© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg.

1
 Beginning Acting for Younger Students
Ages 5-8

The first goal of a great acting class is to help each student in the class realize his or her own
greatness. When a person is free to truly be themselves, they can let their own creative genius
shine through.

The more traditional goals of a beginning acting class are to help young actors develop stage
presence through vocal, movement and staging techniques.

This lesson plan is divided into six sessions. Each session could take one hour, or a few hours
spread out over time, depending on how much time you have available to work with the
students.

Each time class meets, you could start with a warm-up related to that session, go into a skill
building activity, then end with a performance of something the class worked on that day, or
something the students are preparing to perform at the end of the class.

If, for example, you are planning to perform a showcase for the parents at the end, you could
spend the session working on vocal techniques, then have the kids rehearse the piece they are
working on, giving special attention to the vocal aspect of performing. In this way, the pieces
the students are performing grow incrementally better week by week.

A brief outline for each Lesson may include:

Opening Ritual
Choose one from the Opening and Closing Rituals tutorial
on Drama Notebook.

Warm-up Game(s)
Choose one or more from the 400 Drama Games section of
this website. Games are divided into separate documents by
goals.

Skill building Game(s)

Choose one or more from the 400 Drama Games section of
this website. Games are divided into separate documents by
Goals.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 2

Performance Activity
Suggestions are included in this lesson plan. More ideas may be found in Performance
Games for Drama Class, or in the Plays, Poems and Stories to Perform section of Drama
Notebook.

Closing Ritual-choose one from the Opening and Closing Rituals document found in
Teaching Basic Drama section of this website.

Session Goals
Lesson One
Establish rules, learn everyone’s names and a little
bit about each other.

Lesson Two
Explore the senses.

Lesson Three
Learn about movement and how to tell a story or
become a character through movement.

Lesson Four
Work on projecting voices and using voice to portray
character.

Lesson Five
Explore improvisation.

Lesson Six
Create characters.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 3

 Lesson One
Please also see: How to Teach Your First Drama
Class in the Teaching Basic Drama section of this
website.

Goals: Establish rules, learn everyone’s names and a

little bit about each other.

Introduce Yourself
You may choose to do this in a humorous way, such as bringing in several hats that reflect who
you are. Put them on one at a time and tell them something about you related to who you are
when you wear that hat. Then, share that all of us have many different sides of ourselves.
When we are acting, we get to bring out all of our different characteristics. Have fun with this!

Go Over Rules and Goals of Class

Begin by asking what their regular school rules are, and remind them that they apply here as
well. Ask the kids to determine their own rules, then you may wish to come up with some of
your own rules/goals, such as:

-Share that we have an attitude of no put-downs--we are all here to be creative and to
support one another in the process. There are no rights and wrongs in acting.
-Impress the importance of acting responsibly/respectfully toward other members of the
class.
-Talk about learning to share responses with other students in a positive way.
-Emphasize that the class environment is a safe place to take risks/be yourself.

Learn Names
Choose any of the activities below, or make up your own, or download Name Games for
Drama Class for more ideas.

Circle of Names or Name Chain

Everyone sits in a circle. One player starts by saying his name and then add, “and I like…” Fill in
whatever you want: pizza, hiking, music…Go around the circle clockwise. Each person in turn
repeats the name of each person who has gone before and what that person likes. He then
adds his own name and what he likes. The last person has the hardest task, but everyone will
be asked to help or correct each other’s memories as you go, so it’s a challenge for all.

Variation: For younger students, have them repeat the names of their fellow players as a group.
For a larger group, just use the names, don’t add, “and I like…”

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 4

Name and Movement
Everyone stands in a circle. First player says her name and makes a gesture, such as throwing
her hands up, or twirling around. It should be something that expresses herself. All other
players then say her name and make her movement!

