Drama in the classroom helps students to develop a wide variety of skills.
Drama is a useful tool that allows educators to teach their students skills such as critical thinking, public speaking, cooperation and literacy. Children already use their imaginations to play and create scenarios amongst themselves. Using drama in the classroom encourages children to use their imaginations in different scenarios. Drama can also help children overcome barriers, such as shyness, insensitivity and even physical handicaps. Drama in the classroom helps teachers harness children's natural urge to play and uses it to teach lessons.
Instructions
1. Use music and movement as a warm up exercise. Divide the class into two and line students up facing each other. Play music with a strong beat. Have the first student create a movement. The student across from him repeats that movement and adds another. The second student in the first line does both movements and adds a third. Repeat this process until all students have added a movement. This exercise gets the kids moving and involved.
2. Assign children an action to act out. This exercise helps children to think about their actions. Have the class guess what each child is doing. Encourage the child to act her actions out in an exaggerated fashion to help the other children guess what she is doing. Younger children may need help with ideas, but older children may be able to come out with ideas on their own.
3. Set up an improvisational exercise for the students. Supply the children with minimal ideas and let them expand upon them. Provide costumes, props or characters to work from. Have the students create and act out a story using what is provided to them. Each group of students will come up with a different miniature play.
4. Give groups of students child-friendly picture books. Give a different book to each group. Instruct the groups to create their own play from the story in the book. After each group has had the chance to create their story and practice, have them perform the play in front of the rest of the class.
5. Distribute an easy-to-read play to the class to read aloud. Assign each child a part in the play. If there are not enough parts for each child, split some of the larger ones up, such as narrator parts and guide the children as to whose turn it is. Read through the play once. Then allow the children to read the play again while acting it out.
6. Instruct the children to write their own play. This can be done as an entire class project or in smaller groups. Have the children each write a line and pass it on to the next child. This teaches the children to work together and to follow a storyline. Have the students read or act out the play once it is completed.
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