Lesson 5: One, Two…Look what I Can Do!!
Click here to download Lesson Plan and Instructional Materials for Kindergarten Theatre Lesson #5 (PDF)
Objectives:
- Students will improvise pantomimes for stories and poems while they are being read or told.
- Students will retell a rhyme using appropriate voice and movement.
- Students will demonstrate appropriate audience behavior: watch and listen, applaud, and respond when appropriate.
5A. Vocal and Physical Warm-up:
Teaching Artist Mike Sears assists the classroom teacher in leading a kindergarten class in warm-up exercises that include both physical and vocal components. These activities increase focus while also expanding vocabulary and encouraging children to speak audibly and clearly.
Kindergarten Theatre Lesson #5: Warm-up [7:32 minute Video]
5B. Vocabulary:
The teacher artist also introduces the word “rhyme” (words involving matching sounds) as one of the tools that actors use to create character.
character – the personality or part an actor recreates
actor – a person who performs a role in a play or an entertainment
pantomime – acting without words through facial expression, gesture, and movement
Kindergarten Theatre Lesson #5: Vocabulary [1:32 minute Video]
5C. Modeling:
The teaching artist reads a poem from the lessons (this can also be a story or poem of one’s choice) and asks students to identify who the characters are and what they are doing. He discusses with students how they might use voice and facial expression as well as body movement to better portray the characters and understand the story. From this point, the teacher might ask for a few volunteers to act out the poem while the rest of the class models good audience behavior.
In this clip, the teacher artist reads the story with gestures and helps the students summarize, rehearse, demonstrate and perform using their faces, voices, and bodies.
Kindergarten Theatre Lesson #5: Modeling [6:16 minute Video]
5D. Guided Practice:
The teacher works with a small group of two students and another group of six students to stage Jack and Jill, and Little Miss Muffet. (see also lesson 3c). The class discusses what kinds of movements an actor would use to create imaginary characters and then create improvisations and pantomimes for the story points.
Kindergarten Theatre Lesson #5: Guided Practice [14:12 minute Video]
5E. Debrief:
The class discusses the difference between real and imaginary characters and the actor’s role in creating these characters. They review the sequence of events in the story, and discuss the challenges of hearing the words and acting out the story at the same time.
Easy Access to All Video Lesson Segments:
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