How to Use Plays
Performing a Play in Ten Easy Steps
Step 2: Build background knowledge. You can do this in a number of ways: use realia, photos, or illustrations; write in a journal; view a video related to the topic; emphasize key vocabulary; take a pretest; use talking drawings; create/administer a survey, etc.
Step 3: Review the parts of a script (title, stage directions, narrator, dialogue, etc.)
Step 4: Distribute roles.
Step 5: Ask students to highlight their lines.
Step 6: Allow time for students to read independently. Let them work through vocabulary, character, story. Feel free to expand upon this by using the characterization map and setting map I have developed.
Step 7: Work on comprehension: cut out or draw pictures, illustrate the main idea, make a cartoon strip showing the sequence of events, retell the story in your words, paint a picture of some aspect you like, write a summary report of an event, prepare a flow chart to illustrate the sequence of events, make a colouring book.
Step 8: Practice the script.
Step 9: Work on adding expression, intonation, speed, movement/blocking.
Step 10: Perform either for an audience or a video camera.
Videos of Drama in the ESL Classroom
Activity: Improvised Role-Play
What is it? This activity gives students the chance to improvise their scene a few times before getting the script. This helps them personalize the scene, and use their imaginations.
Purpose: To imagine a scene before acting it out, to personalize a scene, to read to understand main idea and details
Activity: Contentless Scenes
What is it? An interesting kind of role-play to introduce to your ESL classroom is the contentless scene. The defining feature of a contentless scene is that it lacks “content”. Essentially, it is a role-play script in which participants add emotion and action. This informs the audience of who the characters are, why they are there, and what the mood is.
Purpose: One great advantage to using contentless scenes is that students can practice stress, intonation, pace, emotion, and body language. Since there is no “content” or pre-determined meaning, the same scene can be used multiple times.
Activity: Jigsaw Role-play
What is it? Here, students particiapte in a kind of jigsaw activity. They first join their expert groups to understand their character's lines. After they discuss their lines, they join their jigsaw groups and practice the play.
Purpose: to practice prepared speaking, to plan and perform appropriate body movements, to convey appropriate emotions, to read for understanding of main ideas and details
Activity: Corpus informed role-play
What is it? In this activity, students use a corpus of American English to explore various "opinion" phrases. They can use the results of this activity to create a role-play in which they must give their opinions.
Purpose: to find common expressions, to sort phrases into categories, to use authentic language forms in appropriate situations
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