Imaginarium – bringing in-class discussion to life
This is one of the simplest and most flexible drama games. It can be used with any age-group and will help to inspire improvisation, writing and artwork. You’ll need a large space for the whole class to play or you can task smaller groups to take it in turns at the front of the classroom.
With everybody standing in a circle, the teacher calls out a theme (such as ‘the beach’) and students think of an object or person related to it. Ask one player to step into the space and make the shape of a person, animal or object. They should also say ‘I am a…’
Then invite more students to add to the picture: a bucket, spade, ice-cream, towel, sunbather, wave, shark, lifeguard. Once you think you have enough people in the centre you can play again with another theme or develop the scene by tapping students on the shoulder and asking them to add an adjective (I am a wiggly starfish); you can bring the scene to life for a few moments through improvisation or ask them to create a vocal soundscape.
Imaginarium is a great way of pooling ideas, gathering suggestions for a story or testing comprehension of a theme such as a haunted house, pirate ship, detective story, Victorian inventions, Tutankhamun's tomb or Romeo sneaking through Juliet's garden. Teacher Carolyn Berry of River House Montessori School learnt the activity on a drama course and used it later to explore environmental concerns. She writes:
‘I did an imaginarium of a polluted beach (they had to be something that should not be on the beach/in the sea) then I collected everything in my imaginary garbage bag… which led to a discussion of how to avoid bringing rubbish to the beach. Finally, I did a conscience alley – I chose one of them to be ‘president/prime minister’ and then proposed that all cars be banned and did the pros and cons – the children loved it!’
Other key techniques
Conscience Alley (or Thought Tunnel) is a highly effective technique that encourages children to look at a person's inner thoughts. The class make two lines facing each other and the teacher or a student walks down the centre, listening the to opposing arguments. It's perfect for exploring a moment in drama, a story or a historical event where a character is faced with a decision. Example questions could be: ‘Should I get a pet even though I'm often away from home?’ or ‘I saw my friend cheating in a test. What should I do?’
Freeze frames are the perfect way to use drama in the classroom, since children can work instinctively. Their presentations can be developed by asking them to speak thoughts aloud (thought-tracking), bring the scene to life (action clip) or engage in hot-spotting. This is a variation of hot-seating where spectators can question characters (or even objects) within a frozen scene about their actions and choices. Groups of students can create still images from stories or plays, show historical scenes or even demonstrate scientific processes.
Incorporating stories
Teachers taking part in a Drama Resource workshop
Freeze frames can easily lead on to simple role play in pairs or groups, as well as the under-used approach of teacher in role. I sometimes use The Tiger Child story by Joanne Troughton to demonstrate how children can role-play the part of the tiger cub or villagers, while the teacher, in role as the tiger, asks them for advice. Using the teacher in role technique will also help with adopting different character voices when telling a story.
These simple games and strategies can be used to support other methods of teaching, or even be used together to create an in-depth drama session. I’ve recently discovered the real-life story of The Lost and Found Cat (written by aid-workers Doug Kuntz and Amy Shrodes), which is also an effective resource for teaching children about troubles facing refugees.
You can find out more about the courses run by David Farmer and download his lesson plans at: http://www.dramaresource.com