All join in

Key concepts

The key concepts for this starter are mime, improvisation and group work.

Drama in Schools (Second Edition) strands

This starter meets the following recommendations from Drama in Schools (Second Edition) (Arts Council England, 2003). For a complete list, see the Resources section.

• Level 3: Making: Choose vocabulary and movement to match the person, place and time required by their story or situation
• Level 4: Making: Work confidently in groups using a range of drama techniques to explore situations and devise dramas for different purposes
• Level 4: Performing: Experiment with their voices and movement, to create or present different characters in performance
• Level 6: Performing: Select and control appropriate vocal and movement skills, with some subtlety and develop them in rehearsal

Objectives

• To participate and perform in a large group mime.
• To create clear and precise movements.

Starter

Ask the class to sit in a circle. Appoint a volunteer to start. This volunteer should mime an activity or a task which is identifiable, and which others in the class can participate in. Emphasise that the mime should be clear. Examples of activities might include building a house or shopping.

Invite the rest of the students, one by one, to join in the mime in a meaningful way. This is a good way of developing confidence as this is a whole class activity.

Plenary

Discussion topics might include:

• How well did you work together?
• How do you make a mime clear and understandable?

Variations

• Ask students to join in the mime independently, without teacher intervention.
• Thought-track students who are part of the mime.
• If they are working on a specific theme or text, students could choose moments in that drama and use this activity to explore them.
• Once students have completed the whole group mime, ask them to develop it into an improvisation. You may wish to divide the class into smaller groups for this. Remind them that the movements should still be clear. They could also add in a vocal element (either words or sound).