Drama Games
Clap, Tap, Slap (Pre-K through 1st Grades)
This activity is like Follow the Leader. The teacher says and does the motions for, “Clap, Tap, Slap” clapping her hands, tapping her shoulders, and slapping her knees. The children have to mimic her actions, repeating the directions.
The teacher then changes the pattern, being
careful to keep a steady beat:
The teacher can change the rhythm of the pattern as follows:
Be creative! You are teaching children valuable listening, repeating, and kinesthetic skills that are based on mathematic patterns! If children aren't successful when the patterns get more difficult, repeat the patterns until they get them right. Believe me, they will improve with time!
Clap, Slap, Snap (1st through 5th Grades)
This is the same game, except for the variation of snapping fingers. Always begin with simple patterns: Clap, Slap, Snap, Snap. Then change each round to increase the difficulty. Remember: children usually can only remember 5 to 7 things in a sequence. After the children do really well with this game, announce, “I'm looking for a good leader to take over!” Then pick a child who is alert to be the leader for a few times. Allow that child to pick the next leader and the game starts again.
Monkey in the Middle (Pre-K through 5th Grades)
Have the students get in a large circle. As the teacher, you have to break the ice. You announce that you are the “Monkey in the Middle” and that everyone has to copy what you do. Be a monkey, by scratching your armpits, saying, “Ooh—ooh! Ooh--ooh!” Everyone then has to copy what you do. Next, become different animals, using movement and animal sounds, as the children continue to copy you.
Then, have the students get in groups of five or six. Invite the “craziest monkey” in the group to start. The “craziest monkey” gets into the center of the circle, scratching his armpits, saying, “Ooh—ooh! Ooh--ooh!” The students in the circle then have to repeat the gestures and monkey calls. The Monkey in the Middle then picks another child to come to the center. That child has to choose a different animal, using movement and animal sounds, and then everyone in the circle copies him/her. Suggestions for animals: elephant, lion, rabbit, wolf, dog, cat, cow, pig, horse, chicken, etc. Keep going until the children run out of ideas. (This can get pretty noisy, so be sure to do this as an outside activity!)
A variation of this game would be to invite the students to be different things in nature: a tree blowing in the wind, a flower blooming, a rain shower, a butterfly fluttering, etc.
The Call of the Wild (Pre-K through 2nd Grades)
First illustrate how the game is played by asking for three volunteers. Each child has to think of an animal sound (onomatopoeia). Remind them to be sure to remember what animal sound they are making. Take turns in the circle to remember each child's sound. As the facilitator, the teacher goes first, making her sound, and then calling out another child's sound. For instance, if the teacher is a cat, and another child is a cow, the teacher first says, “Meow!” and then, “Moo!” The child who is the cow, must answer, “Moo!” and then call out the animal sound of another child (say, a dog) and say, “Arf!” The child who is the dog, answers, “Arf!” and then calls out another child's animal sound.
Next, have the children get into groups of four and play the game accordingly. A variation of this game (2nd through 5th Grades) can be to add a different dimension: When someone calls out your sound, you have to answer first with your sound, secondly, make the sound of the person who called upon you, and then, thirdly, call out another child's sound.
Pantomime (2nd through 5th Grades)
On small slips of paper, write the following descriptions of things:
opening a jar of peanut butter and
spreading it onto a slice of bread
Next, invite five (brave) students to pick a slip of paper, read the description, and act it out for the class to guess. As each child performs, be sure to applaud as the students guess what the gestures are, and to also applaud the actors. Then invite each of the students in your class to invent their own descriptions, write them on slips of paper, and allow each child to try to act out the gestures as the rest of the class guesses. Put these slips of paper into a decorated paper bag or empty tissue box, and only let two or three children act out at a time, so that interest in the game always stays fresh.
