My class time is 2 1/2 hours, longer than regular classroom periods. I find that 2 1/2 hours is too long a time to work on any one thing in the average class. I will work on poetry with my class for an hour, two days a week for an eight week period. We usually have a presentation for friends and parents at the end of this period and during that last week I will devote the full time to organizing and rehearsing the poems the students have selected to perform.
The lesson plans suggest some games and exercises to develop sensory awareness, concentration and interaction with fellow students. These games and exercises, as well as many others, will be used with “an actor’s approach to poetry”, which I have described in the body of my unit.
Physical Warm-Ups
I usually begin a class with some kind of physical warm-up. The warm-up not only develops students physically, but also develops group concentration and hopefully, gets some blood to the brain.
Ex. 1. The class arranges themselves in a large circle. Stand up straight; medium stance (legs lined up under the hips), chest up, shoulders down, head straight on top of the spine, arms and hands relaxed, knees unlocked. We do a series of stretching and moving exercises designed to isolate and strengthen different parts of the body.
Ex. 2. The class sits on chairs or lies on the floor. Starting with your toes, tense them and then relax them several times. Go on to the feet and do the same thing. Move on to the ankles and so forth, moving up the body. Try to isolate each part. Finally, tense the entire body and then, relax it.
Ex. 3. In a large circle, toss a broom handle from person to person. Be sure you make eye-contact with the person you are tossing
to. If the broom handle hits the floor, everyone falls to the floor until the handle has stopped rolling. Continue the same exercise while jogging.
Ex. 4. In a circle, pass an imaginary ball that changes weight and size (teacher calls changes). Pass and receive an imaginary ball with your head; with your shoulder, with your knee, with your stomach, etc.
Sensory Awareness
Ex. 1. Heads on desks, eyes closed, or, eyes closed, lying on the floor. Relax, no talking and don’t try to move around. Listen for sounds inside yourself and on your body. Can you hear yourself breathing? Can you hear your heart beating, your stomach growling? Does your clothing make any sounds? Now listen for sounds in the room you are in What do you hear and what does it sound like? Concentrate on hearing sounds in the room and what does it sound like? Concentrate on hearing sounds in the room next to you or in the hall. See if you can hear anything in the office or a room further away. Finally, listen for any sounds you can hear outdoors. When students have completed the exercises, discuss what everyone heard.
Ex. 2. The teacher has a bag of objects that can be held in one hand, of various shapes, materials and textures; an onion, a toothbrush, a tapemeasure, etc. Each student puts his/her hand into the bag, without looking, and must describe the first object that he/she touches. They must not tell us what the object is! They should describe the general shape or shapes; a circle, a rectangle, a cube, etc. Is the object rough or smooth? What material/materials is it made of? The class tries to guess what the object is.
Ex. 3. The teacher asks the class what they have seen since the last class. What did they notice that they hadn’t seen before, or that they saw differently, or had changed? What did they feel about what they saw? You’re not looking for a big deal here. You want students to be aware of the normal details we don’t think about and take for granted, like a sneaker in the gutter.
Ex. 4. Have students relax at their desks or on the floor. Ask them to think back to when they were younger (it doesn’t matter how much younger) and remember a smell they liked. Have them describe the smell and why they liked it. Ask them what they associate with that smell.
Concentration
Ex. 1. “What’s The Object of the Game?” This was described in the body of the unit. There are as many variations on this game as anyone can think of. You can assign students to invent a variation. It shouldn’t get too obscure or everyone will give up, so work out some guidelines depending on your group. The most obvious are to have something visual, if everyone can see each other, but there is no reason why you can’t go into word or number games.
The teacher starts by observing the students, who are seated in a circle, clearly visible to all. The teacher announces that she has received the book she’s holding from the person on her right, “face up,” if the student to her right is wearing sneakers. If the student is wearing something other than sneakers, she announces that she has received the book, “face down.” She passes the book to her left, saying, “I received this book up/down and I pass it to you (checking the shoes of the student to her left), “face up/down”. The student to the teacher’s left may have been handed the book face up, because she is wearing sneakers, but, when the student announces how she received the book it is dependent on whether the teacher is wearing sneakers or not.
The book continues around the circle until everyone “gets the game.” Crossed arms or legs is another version, again based on the people on either side of you. The book is passed and received “up” if the arms or legs of the person next to you are crossed. Since a person may cross or uncross their legs and arms frequently, what was received “up” one time, may shift the second time around the circle.
Ex. 2. The students form a circle. Each student chooses a very simple movement, such as, bending your knees or raising one hand. These movements will be done sequentially to a count of eight. The teacher counts the beats. The next student does his/her movement on the first beat. The next student does his/her movement on the second beat, and so forth. Each student adds in, taking as many counts of eight as they need before jumping in. If there are more than eight students, the ninth student and the first student will be performing their movements at the same time.
Group Interaction
Ex. 1. One student stands or sits with his/her eyes closed. The other students are to touch that student, one by one, in a pleasant way. Emphasize pleasant! Every student will get a chance to be “it”. After everyone has had a turn, discuss the students’ reactions and sensations. Did you trust your fellow students? Did anyone take advantage of the “it’s” vulnerability?
Ex. 2. The students are divided into equal numbered groups; say, four groups of five. The teacher gives each group the name of an animal. Each group collectively must become their animal. The class tries to guess what animal they are portraying.
Ex. 3. One student thinks of a place. The place should be a place that could accommodate the entire class; a supermarket, a cafeteria, etc. The student comes forward and starts doing something that a person in this place might do. When a fellow student thinks that he/she knows what the place is, he/she joins the first student, becoming another character doing something. The game continues, adding in students. It is important that the students relate to each other and respect any imaginary objects like doors and tables that have been previously established.
Ex. 4. Create a group story. Decide on the type of story; adventure, mystery, fairy tale, gothic romance. Decide which students have the beginning of the story . . . the middle . . . the end. A student starts the story. The teacher calls “pass” when she feels it is time to pass on to the next student.