Name Ball Toss

Everyone stands in a circle. One player holds a Nerf ball and says his name. He then says the
name of another actor that he is going to toss the ball to, and does so. Continue this game
until all players have had a turn. You can up the excitement by playing at a faster pace, and
having “outs” if a player says a wrong name, or hesitates for too long. Note: Remind the
players to rehearse in their minds who they are going to throw the ball to. See how much
smoother and faster it goes.

Talk About Acting

Ask students what they think that acting is. There are many schools
of thought, and many methods that apply here. If you have a
theater background, you may have studied a particular technique.
If you have no drama experience, you have almost certainly have
acted many times in your life. In this lesson plan, we are going to
focus on embracing imagination and sense memory to teach acting.
In this sense, children are already naturally accomplished actors! All
children play make-believe and pretend.

As we grow up, most of us abandon our childhood dream-worlds in

order to cope with reality. Any actor can put on a costume,
memorize some lines, and say them loudly enough for everyone to
hear. A great actor will make you believe that he is, in fact, in a saloon surrounded by ruffians,
not on a hot stage in Denver. He makes you believe because he believes. He has re-entered
that zone that children enter naturally. Explain to the kids that they have already been acting
today. During “Zoo Party,” they had an opportunity to become an imaginary character.

Acting basically means playing pretend to such a degree and involving the senses that you
believe you are somewhere/someone else which in turns makes your audience believe.

Say!
What are your favorite pretend games?
Are you ever in one place while imagining you are somewhere else?
How is playing pretend different from playing video games or watching TV?
Have you ever seen a play?
How is theater different from dance, music and visual art?
Besides acting, what else goes into creating a play? (Set, props, costumes,
sound, light, etc.)

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 5

Get to Know Each Other
Choose any of the activities below, or make up your own, or read through Ensemble Building
Games for more ideas.

Animals Loose in the Zoo

Tell students that in a minute, they are all going to become animals loose in the zoo. Before
class, print out two copies of the Animals printout in the Ten Essential Lists section of this
website. Cut them apart and put in enough pairs to match exactly the number of kids in the
class. If you are working with an odd numbered group, you may choose to put in one group of
three, or have a partner yourself. Students pick an animal out of the hat. On your signal, they
move about the space as if they are that animal. You can make this a silent game and have the
kids just move like that animal, or you could let them add sound. The goal is for each actor to
find their partner.

Wacky Interviews
Once the animals are in pairs, kids get to interview each other. In a moment, they will each
have a chance to go up in front of the class in pairs and introduce the other person. They will
say the other person’s name, and something they found most interesting about them.
Encourage kids to ask questions such as: What’s the best thing that ever happened to you?
What is your favorite dessert? What is a food you cannot stand?

Favorites
Kids move about the space. When you chime a bell or clap your hands, they must find someone
who has the same favorite color! Then keep going.

Favorite flavor of ice cream

Favorite holiday
Favorite food
Favorite season
Favorite animal
Favorite TV show

If kids do not find a partner, they must shout out their

favorite before you move on to the next favorite.

Five Things
Divide class into groups of four. Give students five minutes
or less to come up with five things that everyone in the
group has in common. Encourage students to come up with
interesting/unusual things. Consider having students vote on
which group had the most unique answers, and awarding a
prize to that group!

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 6

 Lesson Two
Goal: Develop sensory awareness.

Choose any of the activities below, or make up your own.

There is also an activity on Drama Notebook called

Sensory Pantomimes that you can use with this
session.

Physical/Vocal Warm-Ups
All actors start by getting centered in their bodies and warming up their voices. Here are a
couple of activities that accomplish getting physically warmed up. Or download Physical
Warm-ups to have a whole collection of activities. You may want to try the various warm-ups
that are offered in this lesson plan and settle on one that seems to fit you and your students.
You can offer variations, but repeating the same great warm-up can allow kids to really absorb
the benefits and maybe use the technique as a relaxation tool later in life. Always start by
calling, “actor’s neutral!” Follow the physical warm-up with the basic vocal warm-up during
every session.

