ACT UP FRIDAYS

Teaching with the arts in our classrooms!

#9 – November 30, 2012

K/1
Interactive Storytelling (15 - 20 minutes)
 I can engage verbally and physically.
 I can recall specific verbal and physical phrases.
 I can offer details.
 I can offer a variety of answers to problem-solving questions.

Arts Standards – Students will

Drama - observe, describe and apply creative dramatics (improvisation, mimicry, pantomime, role playing and story-
telling) in a variety of situations.
Drama - begin to associate folktales, legends, or myths they experience or perform with specific cultures (Native
American, Appalachian, West African); describe in simple terms how literature and oral tradition reflects the cultures
Integrated Area – ELA – Reading, Speaking and Listening
Danville Diploma
1. Intentional experiences to equip students with skills to do the following
 Value and exercise creativity
 Exercise effective communication and presentation skills
 Adapt and problem solve

Instructional Activity
Interactive Storytelling is a technique where a teacher invites student participation through fun and engaging
opportunities to contribute to the telling. Usually this is done with a memorized story with the teacher engaging
students in the telling through point of participation. It can be used with a story the teacher tells by holding the book. It
always uses Points of Participation. The teacher can use any combination of these Points of Participation (from CUNY
Creative Arts Team/Helen Wheelock Arts Academy Training) with Interactive Storytelling. I’ll introduce two a week over
the next two lessons and make book suggestions.

1. Call and Repeat, Chants, Phrases or Words (Teacher Directed): Inviting students to repeat certain parts of the text at
key moments during the story. For ex. – From Little Red Riding Hood,
Storyteller – “… and the wolf stood outside the door and said “And I’ll hug and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down!
Let’s all say together: And I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down.”
Students repeat with Storyteller and Storyteller then continues the story. When she reaches the next sequence
containing this phrase she signals the students participation using her body, eyes, and vocal intonation to prompt the
student to verbalize the phrase.

2. Call and Repeat Physical Actions and Sounds (Teacher Directed): Invite students to mimic a physical action or sound
demonstrated by the storyteller. For ex. – From Little Red Riding Hood
Storyteller – “Outside the wolf’s den, the wind was gently blowing, whooooooo. Let’s all make that sound. And above
the wolf’s den the tree branches were moving back and forth in the wind. (Storyteller demonstrates possibly by
extending arts and waving back and forth) Let’s all do that… And the wind was blowing (physically signal or ask students
to do that with you)
Assessment
 If your focus is on comprehending the literature use questions based on the story to get at students
comprehension, either orally or in writing.
 Informal assessment based on students’ involvement with the Points of Participation described above.

2/3
Physical and Vocal Warm-Ups (20 – 25 minutes)
 I can explore vocal expression.
 I can use specific movement to warm-up for acting.

Arts Standards – Students will

Drama - begin to learn how to use knowledge of the elements of drama and drama terminology to describe and critique
their own performances and the performances of others
Drama - Students will identify possible criteria for evaluating dramatic works (e.g., skill of performers, originality, emotional
impact, variety, interest)
Integrated Area – See Assessment for connection to this week’s reading. ELA Kentucky Common Core Standards:
Reading, Speaking and Listening
Danville Diploma
1. Intentional experiences to equip students with skills to do the following
 Value and exercise creativity
 Exercise effective communication and presentation skills
 Adapt and problem solve
7. Learning through meaningful projects and taking part in meaningful processes to develop deeper understandings;

Instruction Activity
Isolation Shake-out (5 - 10 minutes)
Everyone needs to spread out and have some personal space. Remind students this is non-verbal. Teacher needs to lead
this the first few times, but if you do it more often you could use student leaders.
 Begin standing in a neutral position
 Move just left hand (explore each shake out movement for about 15 sec. Before adding the next movement
 Continue moving left hand and add left arm up to elbow
 Continue existing movement add left arm up to shoulder
 Keep left arm moving add right hand
 Continue existing movement add right arm up to elbow
 Continue existing movement add entire right arm to shoulder – focus on exploring all the movement that you
can with both arms keeping the rest of the body still
 Remember feet are glued to the floor
 Add shoulders and head – keep lower body still
 Add upper torso - keep lower body still – feet glued to the floor
 Add hips and knees – keep feet glued
 Unglue feet – move entire body staying in your own personal space
 Permit movement exploration saying freeze and asking students to freeze either in a specific shape or level that
leader expresses or in a shape of their own choosing. (ex. – tree, chair, cat, 2-year old, teacher etc.)
 Repeat entire body movement and freezing in shape 2 – 6 times.

Who is that? (10 minutes)

Explain before doing! Modeling once works well.
 Students form a circle.
  Teacher explains that one student will stand in the center of the circle, close his or her eyes and with her arm
stretched out point towards the circle and close his/her eyes.
 That person begins to slowly turn in one direction.
 Meanwhile the circle begins walking in the opposite direction.
 At some point the teacher says “freeze”.
 Everyone stops moving and the person closest to where the student in the center of the circle is pointing speaks
the phrase “I know you can’t guess who I am” using a voice that’s different, with changed pitched, character
voice, dialect, louder/softer etc.
 Person in the center gets two guesses.
 Switch center person and keep going.

Assessment
 Use Theatre AI rubric from Arts Integration training.
 Have students brainstorm a list of characters from various stories they’ve read over the week. Lead a discussion
about how those characters would move, stand or sit and how they would speak. What can movement and vocal
expression tell you about who a character is? How do actors use physical and vocal skills to be ready to play
characters?

4/5
Group Storytelling (20 minutes)
 I can use vocal expression to tell a story.
 I can collaborate with a group using literary elements tell a story.

Arts Standards – Students will

Drama - describe and explain characters, relationships among characters and settings as related to a script, a scenario,
or classroom dramatization
Drama - observe, describe and apply creative dramatics (improvisation, mimicry, pantomime, role playing and storytelling)
in a variety of situations
Drama - use the elements of drama in creating and performing dramatic works independently and with others
Integrate Area – ELA Kentucky Common Core Standards: Speaking and Listening, (Reading and Writing – if you compare
with a story they’ve read. This can also be used as a pre-write exercise)
Danville Diploma
1. Intentional experiences to equip students with skills to do the following
 Value and exercise creativity
 Exercise effective communication and presentation skills
 Become a functioning member of a team
 Adapt and problem solve

Instruction Activity
 Review literary elements with students: Script, Story line (plot), Character, Story organization (beginning, middle,
end), Setting, Dialogue, Monologue, Conflict. Remind them that these are the same components as when they read
stories and that today they will use them to tell a group story.
 As they tell this group story everyone will say a few lines of the story. Everyone must be listening carefully to know
where they are in the organization of the story, what has already happened, what characters have been introduced,
what the character relationships are etc.
 While it works well to have students seated in a circle this can also be done from their seats and the teacher can call
on the next person to continue. You can also use a story telling object to indicate who the storyteller and pass that
object to the next storyteller.
 Teacher chooses a volunteer to begin and each student says a few lines of the story.
 If a student passes come back to them.
 If the story finishes quickly begin a new story.
Assessment
 Discuss how the story developed and was told. Compare and contrast the difference between telling and reading a
story.
 Use Theatre rubric from AI training.