by Savannah Fillerup
Objective
● Students will acclimate to a new teacher and be primed for a unit on movement by participating in movement-based drama games and discussing uninhibited movement.
Standards
● Utah
- Standard 7-8.T.P.4 - Communicate meaning using the body through space, shape, energy, and gesture.
- Standard 7-8.T.CR.1: Develop imagination to create artistic ideas and work.
- National
○ TH:Pr4.1.6.b. Experiment with various physical choices to communicate character in a drama/theatre work.
Materials needed
● Space to move around
Warm-up (5 minutes)
● Warm-Up Question - Type on the Zoom whiteboard (or on a PowerPoint with a link available in the chat if the whiteboard isn’t working) and as people come in, have them type their response.
○ What is your favorite kind of “exercise”? ■ Hiking
■ Dance parties ● Body Warm-Up
- ○ Invite everyone to be in a space where they can move around.
- ○ Sit and stretch
- ○ Stand and stretch
- ○ Puppet string spine
○ Body shakeout
Hook (10 minutes)
● Introduce myself as their teacher ○ Basic Intro
○ Q&A
● Name Game/Dance Game
- ○ Starting with yourself, show off saying your name and doing a two-beat dance move. Then “popcorn” to a new person and invite them to unmute and say their name with a two beat dance move. They will then popcorn to another person. For every new person that does their dance move, the whole class (still on mute) will repeat, then repeat all the others that went before them until everyone has gone.
○ Then, we play a game where you say the person’s name and do their dance move to pass it to them, they receive it by saying/doing it, then choose another person to pass to. Now, you will unmute when you are receiving and sending the dance moves.
Instruction/Practice (30 minutes)
● Blindfolds
○ Tell them that we are going to play a little game of “Follow the Leader”
with our cameras off. Stress the class theme of ‘just do it’ and the fact that they must follow the things that you say. Remind them that they will have their cameras off and that no one will be able to see what the people around them are doing—including the teacher! Thus, it’s on their honor that they actually participate. Encourage them to ‘just do it.’ Remind them that there isn’t a right or wrong way to do any of these things, but that they need to just try to go ‘all out’ and try them. We will be discussing afterwards.
- ○ Have them turn their cameras off and find an empty space in the room.
○ Start the game on the floor:
- curlupinaballlikeababy
- now sprawl out on a king size bed
- do some crunches
- roll over like a happy puppy
- roll back and forth on your back
- wiggle like a worm
- lie flat on the ground like you’re in hiding
- jump up like you just got caught at hide&seek and you need to run
- Freeze
- jump up and down like you’re excited
- make faces at yourself in a mirror
- slam dunk a basketball
- do a ballerina move
- make a bunny rabbit face
- dance at a disco
- bust your favorite dance move
- be a rock star
■ strike your favorite pose
■ Etc.
- ● Once done, have them all turn their cameras back on.
● Discuss - Explain uninhibited movement—type it in the chat so they can see how
it’s spelled. Dictionary definition actually says “freedom to act” and “expressing feelings etc. freely and without embarrassment.” Stress the fact that good performers use uninhibited movement. They are not afraid of what people think! They do not hold back! Clarify that this doesn’t mean going crazy and being unsafe.
○ Have them answer this question in the chat:
On a scale of 1-10, how inhibited/uninhibited did you feel in the
name game?
- In the blindfolded game?
○ Now open up for them to answer the following questions out loud, once they unmute. Have them raise a hand when they want to answer.
- Why do you think you felt more/less uninhibited in the different games?
- How did you move differently because you knew no one could see you?
- When is uninhibited movement good? When might it be not good?
- When are you inhibited/uninhibited in real life?
- Why is uninhibited movement important for performers?
How would you feel more comfortable to go “all out” and have
uninhibited movement when people are watching?
○ Emphasize that uninhibited movement should still be appropriate in a
school setting!
● Then tell them I will be splitting them into breakout rooms to discuss what we
can do in our classroom to create a space where people feel comfortable to have uninhibited movement—keeping in mind that we will be completely virtual! They should come up with at least one way that we will add to a list when we all come back to the main session. Choose one person as their spokesperson to share.
- ● Split them into breakout rooms with 3-4 people. Let them discuss for 2-3 minutes, then bring them back. On the whiteboard, make a list of what each spokesperson says.
● Have them raise their hands and promise they will follow these class-written rules to help everyone feel safe and comfortable in our Zoom class.
Assessment
● Dead Man’s Walk
○ Tell the students that they will have one final activity to practice
uninhibited movement. Introduce the game of “Dead Man Walk.” Tell the
students that they must walk around their space as if they are dead men or zombies. When you yell out a specific body part, they must focus on that body part. Explain that they can do whatever they want with it, whether that means they favor it, let it lead, move it a lot, have it be ‘broken,’ etc. Remind them to go ALL OUT and that they can do whatever they feel like doing with that specific body part as long as they are still moving around and focusing on that body part. For example, “Dead Man Arm!” might result in kids flailing one arm, having a dead arm, or twitching one arm. Explain that when you yell “Dead Man Freeze,” they must instantly freeze and be silent (this is ideal time for adding additional instructions or reminding students of classroom/game rules).
○ Once they come back, have them put in the chat on a scale of 1-10 how inhibited/uninhibited they felt with this game.
Resolution
● Name Game/Dance Game
○ Have everyone go around and do their name and movement once more,
popcorn-ing to another person, but this time being a little more uninhibited than the first time. Ask them to go more “all out.” It has to be the same basic move, but just more all out.
Challenge
● Start looking out for when you exhibit uninhibited/inhibited movement over the next few days. See if there’s a way they can help themselves to feel more uninhibited when they feel inhibited. Be prepared to share next time.