One of the keys to Classroom Management is getting students to work well together.
Group work is tricky if students don’t know one another. Why should I share something with this guy who doesn’t say two words in class?
The first step to a cohesive ensemble is exercises that help students learn about each other.
Exercise: Fear in a Hat
Students often feel their particular fears are singular to their experience. Because of this, they’re afraid to share their fears. Nothing bonds a group together quite like the knowledge that their fears are shared. Everyone is in the same boat together.
There are many variations of this exercise. It’s a great activity for students to express their “what’s going to happen in drama class” fears in an anonymous way.
Instruction
- Hand out slips of paper with the following sentence starter: In this class I am afraid that…
- Each student must complete the sentence.
- Tell students that the exercise is completely anonymous, so they should avoid writing anything that would reveal their identity. Also direct students to be sincere.
- Collect the slips of paper, fold each one in half, and put them in a hat.
- Pass the hat around the class and tell each student to take out one of the slips.
- Students read out the fear on their chosen piece of paper. They then respond by saying what they think the person who wrote the fear was feeling. What would they say to that person?
- Maintain a level of respect in this exercise. Don’t mock or laugh at the person or the fear.
- This exercise can lead to a discussion about what students expect or think will happen in the class.
- Let students know that they do not have to divulge their fear and that you’ll be shredding the pages after class.
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Alternative: If you want to change the focus of the exercise, use a dream sentence starter: My biggest dream is to…
Discussion Questions:
- What surprised you about the fears that were shared in the activity?
- Did you notice any common themes among the fears? What were they?
- Why do you think people sometimes feel nervous or afraid to speak up in class?
- How can we, as a class, help create an environment where everyone feels confident taking a risk?
- What are some positive ways we can respond when someone shares something they’re worried about?
What else?
- A great way to deal with the fears students might have in your class is to personify them.
- Divide students into groups, have them discuss the concept of fear and have them come up with qualities to turn fear into a character. What does fear look like? What would fear’s favourite move be? What would fear wear? Then have students create scenes with the fear character.