Actor’s Neutral
This is a stance in which the actor stands up straight, feet hip-width apart, arms hanging
loosely, looking straight ahead. Think of it like “at ease” in the army, but with arms hanging
loosely.

Touching the Sky

Group stands in a circle, or scattered around the room. Say something like: “Imagine that you
are a tree. Let your arms become branches that grow until they reach up toward the sky. Your
fingers are the leaves at the top of the tree, very high up, reaching, reaching toward the sun
and the clouds. Feel the reaching all the way down your trunk. Your legs are reaching too. You
are standing on your tiptoes, but your roots are still in the earth. You are stretching with your
whole body.”

Focus Warm-Up
Count to Ten as a Group
Sit or stand in a circle. The idea is for the group to count to ten one person saying one number
at a time. Somebody is chosen to start the count. Anybody can say the next number - but if two
or more people speak at the same time, counting must start again from the beginning. It is
possible to get to ten if everybody really concentrates - but try and be relaxed as well.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 7

Skill Building Activities
Sensory Walks
(If you cannot take your group out of the space, this activity may be done in the space you are
in.)
Sound Walk-Take the young actors on a journey (outside) or around the building you
are in. Invite them to listen for as many sounds as they can hear. This is a silent game.
Upon returning to the teaching space, sit in a circle and have actors state the sounds
they heard. You don’t need to go in a circle. Ask kids not to repeat, but to add new
sounds that they heard.

Variations:
Sight Walk
Make this a fairly short journey, or stay in the original space. Kids move about the space
and notice how many things they see. Really look at everything. Look at the details, the
shapes, the colors.

Smell Walk
Go outside and take a walk around the outside of the building. Invite kids to become
aware of their breath. How it flows in and out and what kind of smells they become
aware of. When you are back in the space, ask them what it felt like to focus on
breathing. Had they ever done that before? Then invite students to name the smells
they noticed. One at a time, no repeats and you don’t need to go in a circle.

Touch Walk
Invite kids to use their hands to notice how their world feels. Touch the grass and really
notice everything about it. Touch the outside of the building, or the play structure.
Touch rocks, and the path that they are on. What do they notice about the asphalt? This
is a silent game. When you go back inside, ask kids what new things they noticed about
their world. What surprised them. Ask them to name textures and temperatures one at a
time.

Taste
This one is usually done by bringing in a variety of different things to taste in little
muffin cups, for example. Pass around things such as M & M’s, grapes, small pretzels,
small cubes of cheese, etc. Choose a variety of different textures and flavors. This is a
silent game. When items have been tasted, ask kids to name flavors and textures they
noticed. Ask if they noticed anything new. What surprised them?

Variation: For the “taste” activity, have the actors put on blindfolds or close their eyes
and put a little paper plate in front of them. “There are five things on a plate in front of
you. Find one item and taste it. Be aware of the texture, the temperature. Is it sour?
Sweet? Is it both? Even if you already know what it is, notice everything about it.” In a
circle, have the kids name just the tastes they experienced...not the actual food. When
all the tastes have been offered, ask "What did you notice?" "What surprised you?" "Did
you notice something new about something you tasted today?" "How will this change
the way you eat or experience food?" "How would actors use this activity?"

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 8

Memory
Assemble a tray of random items. Show it to the kids for one or two minutes. Ask them to
remember as many things as possible. After you take it away, see if the group as a class can
name all of the items on the tray. Each person only gets one turn, but students do not need to
go in any particular order. You may want to make sure that there are more items on the tray
than kids in the class so that each actor has a chance to name an item.

Concentration
(This is a variation of Sight Walk.) A concentration circle is set up. Actors look around them for
say, two minutes, in which they must find as many colors, shades, shapes and details as they
can. These can be a table, then end of a floorboard, a corner of the wall, another student’s
face, a detail of a hand, a white leaf, etc. Then they close their eyes and one at a time say
everything they saw.

