Embody the Action

Lesson 3 of 4 – Drama Playtime Adventures

Lesson Title: Storytelling Through Movement: The Drama of Action
Year Level: Years 0–6
Duration: 45 minutes
Number of Students: 25

Curriculum Link:

The Arts – Drama | Level 1–2

Strand: Developing Practical Knowledge in Drama (PK)
Students use voice, movement, and space to interpret and represent ideas.

Strand: Developing Ideas in Drama (DI)
Students initiate and develop ideas within dramatic play, using various drama techniques to represent ideas.

Values & Key Competencies:

• Participation and Contribution
• Managing Self
• Relating to Others
• Thinking
• Innovation, Inquiry, and Curiosity

Big Idea:
Titiro whakamuri, kokiri whakamua – Drama is influenced by whakapapa and is a way to share identity, culture, and perspectives.

Significant Learning Focus:
Drama helps us explore different ways of storytelling, building empathy, perspective-taking, and collaboration through physical expression.

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Learning Intentions

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Use gesture, facial expression, and body language to convey meaning.
• Collaborate with peers to create a simple silent scene (tableau) that tells part of a story.
• Reflect on how movement can communicate ideas and emotions without words.

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Success Criteria

Students will:

✔ Create at least one frozen scene in a group that clearly communicates an idea or story moment.
✔ Support and respond to peers' ideas in group work.
✔ Describe (or show) how movement and facial expression can tell a story.

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Materials Required

• Open space (like a hall or cleared classroom)
• A clear story prompt or short narrative for inspiration (can be verbally told)
• Music player / speaker (optional ambiance)
• Small printed prompt cards (optional)
• “Magic Curtain” (can be an invisible frame or imaginary door to drama space)

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Lesson Breakdown – 45 minutes

⏱ 0–5 mins – Welcome and Warm-Up Check-In

Activity: Energy Check Circle
Gather students into a circle. One by one, students say their name followed by a silent action that reflects how they feel today. The group mirrors each gesture in unison.

👉 Focus: Building connection, warming up bodies, non-verbal expression.

Teacher prompts:

• “How does your body feel today?”
• “Can you show us without using words?”

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⏱ 5–15 mins – Drama Warm-Up Game: ‘Machine Movements’

This movement-based warm-up introduces physical storytelling.

Instructions:

1. One student walks into the centre and starts a repeated movement (e.g., turning a crank).
2. One by one, others join, building around the first student’s movement, contributing complementary movement and sound.
3. Once all are involved, teacher ‘freezes’ the machine and asks students to look at the frozen shapes they've made.

Variation for Y0-2: Start with the teacher modelling the movement.

Teacher prompts:

• “What kind of machine could this be?”
• “Try to make your movements really clear so we can ‘read’ what you're doing.”

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⏱ 15–25 mins – Teaching Moment: What’s a Tableau?

Mini-demonstration

The teacher and 2–3 volunteers model a simple tableau (frozen picture), e.g., “Someone drops their ice cream and another person comforts them.”

Discuss:

• Facial expressions
• Body position
• Levels (standing, crouching, etc.)
• Stillness and focus

Teacher question prompts:

• “What do you think is happening in this scene?”
• “How do we know, without any words?”

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⏱ 25–35 mins – Main Activity: Create a Frozen Story

Group Task: In groups of 4–5, students create a series of 3 tableaux that show a simple beginning–middle–end structure.

💡 Story prompts may include:

• Finding a lost puppy
• A big surprise party
• An endangered native bird being rescued
• A trip to the beach in a storm
• Losing a pounamu and finding it again

Give students 5–7 minutes to plan and rehearse silently.

Encourage:

• Clear choices in body shape
• Eye focus
• Using space and levels
• Practising the transition from one tableau to the next silently

Teacher roles during this time:

• Observe (offer minimal guidance – empower student choice)
• Encourage student leadership in groups

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⏱ 35–42 mins – Sharing and Observing

Each group performs their tableau series for the class. Remind the audience to watch carefully and look for clues in body language.

Post-performance peer questions:

• “What emotion did you see?”
• “What do you think the story was?”
• “Which moment stood out to you?”

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⏱ 42–45 mins – Cool Down and Reflection

Activity: Face to the Light
Guide students to slowly transition from 'drama space' back to classroom space.

Students lie or sit in a circle, eyes closed (if comfortable). Invite them to reflect:

• “What did it feel like to tell a story without words?”
• “What was your favourite image you were part of?”
• “How did your team work together?”

Optional: Students can draw or write one of their tableaux as an exit task (could collect for assessment).

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Assessment Opportunities

Formative Observations:

• Participation and contribution in physical warm-ups
• Group collaboration and peer interaction
• Clarity and creativity in tableaux scenes
• Use of body and space to depict story moments

Student Voice & Reflection:

• Verbal or sketched responses during cool-down
• Responses to peer work during sharing

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Extensions / Differentiation

For younger students (Years 0–2):

• Fewer tableaux (1–2 moments)
• Teacher facilitates group building with more prompts
• Allow copycat style demonstrations with modelling

For Years 5–6:

• Allow students to include simple transitional movement between tableaux
• Explore abstract themes like “change”, “friendship”, or “being brave”
• Let students co-construct their own prompt

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Teacher Notes

• Honour kaupapa Māori by using whakataukī or pūrākau as storytelling seeds in future lessons.
• Consider how whanaungatanga influences group roles and how students connect with each other.
• Practice kotahitanga – build a class culture of supportive team-based acting, without competition or judgement.
• Embed the key values of manaakitanga by encouraging care in how students give and receive feedback.

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Kia kaha in your drama space – together, you're telling stories that stretch across time, place, and heart.