Here is a Drama Exercise to Jazz Up Your Class and Impress Your Parents
Do you need an exercise for your students and parents to participate together? Something which isn’t threatening for any other the parties involved?
How about tableau in a unique way?
Your dramamomma has you covered! Here’s a new lesson plan for your drama classroom using tableau as the springboard.
How to Impress Your Parents
If you are like me, you are always looking for ways to encourage your parents to be involved whenever they visit class. This exercise is a sure fire winner. I have used it at the beginning of the school year and also when parents visit to see a class play.
It’s a sneaky wayto get your parents to perform with their child. In many ways, it helps everyone. The students get to “play” with their parent and receive their full attention; the parents are given permission to “play” as well. Together they have a shared experience, too.
Generally, parents really enjoy this little ice breaker. It certainly engages everyone.
The exercise takes about fifteen minutes in length. You can also lengthen the exercise by asking two student/parent groups to work together and perform a larger memory they might have–say, seeing a baseball games (two are the players and two are the baseball fans in the bleachers, etc.)
Tableau Parent/Student Exercise
Another fun one is Super Hero Tableau
Tableau and movement are components of theater any student can learn and perform successfully, especially grades 4-7. This lesson integrates super heroes into the learning which makes it fun, unique and engaging! This was created as a one day lesson, but can easily be extended another day.
Product includes:
- the reasons to teach tableau and movement
- the history of tableau
- the reasons to teach about super heroes
- teacher’s questions and script to help you be successful!
- a flyer listing the qualities of a super hero–great way to begin class!
- sources and links
- extensive warm up exercise
- evaluation and alternative activities
How to Impress Your Parents
I have found most parents are good sports when given half the chance to participate. When I taught musical theatre, my co-teacher and I invited our parents to join the kids while they learned a quick dance. My favorite memories are of the dads jumping up and dazzling us with their dance steps. Of course, their children were mortified, but I thought it was great to see parents in a different life. Also, I discovered it helps to invest them in the whole experience.
I hope you are participating in your classroom, too. It’s important for the students to see you in a vulnerable position. My students loved it when I warmed up with them, too. You can model and teach at the same time.
So, give these exercises a look.
I’d love to hear how about your experiences involving parent participation. Contact me at dhcbaldwin@gmail.com or DeborahBaldwin.net
