Tuesday 5th February

 

Class 3: Antarctica

Today was another successful day despite the problems with the snow. I was placed in a different class today with older children. Years 5 & 6. Again i spent the morning assisting the students in maths and with a science experiment. Within this class there is a student with learning difficulties so i spent a considerable amount of time helping her and making sure she understood. This was very rewarding as it gave me more experiance with working with a variety of abilities. After lunch we concluded the science experiment and then I lead the another drama workshop.

As this was a new group of children i decided that drama games were appropriate to build up confidence. As the group were slightly older i chose games more suitable. Also due to the weather i had to adapt some games as there were only 8 children. Again the response was amazing and they all joined in with great enthusiasm even the boys who i suspected wouldnt cooperate. At the end of the session the teacher commented on how well i communicate with the children and she was surprised at how the quietest child joined in and came out of her shell. After that i felt amazing but to top it all off when leaving the hall one child ran up to the headteacher with a huge smile shouting about how much fun it was and how much she had enjoyed it. She was even stood in the corrider repeating some of the actions i had shown them. I had a very rewarding feeling when i left.

Activity:	Duration: (Approx)	Aims:	Description	Resources
Name Game	5 Minutes	For me to familiarise myself with the names of the children in the group. For me to get an understanding of the group i.e. which children are shy, which are naughty, which are loud and which are imaginative.	Starting in a circle one by one go around the circle and get the children to shout out there names and do an action to follow. After going round once encourage the children to be louder and with more energy. Do this several times increasing speed. This gets the energy levels up and the children should begin to relax. (the leader should join in with the activity as the children will be more willing)	N/A
Wink Murder	10 Minutes	To get the children to start thinking about acting/ play acting by encouraging them to demonstrate some dramatic deaths.	In a circle one child is chosen to be the ‘Detective’ this person stands in the middle of the circle. Ask that child to close their eyes while you choose a ‘murderer’. Make sure the child in the middle is not cheating by peaking. You can always send the child out of the room if this is possible. Once a ‘murderer’ is chosen they must stick out their tongue at the other children without the ‘detective’ noticing. If the murderer sticks their tongue out at you, you must die. The detective has three guesses to find the murderer. (Number of guesses can change depending on class size and remember to encourage dramatic deaths.)	N/A
10 Second Object	10mins	This is a game to get the children thinking quickly, testing their reaction but also their creativity. They must also work together as a team or they can adopt a leader. As the game is quick the children are less likely to argue and the outcomes are usually very effective.	Place the class into small groups no more than six to a group preferably. Then the workshop leader shouts out a word and the children then have to make/ represent that word using their bodies. Every child must be involved.   Adapt this further depending on the ability of the class by getting them to add movements or shout out words to describe the object.   Possible choice of words could be:  a chair, a car, a peacock, a horse, a fried breakfast, a football match, etc.	N/A
Guess the Secret	10mins	To get the children thinking about taking on a role within a story. How they would show something to an audience and making sure the audience understands what it is they are showing. To think about the beginning middle and end of a story. To pick out key elements of a story.	In the same groups each group is given a ‘secret’. This can be anything like a song, a book or a film. But make sure it is something the whole group will no. Fairy stories are usually the best option. Once each group knows what their ‘secret’ is give them time to devise a short scene that will explain what their ‘secret’ is. This should be done through mime and no dialogue should be used. Once they have each got a small scene ask them to perform them and get the other groups to guess what the ‘secret’ is.   To develop this further before they perform to the other groups make them add just three words into their scene.	N/A
Yehaa!	10mins	Gets the energy levels up and doesn’t require the children to be serious. Also by adapting the phrases in the game you can link it to a topic of study. In this case ‘under the sea’.	In a circle. Demonstrate the first movement ‘yehaa!’. You say this and swing your arm across your body with a small fist. You pass this around the circle so that each child has a go and understands the movement. Then pass it back around the other way. Once everyone has got a handle on this movement introduce another. If at any point as the yehaa is being passed round someone says hoe down then the yehaa must change direction and go the opposite way around the circle. Do this for awhile and once this is understood add another movement. At any point someone can point to anyone in the circle and say ‘go ride a tractor’ then the yehaa is passed across the circle to the other person. Finally, you can add another movement ‘slop’ you point one toe forward and point to the floor with the other hand. Once this has been done it is a race to see who the last one standing is. The last one standing then must complete a forfeit chosen by the leader. (This game can be adapted by changing the words to match the theme of the workshop)	N/A
Splat!	10mins	Tests reactions and increases energy.	In a circle. The leader stands in the middle of the circle. They point to anyone in the circle and say one of the key words. The person you point at and the people either side them must then strike the correct pose. If they are to slow, do it wrong or if anyone else in the circle joins in they are out. The movements are: Titanic: central person leans forward arms back and the people either side make the front of the boat with their arms. Hansel and Gretel: Central person leans forward and beckons with one finger whilst saying ‘come here little children’ people either side make the gingerbread house with their arms. Blue Hawaii: central person does a hula dance and the people either side make the waves.   (Other adaptations can be made for the words using films or books etc)	N/A