Adding Drama to Make
Literature Come Alive
Why? And How?
Why?
 Drama fosters creative thought, which
leads to critical and divergent thinking.
 Drama develops imagination
 Research has proven that drama
increases development of language
skills
 Drama imprints words and ideas in
memory, and language is learned
Research…
 “Drama involves the whole body and the
whole brain in learning in a fictional
context; it engages all of the multiple
intelligences ( Gardner 1985) and
matches the learning styles ( Kolb, 1983)
of all children.”
How?
8 ideas:
drama activities
to try in your literature lessons
1.
Hot-seating
–
an exercise to help
understand a character in the
story, or the author of the
piece.
What to do:
Either in small groups, or as a whole class
activity –
One student takes on the role of a
character in the story, or the author,
and the others ask the character
questions to help understand the
behavior, motive, perspective, etc.
Examples  A Summer’s Reading – ask George
about his behavior and feelings
 The Road Not Taken – Ask Robert
Frost questions about the meaning of
his poem
 The Rules of the Game – Ask Waverly
about her relationship with her
mother
2. Tableau
An exercise to help
understand a scene or a
moment of the story, and
the interaction between the
characters.
What to do:
 In pairs or small groups, depending on
the number of characters in the
scene, students choose a moment in
the story, and pose (including
appropriate facial expression) in a still
picture to show the moment.
 In turn, classmates guess which scene
is depicted.
Teacher snaps fingers to
bring one character at a
time “to life” and the
character expresses
his/her feelings at the
moment.
Examples:
 Mr. Know All – students portray the
moment when Mr. Kelada examines Mrs.
Ramsay’s pearls
 Grandmother – students portray the
moment when the granddaughter stops to
speak with her grandmother
 The Split Cherry tree- students portray
the moment when Dave and his father
meet Dave’s teacher
3.Bystander gossip-
An exercise to emphasize
different perspectives, and
to improve understanding of
the scene
What to do:
 Small groups of students choose a
moment in the story and become people
on the street or at the location of the
incident talking about what they have
witnessed. This can be improvisation or
slightly pre-planned.
Examples:
 The Rules of the Game – people at the
market gossiping about Waverly’s
argument with her mother
 The Split Cherry Tree – classmates
talking about the boys who damaged the
cherry tree
 A Summer’s Reading – neighbors sitting
on their porch gossiping about George
4. Dubbed Movie
An amusing exercise to show
deeper understanding of the
characters – inferring
thoughts from actions.
What to do:
 2 or more actors play a scene,
but they don't speak, although
they can move their mouths as
if they are speaking. 2 or more
players sit in front of the
action, and provide the speech.
The effect is (or should be) like
watching a dubbed movie.
Examples:
 All My Sons – Students pantomimne the
scene when Ann gives Kate the letter
from Larry, with melodramatic gestures
and facial expressions. One student per
character supply the dialogue
 The Enemy – students mime the scene
when the servants are told about the
American soldier, others provide the
dialogue
5. Perspective
An exercise to emphasize
the different perspectives
of characters in the same
scene about the same
incident.
What to do:
Students choose a scene from
the piece which includes at
least two characters.
Students act out the scene as
many times as there are
characters – from the point of
view of each character
Examples:
 Rules of the Game – students act out the
scene when the family comes home from
the Christmas party at the church. The
scene is done a few times from the
perspectives of the different
characters.
 The Split Cherry Tree- students act out
the scene when Dave’s father arrives at
his school
6. TV News
An exercise to demonstrate
synthesis of the entire
piece of literature.
What to do:
In small groups, students
prepare a newscast about the
events of the story. One of
the anchormen/women can
prepare a commentary on the
event
Examples:
 Rules of the Game – newscast about
the scene at the market
 The Enemy – newscast about Sadao
taking care of the American soldier
 Mr. Know All – newscast about the
incident with the string of pearls
7.Role play improvisation
A great way to show
understanding of the
characters and their
relationships with each other.
What to do:
 Students choose a scene of the story to act out.
Give time for brainstorming and planning, but not
script writing.
Students should think about where they are, who
they are, and what the conflict is.
They should block out the scene – beginning,
middle and end, and decide who is playing which
character.
Examples:
 A Summer’s Reading – George meets Mr.
Cattanzara coming home from work
 Mr. Know All – Mr. Kelada is having dinner with
the Ramsays and they have a conversation
about Mrs. Ramsays pearls
 Rules of the Game – Waverly’s family is having
dinner when she comes in after running away
from her mother
8. Conscious alley
Focus on problem solving
What to do:
 Choose a serious dilemma facing a character.
Students form two lines facing each other.
Each side is designated pro or con.
One student is the character.
As the character walks down the “alley”, each
student tells the character a reason why s/he
should or should not take a certain action.
Examples:
 All My Sons –
Should Ann show Kate the letter from Larry,
or not?
 The Split Cherry TreeShould Dave tell his father about the teacher’s
punishment or not?
 The Enemy –
Should Sadao treat the wounded American ,
or not?
Tips
 Keep the atmosphere light and accepting
 Don’t worry about being dramatic
yourself – just give clear instructions
and let the kids be dramatic.
 Save time for reflection and feedback at
the end of the activity
 Don’t worry about everyone having a turn
to present. Being an audience is also a
way of participating.
Thanks for listening!
mitzi100@gmail.com – for
questions and/or comments