Blind Walk-Noises
The group divides into pairs. One partner will be “blind” the other will be her guide. The guide
makes an animal-like noise, like a cat, a dog, a bird, or a made-up animal. Her partner listens.
Then, all the blind people close their eyes and all the guides start making their noises, which
their blind partners must follow. When the guide stops making the sound, the blind person
should stop moving. The guide is responsible for the safety of his blind partner, he must stop
her (by ceasing to make his sound) if she is in danger of colliding with another blind person or
bumping into an object or wall. He should change his position frequently. If his blind charge is
good–if she is managing to follow him, the guide should move as far away as possible. The
blind person must concentrate on her own noise, even when there are lost of other noises all
around her.

Change Three Things

In pairs, actors observe one another. “Notice everything about your partner.” Then instruct
players to turn back to back. Each person must change three things about him/herself. It can
be that one player unties her shoe or switches the part in her hair. Players turn back toward
each other and take turns noticing what has changed.

Performance Activities
Narrative Pantomime
This is a simple activity that can be done with any story, whether from a
book or not. At its simplest, it works like this: Each person finds his own
personal space in the room. There will be no interaction between the
children--each is in his own story. As the teacher reads or tells a simple
story, each person, on his own, acts it out. Ordinarily there would be no
sound, since that would make it hard to hear the story, and there are no
props of costumes. Each student simply goes through the physical
movements of protagonist of the story, and concentrates on the five
senses--on really experiencing the character's adventures.

For story ideas, download Great Books to Act Out.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 9

 Lesson Three
Goals: Develop body awareness and spatial relationships

As the students come in, you can be moving your body slowly,
playing the Mirror Game. This game is on video on Drama
Notebook. You must be logged in to view it. Instructions are given
below.

Try to get the players to join you without speaking. When

everyone has arrived, you can have a circle time check-in. You can
use the time to talk about being aware of how your body moves,
and being aware of your relationship to others.

Physical/Vocal Warm-ups
Repeat Touching the Sky and Sock Monkey from Lesson Two.

The Yawn Sigh

In a circle, each actor opens his/her mouth wide and takes a deep breath while “yawning.”
When exhaling, players let out a low-pitch “sigh.” This opens up the throat and relaxes the jaw
and face. Upon exhale, have them release any tension in their faces, shoulders, and arms.
Repeat a few times.

Motorcycle
Players vibrate their lips, making the sound of a motorcycle. They take the sound from high to
low and back up again.

Rubber Band
Players pretend that their mouths are rubber bands that stretch right, left, up down, drawn in
like an old person, pursed out like a fish, wide open, then stretching in all directions. Players
make their faces very small, pushing every feature to a single point. Then make their faces very
big, pushing all features out like an inflated balloon. Players smile a big, dumb smile, frown a
big, angry frown, put on a sneer. Players chew a big wad of bubble gum.

Focusing Warm-Up
Repeat Counting to ten as a Group from Lesson Two, or try this new one:

Mirror (On Video under Movement)

In pairs, players face each other. They choose one person to lead and one person to follow.
The goal of the game is for the players to feel completely in sync with one another. Coach the
leader to make their movements slow. Coach the followers to let their bodies do the following
without thinking about it. After a time, have the players switch roles. Go back and forth a
couple of times, and then coach the players to have no leader and no follower.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 10

When all pairs have had a chance to play, assemble the group as an audience, and ask students
to take the stage one pair at a time. Have them silently decide between them who will be the
leader and who will be the follower. Audience players must guess which person was leading and
which person was following.

Ask!
How could you tell who was leading?
What could they have done differently?
What did you learn from watching them?

Variation:
Lifting a Mirror
For this game, you need a long piece of rope. Tie a knot in it and place it in a
circular shape on the floor. The group stands round it and everyone gets ready
to pick it up. Now imagine that it is a large circular mirror. The group’s task is to
pick it up together, lift it to waist height and put it down again without losing the
illusion of the mirror. In other words, everyone must work together with
awareness to keep the mirror level. Once they have accomplished it, they could
try again, lifting it higher and perhaps tilting it, using eye contact or under the
leader’s guidance.

