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 so that they can feel comfortable working and creating with me as a new teacher and be primed for the new unit on 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
● Blindfolds
● Chairs stacked so there’s room for people to move
Warm-up (5 minutes)
● Warm-Up Question - Write on the whiteboard and as people come in, have them come up and write their response.
○ What is your favorite kind of “exercise”? ■ Hiking
■ Dance parties ● Body Warm-Up
- ○ 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
- ○ Stand in a circle, everyone should go around and say their name and do a two-beat dance move. For every new person that does their dance move, the whole class will repeat, then repeat all the others that went before them.
○ 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.
Instruction/Practice (30 minutes)
● Blindfolds
○ Have the students stand in their own space. Have them spread their arms
out to make sure that they won’t hit anybody. Have them put their blindfolds on. Tell them that we are going to play a little game of “Follow the Leader” with our eyes closed. Stress the class theme of ‘just do it’ and the fact that they must follow the things that you say. Remind them that they all are wearing blindfolds and that no one will be able to see what the people around them are doing. 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.
○ 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.
● Discuss - Explain uninhibited movement. 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.
- ○ On a scale of 1-10, how inhibited/uninhibited did you feel in the name game? In the blindfolded game? Why?
- ○ 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?
● Then have them discuss in groups what we can do in our classroom to create a space where people feel comfortable to have uninhibited movement. Create a list on the board and commit them to help create this space.
Assessment
● Dead Man’s Walk
○ Tell the students that they will have one final activity to practice
uninhibited movement. There are two rules: don’t touch other people, and do whatever action you want ALL OUT. Introduce the game of “Dead Man Walk.” Tell the students that they must walk around the stage or room (give specific boundaries) 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 mean 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). Resume the game with “Dead Man Walk!”
Resolution
● Name Game/Dance Game
○ Have everyone go around and do their name and movement once more,
but this time being 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.