Games in Motion

Overview

Year 5 students explore the Commonwealth Games as a diverse, contemporary context for ensemble drama. Through tableau, mime, narration, freeze-frame, movement, soundscape, role, and hot-seating, they create and perform a short story about challenge, teamwork, fairness, or identity. The lesson uses respectful representation: students draw on researched or supplied information rather than copying accents, cultural practices, or national stereotypes.

Learning intentions

• We are learning to use drama conventions to show ideas and tell a story.
• We are learning to listen, share ideas, and work safely as a team.
• We are learning to make clear performance choices for an audience.
• We are learning to represent people, places, and experiences respectfully.

Success criteria

• I can use at least three drama conventions, such as tableau, mime, narration, movement, or sound.
• I can help my group create a clear beginning, challenge, response, and ending.
• I can perform safely, listen to others, and include every group member.
• I can show a character’s feelings or choices without using stereotypes.
• I can explain one way my drama choices helped the audience understand the story.

Curriculum links

The 2007 New Zealand Curriculum – The Arts: Drama, approximately Level 3

• Developing Practical Knowledge: explore and use drama techniques, elements, conventions, and technologies, including role, voice, movement, space, time, tension, action, and focus.
• Developing Ideas: develop and structure drama ideas using role, voice, movement, space, time, tension, action, and focus to communicate a story or point of view.
• Communicating and Interpreting: rehearse and present drama for an audience, and respond to how drama choices communicate meaning in context.
• Supports respectful, inclusive participation and culturally responsive choices without unauthorised imitation or stereotyping.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Respectful hook. Show a world map and varied, teacher-approved images of athletes, teams, officials, and supporters. Ask, “What makes a sporting story interesting?” Build on students’ ideas and explain that the Commonwealth includes many nations, cultures, languages, abilities, and identities. Establish: use supplied or researched information respectfully; do not copy accents, cultural practices, or national stereotypes.

2. 5–12 min · Warm-up and safety. Lead a gentle whole-class pulse walk. Students move, freeze on a signal, make a silent “ready” shape, and create a quiet soundscape of anticipation using voice, hands, or movement. Practise safe spacing, walking, consent around touch, and responding to “stop”, “slow”, and “reset”. Offer a seated, silent, or small-movement choice.

3. 12–22 min · Convention laboratory. Model a short story in which an athlete faces a setback, receives support, and makes a fair choice. Invite students to spot tableau, narration, mime, freeze-frame, movement, soundscape, role, and hot-seating. In small clusters within the whole class, students make three images—“before”, “challenge”, and “after”—and connect them with movement and sound. Prompt: “What can the audience understand without lots of words?” and “How do level, speed, voice, or focus change the meaning?”

4. 22–27 min · Story planning. Form five groups of five. Provide the planning sheet and display the task. Each group chooses athletes, teamwork, fairness, identity, or overcoming challenge. Groups plan a two-minute story with a beginning, challenge, response, and ending. Allocate meaningful roles such as performer, narrator, sound-maker, movement leader, or interviewer. Check that every student has a part.

5. 27–43 min · Create and rehearse. Groups devise and practise a performance using at least three conventions, including tableau or freeze-frame, plus narration, mime, movement, or soundscape. Add one short role moment or hot-seat. Ask: “What does the character want?”, “How will the audience see the challenge?”, “Where will you use a pause or change of level?”, and “How does the ending show fairness or teamwork?” Remind students to use fictional or researched details and avoid accents, caricatures, and stereotypes. Offer gesture, written narration, recorded sound, and a quiet rehearsal space as alternatives.

6. 43–55 min · Share and respond. Each group presents for up to two minutes. Before presenting, the group names its focus. After each performance, two audience members identify one convention and describe its effect, using discussion cards if needed. Record brief observations against the success criteria. Celebrate clear communication, cooperation, and thoughtful choices rather than realism or athletic ability.

7. 55–60 min · Reflection and exit. Students complete the planning sheet prompts: “One drama choice that showed meaning was…”, “I helped my group by…”, and “Next time I would…”. Invite a few students to share. Reinforce that ensemble drama makes room for different strengths, ideas, and viewpoints.

Resources

• the Commonwealth Games drama slide deck
• the Commonwealth Games drama planning sheet
• Open floor or cleared classroom space
• Optional world map and teacher-approved images of Commonwealth Games participation
• Timer, board, markers, and signal instrument
• Chairs or quiet-space signs for accessible rehearsal
• Device or speaker for optional recorded sound

Assessment

• During the warm-up and convention laboratory, observe safe movement, listening, participation, and ability to use a drama convention.
• During planning and rehearsal, check for a clear four-part story, meaningful roles for all students, respectful representation, and at least three conventions.
• Use the performance and reflection to assess whether students communicate an idea to an audience, collaborate, and identify one effective drama choice and one next step.

Differentiation

• Support planning with a four-part story frame, picture-based convention cards, model images, sentence starters, and role cards. Rehearse one section at a time and allow narrated or gesture-based storytelling.
• Students who are unsure may begin as narrator, sound-maker, movement leader, or interviewer before joining a group image. No student is required to perform solo.
• Provide seated or small-range movement, clear visual signals, predictable transitions, reduced volume, extra rehearsal time, and a quiet space for mobility, sensory, attention, or anxiety needs.
• EAL learners may use labelled pictures, home-language planning, bilingual support, gesture, and a peer narrator. Extend confident students by adding a purposeful change in space, time, tension, voice, or focus and explaining its effect.

Safety considerations

• Remove bags and obstacles; establish boundaries and stop signals before movement.
• No lifting, tackling, running, forced eye contact, or physical contact without explicit consent.
• Keep sound at a comfortable level and offer non-verbal alternatives.
• Do not require students to disclose personal, cultural, disability, or family experiences. Use fictional characters or well-researched contexts, and correct stereotypes immediately and respectfully.