Lesson: Body movement
Unit: Acting
Purpose: To help students become comfortable with their bodies and each
other. And to explorethe importance of posture and how it affects us.
Age Level: 7th and 8th graders
Time: one hour and fifteen minutes
Materials: a mask, a poem ("Dainty Dottie Dee" by Jack Prelutsky)
Participants: any number
Plan: 5 minutes: ball toss with names
Have students toss an imaginary ball to each other, but before they
can toss it they must say their name and who they are tossing it to.
For example, "Liesbeth to Hannah." Each students can only
receive the ball once. Tell students to remember who they throw it to,
and who they receive it from. Continue the toss until everyone has received
the ball. Then start again, keeping the same order. Practice throwing
balls of different sizes and waits. Tell students the ball must remain
the same. For example, if the person throws a small light ball to them,
they must pass it as a small light ball. The teacher starts each ball
going. Once the group has the hang of it, get more than one ball going
at a time (with the balls being physically different). Tell students
that now that we have started to warm up our bodies, we are going to
become even more aware of them.
10 minutes: awareness of body
Tell students that they are going to become aware of every muscle in
their body. Have students lie on the ground in their own space. The
teacher has them tighten one specific muscle at a time: holding it tense
for a couple seconds then releasing it. For example: "tense your
toes, hold it…keep it tense…ok release" To this for every
muscle, moving up the body: toes, calves, knees, thighs, hips, stomach,
lower back, chest, upper back, fingers, wrists, lower arms, upper arms,
shoulders, neck, jaw, face, head. After all muscles have been done,
have them tense their whole body, then let them lay there relaxed for
a couple seconds. Then have them sit up and ask them how their body
feels. Ask them, are you aware of all of the muscles in your body? Tell
them that they are now going to use all of their muscles to physicalize
a word.
10 minutes: Physicalization of words
revisit descriptive words from last week. Have students quick brainstorm
words again. Pick one word and have the group all physicalize that word.
Ask everyone to think about what that word means to them. What images
pop into their head when they hear it? What kinds of people do they
think about? Then have them stand like they think someone of that description
would stand. For example, if the word is courageous, maybe they would
think of a super hero, or maybe they would think of their older brother.
After they have had a few minutes to think have them stand as a courageous
person would. Do about five or six words. Ask students:
how are we showing these descriptions?
What speaks most clearly?
What part of your body do you use?
Have students sit down and watch the teacher. Tell the students that
you are putting on a mask, to establish that you are a character and
not yourself. Have them suggest a descriptive word, for example “angry.”
Tell the students that you are going to stand in a neutral position
and it will be their job to tell you how to move your body in order
to show or physicalize that word. For example: lean on your right leg,
tilt your head left Teacher put on a mask and stand in a neutral position.
Follow the students instructions as much as possible, but do not speak.
After you feel they are finished exploring, take off the mask and discuss
with them. Ask them,
What positions worked to convey the description? Why?
What things did you have me do with my body to display this word?
Then do this again with a different word. Discuss again afterwards.
Tell the students to pretend like they are walking in to a classroom
and seeing their teacher. Then stand with an emotion, for example, angry,
apathetic, or excited. Ask them how they would react if their teacher
was standing that way. What emotions did it invoke in them? How would
they act towards that teacher? What would they think? Then do the same
thing with an opposite emotion. Ask the same questions. Discuss with
the students how body position affects us.
15 minutes: Importance of posture
To explore body positions even more, stand in a group. Teacher states
a situation. Then everyone in the group stands as they would if they
were in that situation. Possible situations:
Job interview
waiting in line at the bank
waiting in line for a rollercoaster (have been waiting for an hour,
and have
an hour to go. Have been waiting for two hours and have five
minutes to go)
just went through a time warp and found yourself in the year 2099
standing with friends in the hall
getting lectured by parents
Ask the students:
How did your body position change in different situations?
Why did it change?
Will anyone demonstrate one?
Why is it important to stand differently at a job interview than with
your
friends?
What does our body position say to others?
Explore reactions to body positions. Teacher demonstrates different
attitudes with her body positions. Ask students how they would respond
if they walked in the classroom and their teacher was standing that
way. Discuss reactions to different postures.
ten minutes: Occupation Bus stop
Set up a bus stop with chairs. Have students sit facing the bus stop.
Tell students that the they should pick an occupation, then wait at
the bus as a person who had that job would wait. Tell them to give us
clues towards their character. Remind them to sit and stand as that
person would. As a group brainstorm different occupations: teacher,
janitor, business man, construction worker, doctor, artist, etc Then
ask for a volunteer to go first. After the student has established a
character, stop the action and ask students what clues they gave us
about their character. After they have named the clues, then ask what
occupation they might be portraying. Make sure to mention that the guesses
that weren’t correct would work too. Students watching must guess
their occupation. Have the teacher demonstrate first.
15 minutes: "Dainty Dottie Dee" by Jack Prelutsky
Read the poem. Discuss which characters (stated and not-stated) are
in the play. Discuss how each character would sit and stand. Act out
the poem keeping in mind the importance of posture. Discuss what we
liked and would keep. Which body positions really revealed their character?
How did adding body posture help to portray characters? Which aspects
of the dramatization would we keep in and why?
Objectives:
Students will play the ball toss to learn names and warm up their bodies.
They will practice using their bodies to portray tossing a ball
Students will tense each muscle in their body individually to become
aware of every part of their body
Students will brainstorm descriptive words
Students will physicalize descriptive words with their bodies
Students will direct the teacher to move her body in ways that will
portray a descriptive word
Students will discuss how different body positions affect us. They will
discuss how we respond to people depending on how they are standing/sitting
Students will stand how they would in certain situations and discuss
their reasoning for standing that way and what it portrays about them
to other people
Students will play Occupation Bus Stop
Students will dramatize “Dainty Dottie Dee” keeping in mind
what they have learned about posture
Outcomes:
students will gain writing skills through exploring descriptive words
and characters
students will gain communication skills through communicating emotions
and attitudes through their bodies. They will also learn to communicate
their ideas and thoughts in a group discussion.
students will gain character building skills through developing characters.
students will become more aware of their bodies
students will become more comfortable with using their bodies in front
of others through practice
Justification of importance of outcomes:
Descriptive words will help improve students writing. They are used
when writing fiction pieces, poems, and newspaper articles. Descriptive
writing is used in many careers
students will need communication skills in most careers. They will need
to know how to hold their body and the importance of posture. For example,
when applying for a job, students must be aware of standing tall and
professional and not slouching.
actors, fiction writers, and playwrights all need to be able to develop
interesting characters
middle school is an awkward time for students. They have a hard time
being comfortable in their own bodies. These activities will help students
become more comfortable in their own bodies, so that they can express
their creativity.
As they become more comfortable in their own bodies, they also need
to become comfortable using their bodies in front of the rest of the
group. These activities will help them become comfortable in the group,
so that their creativity is not inhibited.
