Expressing Emotions Orally

Overview

This 60-minute drama session for Year 4 (ages 8-9) focuses on developing pupils’ skills in using voice and speech to portray emotions and feelings effectively. The activities are designed to meet the National Curriculum for England’s programme of study for Drama, ensuring that students work collaboratively and creatively to explore how voice can enhance characterisation and storytelling.

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National Curriculum Linkages

Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4) Drama National Curriculum Objectives

• Use voice and movement imaginatively and creatively to express ideas, characters and situations.
• Explore ideas and issues through role play and improvisation.
• Participate in and contribute to performances, responding to feedback.
• Develop understanding of how expressive skills (including voice) can convey meaning and emotion.

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Learning Objectives (LO)

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

• Use changes in tone, volume, and speed of speech to convey different emotions clearly.
• Demonstrate control of their voice to represent strong and subtle feelings.
• Respond appropriately in a structured turn-taking drama game.
• Develop confidence and awareness of how voice impacts character portrayal.

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WILF (What I’m Looking For)

• I can play a turn-taking game with my peers.
• I can change the tone of my voice to show different emotions.
• I can use a loud voice when expressing strong emotions and a quiet voice for softer feelings.
• I can alter the speed of my speech to match the emotion I am portraying.

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Resources

• Emotion cue cards (happy, sad, angry, scared, excited, tired)
• A ‘Emotion Dial’ poster showing volume and speed scales
• Open space for movement and grouping
• Voice recorder (optional for playback and self-assessment)

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Lesson Structure

1. Introduction and Warm-up (10 minutes)

Objective: Engage pupils physically and vocally; introduce emotional vocabulary.

• Begin with a gentle vocal warm-up: humming and varying pitch.
• Introduce emotion cue cards; discuss briefly what each emotion sounds like when spoken aloud.
• Quick whole-group game: “Emotion Echo” — teacher says an emotion word using a matching tone and speed, pupils repeat in chorus, mimicking tone, speed, and volume.

2. Demonstration and Modelling (10 minutes)

Objective: Show how voice can change to express emotion.

• Teacher models reading the same short sentence (e.g., “I can’t believe it!”) with three different emotions: excitement (fast, loud), sadness (slow, soft), and anger (loud, firm, medium speed).
• Use the ‘Emotion Dial’ poster to visually demonstrate changes in volume and speed.
• Discuss as a class how the emotion changed based on vocal qualities.

3. Main Activity: Emotion Turn-Taking Game (25 minutes)

Objective: Pupils practise vocal changes in an interactive, structured environment.

• Describe the format: Pupils will sit in a circle; each pupil picks an emotion card randomly.
• On their turn (one at a time), the pupil says a simple sentence reflecting that emotion (e.g., “Look at that!” or “I am surprised!”) using tone, volume, and speed to portray the feeling.
• The rest of the group guesses the emotion based on the voice alone.
• Encourage variety: pupils can vary loudness for strong feelings and quietness for subtle ones, plus speed to indicate calm or agitation.
• Optional twist: add a round where pupils exaggerate their voice changes, then a second round with more subtlety.
• Teacher monitors and supports, ensuring all pupils participate and challenge themselves.

4. Reflection and Peer Feedback (10 minutes)

Objective: Develop evaluative skills and awareness of vocal impact.

• In pairs or small groups, pupils share what voice changes they enjoyed using and which ones were trickiest.
• Volunteers perform one short phrase again, others give positive feedback focusing on use of voice (e.g., “I liked how loud you were when you were angry!”).
• Teacher provides focused feedback highlighting good examples of loud/soft volume and speed modulation.

5. Summary and Cool Down (5 minutes)

Objective: Consolidate learning and calm energy.

• Quick round-robin: each pupil says one emotion word with the voice quality that best represented that feeling during the lesson.
• Teacher highlights how voice can tell stories and show feelings — key to drama and communication skills.

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Assessment Opportunities

• Ongoing formative assessment via observation of turn-taking, use of tone, volume, and speed during the game.
• Assessment of pupils’ ability to differentiate between strong and soft emotions vocally.
• Peer feedback as evidence of evaluative and listening skills.
• Teacher notes on confidence, participation, and control over voice modulation.

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Differentiation and Inclusion

• Support: Pupils needing additional help can be paired with a more confident peer for modelling.
• Extension: Challenge confident pupils to combine voice with facial expression and body language for more complex emotional portrayals.
• Accessibility: Use visual aids (Emotion Dial, cue cards) to support understanding; allow alternative responses (e.g., whispering or shouting safely).

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Cross-Curricular Links

• English: Developing speaking and listening skills, expressive reading.
• PSHE: Recognising and expressing emotions appropriately.
• Maths: Turn-taking and structured game play promotes fairness and social skills.

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Final Notes for Teachers

Encourage creativity and risk-taking — this lesson is about experimenting with voice, so praise effort over “correctness.” Use enthusiasm and varied vocal tones yourself to model engagement. Capturing audio recordings of pupils’ performances (with consent) can provide powerful reflections for growth over time. This lesson builds a strong foundation for confident communication and character work in drama across the year.