficult because while it’s simple to continue the story when students are seated, doing so in front of the class always proves to be challenging. Ask them what scenarios worked best and why they thought that was.

Skills: This activity works well for getting students to practice dialogue, brainstorming for conflict driven scenarios, and lends itself to free-writing. To more directly link it to a writing assignment, have students continue the story or re-write the scene with an alternative resolution.

Captain’s Coming

Directions: Captain’s Coming is a much-loved game that can occasionally border on the brink of chaos because it works better with larger groups. In order to play, students will have to learn a series of commands that a caller will shout out. The first command is “Captain’s Coming,” and students must line up and salute. They may not move again until the caller says “at ease,” so calling orders without saying “at ease” is a sure-fire way to eliminate students. “Lookout” involves two students, where one must drop to all fours while the other places his or her knee on the other’s back and pretends to look out of a spyglass. “Row boat” involves three students, all of whom must sit on the ground in a line and sing “row-row-row-your-boat” while mimicking rowing. “Man Overboard” also uses three people, where two join hands around the third and rock him or her back and forth. “Seasick” involves this same position, but the student in the middle has to pretend to retch over the side of the boat, which makes it a class favorite. “Meal time” calls for four students seated cross-legged on the ground as if around a table; they must mimic eating. “Tea-time” is much the same, though instead of eating, students are to pretend to drink tea. Finally “Starfish” means that five students must link arms and turn in a circle. Be advised, it might be best to introduce a few commands at a time.

Debrief: Begin by asking students what they liked and didn’t like about the game. This game is a good way to get into discussions about roles and responsibilities. Those who are willing to be any part of any scenario often last longer than those who do not. Additionally, students who initiate partners with whoever is nearby stay in the game longer than those who want to work exclusively with their friends. This type of behavior parallels what works well in group project dynamics and what does not.

Skills: This game, in addition to being an effective ice breaker, is designed to hone partner and group work skills.

Human Atom

Directions: For human atom, students are to get up and orbit around the room without ever touching each other. However, instead of simply circling, they need to pass through the center of the area, which eliminates kids’ tendency to simply walk in a circle. Practice moving at a normal pace, which is called level five. Then have them move slightly slower at a level four. Practice having them move at a one so that their forward motion is barely perceivable. Next, have them jump to a level seven, which is like a brisk walk. This activity works well when coupled with another. For instance, using human atom is a good way to get kids to work with new partners. Simply say level zero, meaning they freeze, and have them turn to the nearest partner. From here they can take turns having a micro-discussion over a question you ask them, or they can use this partner to work on assignment for class.

Debrief: If this activity was used in conjunction with discussion questions, ask students to report to the whole group an interesting comment their heard in one of their micro-discussions. It also works well as a post-writing activity because students can use peers to refine their thinking.

Skills: This activity is useful in that it gets kids up and moving. It enables them to discuss with multiple partners, and because of the limited amount of time in which they have to talk, it gets them to practice staying on task.

Breakfast Tag

Directions: For Breakfast Tag have students share one by one what their favorite breakfast food is, and encourage students to pay attention to each other. Insist that everyone must have their own food and there can be no repeats. Next, explain they will be playing tag and select a student to begin. The person who is it is going to try and tag others. However, the target can say the name of another breakfast food that was mentioned. Whoever said that breakfast food is now the new “it,” and he or she must immediately begin to try and tag people, who can attempt to save themselves by calling out other breakfast foods so that someone else is it. After explaining the directions, though before playing, it is helpful to review what breakfast foods each kid said. When a kid is out, he or she must go to the side of the room and have them help keep track of who has been tagged out. Additionally, it may be helpful to begin with Human Atom before starting the actual tagging because it establishes how fast students can move; avoid going faster than a seven to circumvent chaos.