Community-Building Warmups for the Drama Classroom

It’s not unusual to feel slightly disconnected from students while teaching virtually (and we don’t mean when the internet stops working!). Drama classes are all about human connection and trust, and that can be hard to develop when you’re not physically together with your students. It’s not impossible though — it just takes some time. Try these warm-up exercises in your distance learning drama classes to help build trust, both between you and your students, and between your students. Boring FactsAt the beginning of a new term of drama classes, it’s common for teachers to try to get to know their students by asking them to introduce themselves and share an interesting fact about themselves. However, students often stress about having to figure out an interesting fact, and put pressure on themselves to choose something impressive. Next time, try asking students to share a boring fact about themselves. Anything from “I like cheese” to “I’m also taking math this term” to “I have one sister” works just fine! A boring fact is easy to think of quickly, will give students a chuckle, and can lead to students being more willing to answer follow-up questions (“What kind of cheese is your favourite?” “What’s your opinion of melted cheese on vegetables?” “Ever try one of those fancy bleu cheeses?”). Read My LipsStudents are more likely to loosen up and take risks when they see that their teacher is willing to take risks and look silly as well. When doing exercises, be willing to demonstrate the task so students can see what to expect. As well, try the following simple warm-up: Mute your camera and say a sentence out loud in front of the camera. Speak slowly and exaggerate your enunciation. Students must guess what you are saying by reading your lips. They can respond orally or in the chat box. Encourage students to try the exercise as well! This is a great way for students to practice enunciation and diction, so they can be heard clearly while performing. Full Class Warm-upsDoing full class warm-up exercises takes the pressure off of students. Everyone is working together, which means they’re all on equal footing, and nobody has to worry about looking silly, because you’re all looking silly together! Here are some fast and easy full class warm-ups: • As a group, have students shake their right hand vigorously while counting out loud, backwards from 10. Then shake the left hand and count back, the right foot and count back, and the left foot and count back. Start again with the right hand and count back from 9, and keep repeating the exercise until you get down to 1-1-1-1 (right hand, left hand, right foot, left foot). If you’re short on time, count back from 5 to 1. (This is from our post Community-Building Warm-ups for the Drama Classroom.) • Have a Puppet Dance Party with found objects. Have students suggest songs to dance to. • Rapid Fire Thumbs: As quickly as you can, ask students a number of yes/no questions on a topic, such as favourite foods, music genres, actors, or hobbies. For example: “I’m going to quickly list some fruits and you’ll respond as fast as you can with thumbs up if you like it and thumbs down if you don’t… three, two, one: Apples! Oranges! Bananas! Strawberries! Grapefruit!” and so on. You can add an extra layer of two thumbs up for something they really like, and two thumbs down for something they really dislike. To make it more active, you could have students stand up for things they like and sit down for things they don’t like, or change up the gestures (nodding/shaking head, applause/booing, smiling/frowning). You can also try throwing in something that doesn’t fit into the topic and see how students respond. For example: “Apples! Oranges! Bananas! Popcorn!” Did they notice? Did they try to call you out? How did they feel when you tried to trick them?

Collaboration games are a great go-to exercise throughout the entire school year. At the start of the school year, they work for ‘get to know you’, and warm up activities. Later on in the school year, they can help get the class out of rehearsal ruts, energizing both the students and the teacher. These are 5 of our favourite collaboration games. Each post comes with a PDF download so you can walk into class the next day, ready to play the game with your students! 1. Three Things in Common The point of this game is for students to not just talk to each other, but to go beyond surface connections. Great for the first week of the term! 2. The Marshmallow Challenge It works because it’s so simple. Groups of four are given 18 minutes to build the tallest freestanding building they can with 20 sticks of uncooked spaghetti, one yard of masking tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. 3. The Negotiation This game will give your students practice negotiating, not just following one or two leaders. 4. The Human Knot Students must not only achieve the knot, but they must also work together to undo it. This game will challenge students to communicate with each other without resorting to commands. It will also boost their negotiation skills. 5. Big, Tiny, Twisted This exercise is a great last warm-up before transitioning into classwork or rehearsal.

Student-led warm-up games are a great way for students to demonstrate what they’ve learned in drama class and apply it in a practical setting, as well as to develop their leadership skills. Student-led warm-up games are particularly useful for senior students, who could be assigned to lead warm-ups for grade 9 and 10 drama classes, show rehearsals, or drama club get-togethers, in addition to leading their own peers in class. The following exercise will help teachers to organize a schedule for student-led warm-ups, as well as lead students through the process of preparing, proposing, and presenting their warm-up game. 1. At the beginning of the semester, have students pair up. Each pair will be assigned a date on which they will be responsible for leading the warm-up. If at all possible, give students a class syllabus ahead of time so they are able to tailor their warm-up to the topic being studied that day. 2. Pairs will research and/or devise a warm-up game or activity (they may use an existing warm-up game, or invent their own new game). 3. Students will submit a proposal to the teacher, answering the following questions: • Name of the game/exercise (if it doesn’t have one, make it up!). • Source of the game/exercise (where the pair found the game – a book, online source, or another resource – or whether the pair made it up). • What is the purpose of the game/exercise? • What materials (if any) are needed? • Describe the rules/parameters of the game/exercise in detail. If the exercise is an existing game, students must describe the rules in their own words, rather than simply copying the rules from the source. • How will the game/exercise benefit the drama students? • What theatrical/dramatic skills will be developed/practiced while working on this game/exercise in class • Create one brief Reflection question that students will answer after completing the game/exercise. 4. The teacher will approve the proposals and/or ask for revisions (this also helps to ensure multiple groups are not proposing the same activity). 5. Once all the proposals have been approved, on the assigned date the pair will lead the warm-up activity. The leading pair are responsible for obtaining any materials needed ahead of time, as well as setting up the classroom as needed. 6. The leading pair must clearly explain and/or demonstrate the game/exercise, and then lead the rest of the class in participating in the game. The leading pair must be prepared to explain the purpose of the activity, as well as respond to any questions or issues that arise. Once the activity has been completed, participating students will complete the Reflection question created by the leading pair (as devised for the initial proposal). 7. The leading pair will complete a more in-depth, individual Reflection upon completion of their proposal and their presentation.