Skill Building Activities

Space Walk
Watch this activity on video on Drama Notebook.

This activity helps actors to get to know their space as well as

practice using their bodies in different ways. Establish clearly defined
boundaries for the players to stay inside. Have players move about
the room, paying attention to the space around them. Someone is
appointed the caller, and whenever she calls out, it will change the
way student’s move.

Say!
“Keep walking. Only now pretend you are walking through
pudding. Think about what it feels like and how your body would move through
pudding. For example, you might move more slowly now because pudding is thicker
than air. Now, the space has turned into clouds. Think about what it feels like, and how
you might walk through clouds.”

The space can turn into all sorts of things.

Suggestions for different kinds of spaces: honey; snow; water; frozen pond; mashed potatoes;
the moon; popcorn; feathers; mud; fire; taffy; pea soup; cotton candy; marbles; a boat in a
storm.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 11

 Space Walk-Animals- (Coach the kids to turn slowly into each new animal.)

Say!
“Move around the room like a monkey, snake, elephant, lion, gorilla, crocodile.
Transform into each of the following making an appropriate noise: cat, lion, monkey,
dog, cow, sheep. Trot like a horse in a field. Run like a dog chasing and retrieving a
bone. Slither through very long grass like a snake. Walk through the desert like a camel.
Be a monkey picking and eating a banana. Beat your chest like a gorilla, making an
appropriate sound. Stalk a mouse, like a cat. Move restlessly up and down a cage, like a
lion impatiently awaiting feeding time at the zoo.”

Space Walk-Ages
Actors portray different ages and focus on how that affects their bodies. This can take
the form of an “aging” space-walk. Have students walk in the space, and call out ages,
progressively. “You are one year old. You are a toddler…you are six years old, your first
year at school…you are ten years old…you are a teenager…you are 21…you are 35 with
two kids…you are 50…you are 70…you are ninety.”

Space Walk-Weather
Guide the kids through the experience of going outside on a blustery day.

Say!
“Feel the chill around you. See your breath in the air. Hear the wind blowing against
your ears. Snowflakes begin to fall gently around you. Stick out your tongue…catch a
snowflake, and feel the chill as it melts in your mouth. Feel your fingers get icy cold
through your gloves…feel your cold toes inside your boots.”

Here are more ideas for different types of weather…

Freezing Sweltering hot

Sprinkling Blustery/windy
Muddy Crisp fall air
Hot sand Fragrant springtime
Pouring down rain Muggy-humid
Snowing

Performance Activities
Interpreter
Watch a video of this activity on Drama Notebook.

Teams of two. One person acts out a scene on how to do something, while the other person
interprets their actions. Divide into teams, and choose a topic for a “how to” scene. Some
suggestions are: how to tie your shoes; how to swim; show to ride a bicycle; how to make a
peanut butter and jelly sandwich; how to change a light bulb; how to change a tire; how to do
the laundry; how to put on make-up. Do not plan anything in advance. Begin your scene with
the person who is acting starting the activity. She pauses every occasionally, so that the
interpreter can explain what she is doing. Continue the scene until you have finished explaining
how to do the activity.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 12

Slide Show
Watch a video of this activity on Drama Notebook.

Divide into teams of 4-6. One person is the presenter, everyone else is part of the slide show.
The presenter begins telling the story of her vacation. Throughout the story, she says, “next
slide please.” The other players strike a pose just like people in a photo from a vacation. The
presenter uses this group pose to tell a story. The players keep their pose, as if they are an
actual slide until the presenter says, “next slide please.” Then the players change their pose,
and the presenter continues the story of her vacation, explaining this new pose as if it were the
very next slide from her vacation. The presenter can set up how the players will pose by saying
something like, “in my next slide you will see us climbing the mountain. Next slide please,” and
the players pose as if they are climbing a mountain. Or the presenter can let the players create
a picture on their own by giving the next slide no introduction. In this case, the presenter must
somehow work this new pose into the story. Continue the scene until the presenter has finished
the story of her vacation.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 13

 Lesson Four
Goals: Cultivate good vocal technique: articulation
and projection

Physical/Vocal Warm-Ups
Repeat Touching the Sky and Sock Monkey from Lesson
Two.

