Mantle of the Expert

In Mantle of the Expert, the teacher will put students in groups (usually in groups of 4 or 5). The teacher will reveal an issue or topic (usually a controversial issue) that will be discussed and then assign each group a role or field in which they are experts. The students will come up of several points to address the issue/topic and then present it to the rest of the class. One possibility is to do a 'town hall meeting' type of presentation where the group of experts will come to the front of the classroom and share their opinions, thoughts, ideas, etc. After the group presents their points, the rest of the students can ask questions or comments. Don't forget to remind the students to be kind to one another!

Picture Walk

During the Picture Walk, students will be standing in a circle/semi-circle. Students will be asked to create a tableaux to represent a piece of information they have learned. For example, if doing a picture walk about polar bears, one student might stand on their tip-toes with their arms raised up high and a little curved to signify that polar bears are really tall. Once everyone is in their tableaux, the teacher (or one of the students) will walk by each student to observe the 'picture' and can guess what that student is trying to depict. After a walk around the whole circle/semi-circle, the teacher can then go through each one and have the students state what fact they were trying to represent.

Teacher In Role

Teacher in Role is when a teacher dress up and acts as a different person/character for an entire lesson. For example, the teacher can act as a noble from the Medieval Times, or he/she can act as a scientist. The teacher must remain in control/manage the class, encourage involvement from the students, describe the narrative, and create opportunities for all students to interact with the teacher. The teacher can also decide whether or not students must participate in the role-taking as well and act accordingly.

Pinwheel Poetry

Pinwheel Poetry is a really interesting drama activity to do! It is usually linked with a familiar text (e.g. a story, TV show, etc.). Each student will write a line or two in the perspective of one of the characters from the text (can be chosen by the teacher). As a whole class or in groups of about 5 or 6, the students will stand in a circle, facing outward and having their backs face each other. One by one, they will slowly rotate and as a student faces the front/the audience, they will say the line(s) that they wrote. This continues until all of the students in the group have said their line(s).

Musical Gist

For the Musical Gist drama strategy, the teacher will put students into groups and give each group a different phrase, rhyme, chant, etc. to say. To help the students remember the phrase or how to say it, the teacher can also provide a rhythm to use when chanting the phrase. While reading a story (or another text), the reader will stop at different parts and have a group come in and chant their phrase over and over again, sometimes varying in volume, rhythm, etc. This will go on until the reader decides to stop them. Multiple groups can also do their chant, either at the same time or with one group starting off before another group follows. This is especially fun to do if you have appropriate music playing in the background!

Stop Motion Animation

The Stop Motion Animation drama strategy is very fun, incorporates technology, and would be great as a cross-curricular activity with media literacy. In groups, students will be asked to create a scene by doing multiple tableaux. With a camera, a picture will be taken for each tableaux. These pictures will then be put in order and then played as a short film with a few seconds for each picture. The short film can be done through programs/apps such as "NFB Pixstop" or can even be set up on a PowerPoint (the animation and timing settings can be changed so that it acts as a normal video).

Graffiti

Graffiti is an expressive drama strategy that once again uses body language and does not involve talking. This can be done individually, in pairs, or in groups. As a response to a story, idea, phrase, or issue/topic, students will be writing or drawing in the air. Usually this is done by using one's hand/finger, but other creative ideas include using any body part (e.g. head, elbow, knee, bum). Students can also consider doing their graffiti at different levels in the air. Throughout a student's graffiti presentation, the other students can guess what is being written or drawn in the air. The teacher will then ask the student(s) to explain what was done. As an extension, the teacher can also have the students write down/draw what they did on a piece of paper.