Early Grades - Pretending with Scenery

INTRO - Teacher explains that we’re learning about theatre. This means pretend play and using scenery to show where we are. We will all be actors. 
 
ACTIVE WARMUP – explanation and then song/movement. Actors use their body and voice to present stories, so they always have an exercise to wake up/warm up their bodies and voices. Today, ours is a new version of a song you might know.
 
If You’re Happy and You Know It! But the actions are different – Specific to drama and performance.  Practice each movement together and then perform them as a group as part of the song.
Clap your hands!, Make a face (show a feeling)!, Stretch up high!, Pirouette!, Strike a pose!, Take a bow!  **NOTE: for fun with a group that can handle it, the last verse should attempt to do all of them in a row each line. (Do them all!)

* TRANSITION - immediately have them sit and "catch their breath" after the song. This is another reason to do the fast last verse that includes all the actions each time - the small ones are more ready to sit for a story.

LESSON - Interactive Storytime
Introduce ideas particular to theatre - actors, scenery. 
 
- Introduce idea of a buddy (real, imagined or a doll/stuffed animal) to act with.
- Introduce idea of setting, the "where", and using scenery.
- Introduce idea of using imagination to tell stories when you aren’t really in that place. Actors aren’t really in that place either – they are on a stage with an audience, so they need a good imagination and also sometimes scenery and other things that help everyone imagine.
 
Read Pretend, by Jennifer Plecas, Penguin NY. This is a story of a boy getting his dad to pretend play at their home. The illustrations show a back and forth or a combination of the objects in their house and the things they are imagining. The dad is reluctant at first and not participating with enthusiasm, but in the end, has ideas as well. A sweet ending. Pointing out the mixed up illustrations to this age helps them take in an abstract concept - "Is that really a boat?" "What is it?" "What are they using at their house to make a hill to climb?"
Point out examples of helping or collaboration, discomfort, scenery, everyday objects being used, etc
Discuss the story, how to pretend if you are by yourself (buddies, dolls).
Discuss that their version of the story could have different things happen instead of being exactly like the book.  

GUIDED PRACTICE - Instructions & demonstration about everyday objects as scenery.
 
Children are asked to use only things from the space they are in - classroom or home bedroom, playroom, etc. Remind them not to use something that will break easily, belongs to someone else at home, or that plugs in.
They will use a few objects to act out this story or make one of their own.
 
To get them started: show (make magically appear?) some items for scenery and playing pretend that they have access to (at school or home). Examples: 
A buddy (stuffed animal, doll), a chair, box, towel, stick, basket, blanket, plastic bowl, string, small rug, book, cup, etc. Pick 3 or 4 for demonstration purposes. 
 
Ask the children to imagine options for scenery or props in a story. Start with scenery focused items like the blanket or chair. Refer to the book if necessary - the chairs and blanket became their fort. No idea is wrong. Yes, and ...
Holding up the stick, ask what else it could be, wait for responses and repeat them (if live) or imagine them: A fishing pole? A walking cane? A magic wand? When talking about a prop, it's not necessary to go into that term just yet. But get them to talk about what it tells us about the "where". The stick can be a magic wand? Then where might we be?

ASSIGNMENT/ASSESSMENT: Give instructions for playing on their own.

(If you are meeting regularly, add what you expect them to share or show next time to let you see their work: bring one of the things you used, be ready to tell us about the setting, have a parent take a photo and send, etc.)

This is written to work in a classroom space, outside, or in a virtual learning situation. Choices about story or objects can necessarily shift the thinking to be more aligned with a lesson about weather, geography, science, a specific work environment or community work location, nutrition, space. So this structure can work with Kindergarten over and over again, with a tweak here and there to make them consider additional or different information in the story content. The repetitive structure can help small children focus on the one thing that is different, and give their energy to exploring that specific topic, instead of learning a whole new drama structure. 

Informal observation. 
A drawing assignment afterward might let you see if they've incorporated the concept of a "where". The paper could be a familiar "stage" proscenium that they fill in with a "where" to show that they understand it is an imaginary location particular to a story. They could be required to think of a particular story or subject and create a drawn "where" in this way. NOTE: drawing is not fun for every Kindergarten, and frustration tolerance is low when trying to communicate something very physically imaginative into a 2-dimensional style. IF possible a photo of the scenery they made, a verbal description of the story and scenery items that they chose and played with on their own, or a guided tour or performance of their story if in the classroom - all are better options.