Repeat Yawn Sigh, Motorcycle or Rubber Band from the

last session, or try this new vocal warm-up:

Breathe Out
The whole group stands in a circle and breathes out making an “ah” sound then the actors
themselves drop as if they were deflating, ending up on the ground, completely relaxed.

Focusing Warm-Ups
Repeat Counting to Ten as a Group or Mirror from previous lessons.

Skill Building Activities

Tongue Twisters
A huge list of tongue twisters can be downloaded on Drama Notebook. Here are some to get
you started!

The brown cow found a round town in the south country.

The trustees decreed that seniors be free from fees.
A big black bug bit a big black bear; where's the big black bear that bit the big black bug
bit?
Martin's mournful music marred many memorable minutes.
Noisy new gnats know nothing about naughty
knaves.
A skunk sat on a stump. The stump thunk the
skunk stunk, And the skunk thanked the stump
stunk. Which stunk.
See the pretty rubber buggy- bumpers.
Amos Ames, the amiable aeronaut, sided in an
aerial enterprise at the age of eighty- eight.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 14

Color Your Words
Instructor reads a list of words in a neutral voice. Players then repeat the words in chorus,
“coloring” them or saying them with as much expression as possible, reflecting the actual
meaning of the word.

Word List:

Cold Angry Soft

Warm Happy Crackle
Freezing Mad Flow
Sweltering Glad Rustle
Breezy Sad Smooth
Still Tense Wavy
Windy Nervous Brisk
Stormy Depressed Crunchy
Calm Giggly Silky
Thunder Weeping Hard
Dead Laughing Gentle
Frosty Crying Crispy
Hot Grim Brittle
Shivering Relaxed Spongy
Parched Stern Tender
Soggy Harsh

Performance Activities
Perform Poems
Have the kids practice their vocal skills by performing short poems such as Crows on a Wire,
Giggle Poems and Noisy Poems found in the Plays, Poems and Stories to Perform
section of this website.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 15

 Lesson Five
Goals: Explore improvisation.

Physical/Vocal Warm-Ups
Repeat Touching the Sky and Sock Monkey from Lesson
Two.

Repeat Yawn Sigh, Motorcycle, Rubber Band or

Breathe Out from the previous sessions.

Focusing Warm-Ups
Repeat Counting to Ten as a Group or Mirror from previous lessons.

Skill Building Activities

Two Sticks
This activity is on video on Drama Notebook.

In a circle, introduce a random object such as stick or a pool noodle. Declare that it can be
many things. An “elephant’s trunk” for example. Pass the object around the circle. Each player
turns it into something new (no repeats) and says a line that goes with their choice. If the pool
noodle has been turned into an elephant's trunk, the actor may say, "Don't you love my yellow
trunk?" Actors should avoid simply saying "It's an elephant trunk." Players who are stuck can
say “Come back to me.” Normal class rules apply: something that isn’t gross or violent, for
example. Repeat with other objects.

Magic Box
Players sit in a circle. One student starts by handing
the player next to him a pantomimed box. "I have a present
for you!" The player next to him accepts "Thank you!"
and "opens" it. He announces what he has found inside.
"An X-box! Thank you!" He then passes a gift to the next
person. ANYTHING can be in the box. (Normal classroom
rules of no violence, vulgarity, etc. apply.)

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 16

Variation:
Snow Treasures
Like “magic box.” In our imaginations, we turn the room into a snowy winter
wonderland. In a circle, sitting on the floor, kids call out things they see around them.
“A snowman over there.” “A mountain.” “Hills with some squirrels running about.” Then,
one at a time, they dig into the snow in front of them and find a “treasure.” Each child
proclaims what he/she found.

Environments
Use the Places/Environments list on Drama Notebook.

