Drama Start! Drama Activities, Plays and Monologues for Young Children, Ages 3-8 - Softcover

Meighan, Julie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 095689660X ISBN 13: 9780956896605

Publisher: JemBooks, 2011

Synopsis

‘Drama Start’ is a collection of drama activities, including games, role playing ideas, action poems, plays and monologues, suitable for children between the ages of 3 and 8. It can be used in Early Years’ settings or in primary schools, up to and including second class. This book is also suitable for people working with children in any setting where drama is used such as community groups, out of school care facilities, therapeutic group work and so on.The book is accessible and easy to follow. It is divided into three parts – Drama Games, Plays and Monologues. Each section provides educators/teachers/leaders with a variety of creative and imaginative ideas for stimulating drama activities in many different settings.

About this title

From the Author:

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Game: Magic Rocks.
Age: 3 years+,
Minimum number of participants: 2
Resources needed: Clear space, a wand (optional).
Other Benefits: To stimulate children's imagination and creativity.
Instructions: Get each child to find a clear space. They must make sure that they are not touching anyone else. The children crouch down on the floor and make a ball shape with their bodies. The teacher explains that all children are magic rocks and that the teacher is a magic wizard. The teacher waves the magic wand and says: "Magic rocks turn into dinosaurs." All the children turn into dinosaurs and move around the room as dinosaurs. The teacher then says: "Magic rocks turn into magic rocks." The children return to their clear spaces and crouch down on the floor again as quickly as possible. The magic wizard can change the magic rocks into anything they want, for example superheroes, animals, people, household items and so on. Variation: The children can take it turns to be the magic wizard.

Game: Octopus
Age: 4 years +
Minimum number of participants: 3
Resources needed: Clear space.
Other Benefits: This game can be used to work on co-operation and teamwork skills.
Instructions: One child is chosen or volunteers to be the octopus and stands in the middle of the clear space. The rest of the children should line up along one side of the space. When the octopus shouts out "Octopus!" the other children have to run past the octopus and try to reach the other side without being caught. Children that are caught become part of the octopus's arms. They are not allowed to let go of each other's hands. Only the children at the ends of the octopus's arms can catch people. As the game progresses, the octopus becomes longer and longer. The game becomes more difficult, as more and more children become part of the octopus's arms. It ends when all the children are caught.

Game: Prison Break
Age: 4 years +
Minimum number of participants: 3
Resources needed: Clear space.
Other Benefits: This is a warm up game that children really enjoy. It also can be used to improve listening and co-ordination skills.
Instructions: Children all line up on one side of the clear space. One student is chosen, or volunteers, to be the guard on duty and stands in the centre of the room. The rest of the children are prisoners. When the guard shouts out "Prison break!" all the prisoners must run to the other side of the space. If the guard catches a prisoner they also become a guard. Eventually there will be more guards then prisoners. The last prisoner becomes the first guard on duty for the next game.

Game: Fruit Basket
Age: 4 years+
Minimum number of participants: 7
Resources needed: Clear space and a chair for each student - if you do not have chairs you can use sheets of paper or cushions.
Other Benefits: This is a well-known game which can also be used very effectively as a listening game or an observation game.
Instructions: All the children sit in circle on a chair or a cushion. The teacher chooses three different fruits and goes around the circle giving each person the name of a fruit, in a particular order, for example, apple, orange, banana. A child is then chosen, or volunteers, to go into the centre of the circle. His/Her chair is taken away. The child in the centre calls out the name of one of the three fruits. If the child in the centre says apple then all the apples change place, if s/he says banana, all the bananas change place and if s/he says orange, all the oranges change places. If s/he says fruit basket then everyone changes places. The child who is left without a chair goes into the centre for the next round.
Variations: There are lots of variations to this game and you can change the names to go with a specific theme. Fruit basket - apple, orange, and banana -could be replaced by: Barnyard - chicken, pig and cow, Zoo - elephant, giraffe and tiger, Circus - clown, ringmaster and acrobat, Ocean - fish, mermaid and shark.

From the Inside Flap:

Part One: Drama Games. There are nine different categories in this section. . Each category, for example warm-up games, listening games, states the main benefit of the games it features. However some of the games may have more than one benefit. For example, `Fruit Basket is listed as a warm up game but other benefits of this game are listening and observation. The games are clearly set out and the appropriate age group and minimum amount of children needed to participate are listed for each one. The other benefits of playing the game are also stated and detailed instructions are provided, with suggested variations for some of the games.
Warm-Up Games These games can be used at the beginning of any drama lesson. They help limber the children up and lead them into the next part of the lesson. They are fun and enjoyable. If you are short on time the children can also do them by themselves, in separate group

About this edition

• Publisher: JemBooks
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 095689660X
• ISBN 13: 9780956896605
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 94