week
1
2
3
4
Warm up
Name game – adjective
matched to initial of
name.
Wink murder
Hoop game – all hold
hands - working
together to pass the
hoop around without
letting go of hands.
Discuss team work
needed.
Thought tunnel –
children to create
thoughts of different
emotions in given
situation
Box game – children to
open a box and pretend
there’s something
inside. Other children
guess based on actions
(can be themed eg shoe
box)
Main activity
Main focus – Voice
Short improvisation based on a family scene.
Children take on a character and focus on voicing eg
accents, tone, expression and volume.
Main focus – staging
Discuss the need to think about others in a
performance. Children to stage a scene based on music
stimulus without verbalising.
Finishing off
Emotive voices – silly words
expressed in different
emotions eg wibble
Wink murder
Emotive actions – call out
emotions. Children to strike a
pose to portray emotion.
Main focus – content
Read a start of a story. Discuss what might happen.
Children to improvise ending focussing on content of
story.
Bang Splat. – middle child to
fira at child in circle – pair
either side quick fire each
other – child shot at ducks –
slowest is out.
Chinese whispers
Main focus – voice
Paired work – angel and demon activity. Children work in
pairs to plana dialogue between right and wrong over a
given dilemma eg do I pick up the £20 note? Eat the
chocolate cake?
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6
7
8
9
Sound chains – child A
to start a sound and
build up a composition
of noises as each child
adds one.
Mirrors – children work
in pairs to create
mirror images of each
other’s actions
I went to the
shops..game – children
to play game but use
actions instead of
words
10 second objects
children put into groups
and to get into
positions to create
objects eg car, washing
machine
Wind them up –
children to imitate wind
up machines or toys –
Main focus – movement
Pet shop scene with children acting as animals. They
have to create a conversation but act in the style of the
animal.
Pass the pulse – children to
pass the pulse around the
circle as quickly as possible.
Main focus – staging
Freeze tag – children act out a scene. Audience
members can tag at any point to join production by
replacing someone, perhaps changing the scene (thinking
on feet)
Main focus – content – monologue
Children to create monologue about a memory (in the
style of an old person) limit time to 30 seconds –
children to think carefully about choice of words
Fruit bowl
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Main focus – dynamics
Children to think about showing different tones of voice
eg whispering, whimpering on stage. Focus on the idea
of a surprise and how people would react to a surprise
Trust games – children to
guide blindfoled children
around the room (fall back
into teachers’ arms)
Word association – child to
start with a word. Go around
the circle with associated
words.
Main focus – movement
Duck goose – chosen child to
Street scene – groups of 6 – children to each play a
walk around and when goose
character. All characters should have some dialogue but is said the children should
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11
12
slowing as they wind
down
Imagination games –
children sit around a
chair and take it in
turns to use the chair
as an object while the
others guess the
object
Response activities –
teachers to sit on park
bench and display
emotion. Children to
respond appropriately
as emotions change
Sculptures – child to
stand in middle and
another child sculpts
the into scene which
others guess.
should also think about movement when in the
background.
Main focus – imagination
The children to work in groups to think of a fantasy
situation eg space, under the sea, in the jungle. Discuss
what will happen and how children might show this in
improvisation
race to compete for the
space in the circle
Fortunately / unfortunately
game – go around the circle
creating a story which
alternates fortunately
statements with
unfortunately statements
Main focus – overall performance
Free choice session – children to put together their own
performances thinking about all the skills they have
gained. Teachers to support children struggling for
ideas.
The numbers game – teacher
shouts a number and children
get into groups of that size –
leftovers are out.
Main focus – use of props
Children to bring in a prop of their choice. They should
use this as the stimulus for their improvisation. How
can they involve others in their story?
The pirate says …game
Children to carry out actions
for pirate commands
Wink murder