Group of four/six players onstage, or entire class in groups of four/six around the playing space.
In this exercise, a group of players will create an environment within a few seconds such as a:
dungeon; grocery store; hospital; army base. The players can be objects in the environment,
sound effects, or characters typical to that environment. Once the environment is called out the
players will create the environment. It is done without conversing or planning. Players will
become trees, rocks, birds, or characters. No scene is started, just the creation of the
environment. The 'shift' comes in when all the players are on stage and the environment has
been established. Another environment is called out and the players must make a seamless
transformation into the other environment.

Performance Activity
Instant Talent Show
For this activity, you may want to bring in a box of fun props/items such as: a cape, silly hats, a
kazoo, a pool noodle, some sort of cane/stick or pole, a fake microphone, a top hat, a wig, a
clown nose, a feather boa, a book of jokes. Ask the kids if they’ve ever been in a talent show.
What kind of things have they seen in a talent show? Ask them what activities they already
done in class that they could use to perform in a talent show. Either assign a talent show
performance as homework, or give students ten-twenty minutes of class time to come up with
something to perform.

Pet Show
Put kids in pairs. One person is the pet owner. The
other person is the pet. They decide what the pet
will be, come up with a name and a trick. The
owner leads the pet on, introduces her and the
animal performs. Then they take turns! If you
have one extra person, he can play the judge. He
could judge the show, ask the owners questions
about their pets and decide which pet is the
winner.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 17

 Lesson Six
Goals: Develop characters using all of the above
methods.

Physical/Vocal Warm-Ups
Repeat Touching the Sky and Sock Monkey from
Lesson Two.

Repeat Yawn Sigh, Motorcycle, Rubber Band or

Breathe Out from the previous sessions.

Focusing Warm-Ups
Repeat Counting to ten as a Group or Mirror from previous lessons or try this new one:

Facial Expression Warm-up

Divide the class into groups of 8-10 and have them sit in a
circle, have each student in the group pick a different facial
expression and show the others. Have one student begin
by setting a beat by clapping their hands twice on their -
legs and then once together (dab dab DAH) After
establishing the rhythm the first student will do the facial
expression he picked followed by the facial expression of
another student. That student will then do his own
expression flowed by a facial expression of another
student, keeping in the rhythm. This will continue around
the circle, allowing them to loosen up.

Skill Building Activities

Bus Stop
This is a character-building exercise that focuses on physicality. Set up a corner bus stop in
your playing space with a bench (or 2-3 chairs). Select a small group of students to perform.
Assign each student an age to portray. The student then enters the stage, concentrating on
playing the age. Encouragement should be given for detailed physical exploration. When the
first student has established their character, cue the second to enter the playing space, then
the third, and so on. You can add conflict to the scene by adding new information, like "the bus
is coming," "the bus is very late, and so are you," "there is a sudden downpour of rain," etc. At
the end of the improvisation, the audience can guess what age the actors were assigned.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 18

Emotion Statues
Students stand in a circle in "actor's neutral," with their hands at their sides, feet about
shoulder's distance apart. The teacher leads the exercise by naming an emotional state, such as
nervous, or angry, or proud, etc. Students then have ten beats (each beat is about a second) to
slowly move into a posture that expresses the emotional state. At the count of ten, they freeze.
Teacher chooses another emotion and repeats the game. The emphasis here is on encouraging
the students to move very slowly and thoughtfully, and to keep adding details to their pose as
long as they have time left.

Performance Activity
Fairytale in a Minute
In small groups, ask kids to list their favorite fairytales. Write them down as they call them out.
When the list feels complete, invite each group to choose one fairytale. They have one minute
to agree, or you will choose one for them! After the minute is up, have each group write their
fairytale on an index card or a slip of paper. Now tell the groups that they have ten minutes to
figure out how to tell the story in ONE MINUTE. Actors can be narrators, characters, furniture,
etc. During the performance, audience members listen carefully to guess the fairytale.

More great resources…

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com pg. 19