My students shared a super creative improvisation game with me (yes they are looking up new improv games all the time), I love how inspired they are and we had great results!
Taxi Driver:
One students sits on a chair, with two students seated behind him/her. The student seated in front is considered the "taxi driver", while the other students are the "passengers." Students create their own characters, improvise their own conversations with passengers, taxi driver, even calling out to people on "the street." When a student passenger, runs out of ideas they can claim that "this is their stop," and tag a new student "from off the street." Students are constantly rotating through, even the taxi drive can "change their shift."
I expected the students to hold conversations, cause arguments, "jump out of the cab" etc, but what I did not expect was their reaction to the "driving" of the taxi driver. Students would lean to one side or the other depending on the way the taxi driver was pretending to turn the wheel. There was even a group of students who "stopped short" and fell out of their chairs! Some made comments like "You missed that stop sign," "Look out for the cross walk," "We were hit by a deer!" I loved watching them become engaged beyond the conversation and create/react to situations or environments.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Musical Conversation
Last week our improv group worked on an activity called "Musical Conversation." This game is an exercise in responding to ensemble members, and actively listening to ensemble members while improvising.
The ensemble was broken up into pairs, who each sat at a xylophone, each student holding one mallet. I asked students to have a conversation with each other, not my using words, but by creating little melodies and motifs, playing with dynamics and phrasing and interacting musically with each other. I then gave the ensemble about five minutes to hold their conversations. We then had a class discussion where the pairs described what was happening in their "musical conversations."
I was amazed at how well the students listened to each other, both musically and at how they were attempting to find the flow of the conversation or the emotion behind it. Musically, I could see/hear students figuring out their melodies and phrasing to either compliment or contrast their partner's creation. I could also hear them experimenting with their note choices, using some repeated notes, or making a point to not just play glissandos which is always very tempting on a xylophone. What was an interesting addition to the positive musical experimentation was how much the students were critically thinking about their conversation and even using it as an acting exercise. Students were developing scenes in their own minds and were expressing how they were feeling towards what their partner was "saying," (remember students were not allowed to verbalize any ideas, so one person's scene or interpretation could be different from their partner's). At times, I even caught students making faces at each other or physically presenting the emotion they were portraying in their music.
It was hysterical when we all discussed our conversations as a group, especially when students were realizing they had a completely different idea in their head than their partner! It was amazing how they made it work, made it sound musically interesting and listened before reacting even though they could not read each others' minds!
The ensemble was broken up into pairs, who each sat at a xylophone, each student holding one mallet. I asked students to have a conversation with each other, not my using words, but by creating little melodies and motifs, playing with dynamics and phrasing and interacting musically with each other. I then gave the ensemble about five minutes to hold their conversations. We then had a class discussion where the pairs described what was happening in their "musical conversations."
I was amazed at how well the students listened to each other, both musically and at how they were attempting to find the flow of the conversation or the emotion behind it. Musically, I could see/hear students figuring out their melodies and phrasing to either compliment or contrast their partner's creation. I could also hear them experimenting with their note choices, using some repeated notes, or making a point to not just play glissandos which is always very tempting on a xylophone. What was an interesting addition to the positive musical experimentation was how much the students were critically thinking about their conversation and even using it as an acting exercise. Students were developing scenes in their own minds and were expressing how they were feeling towards what their partner was "saying," (remember students were not allowed to verbalize any ideas, so one person's scene or interpretation could be different from their partner's). At times, I even caught students making faces at each other or physically presenting the emotion they were portraying in their music.
It was hysterical when we all discussed our conversations as a group, especially when students were realizing they had a completely different idea in their head than their partner! It was amazing how they made it work, made it sound musically interesting and listened before reacting even though they could not read each others' minds!
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Improving Math Problems
This one is a very basic idea that can be implemented into any math class of any grade, but the kids loved it and it gave them something to do besides just complete a worksheet.
We had been practicing adding and subtracting decimals and I told the class to each have a number between 0-9 in their head and that I would be randomly calling on students to create decimals. In my head, I knew what type of problems I was going to give them (adding decimals with equal number of place values, whole number minus decimal to the thousandths, etc), but didn't know the numbers. I called on one student at a time to create two or three decimals to add or subtract, then had everyone solve the problem. We did this as review for our quiz, but it could definitely be used as classwork too. It can be used for whole numbers, decimals, fractions, and even more. If you really want them to have fun, create a "class problem" with them, where each student has a chance to pick a number that will appear in a single problem.
Besides just creating problems to solve, this also gave us the chance to talk about the types of number that we had to choose. For example, when subtracting, if the first number was 4.508, students needed to understand that the ones digit of the second number couldn't exceed 4, or else we couldn't solve the problem.
- Mike
We had been practicing adding and subtracting decimals and I told the class to each have a number between 0-9 in their head and that I would be randomly calling on students to create decimals. In my head, I knew what type of problems I was going to give them (adding decimals with equal number of place values, whole number minus decimal to the thousandths, etc), but didn't know the numbers. I called on one student at a time to create two or three decimals to add or subtract, then had everyone solve the problem. We did this as review for our quiz, but it could definitely be used as classwork too. It can be used for whole numbers, decimals, fractions, and even more. If you really want them to have fun, create a "class problem" with them, where each student has a chance to pick a number that will appear in a single problem.
Besides just creating problems to solve, this also gave us the chance to talk about the types of number that we had to choose. For example, when subtracting, if the first number was 4.508, students needed to understand that the ones digit of the second number couldn't exceed 4, or else we couldn't solve the problem.
- Mike
Metric Conversion Improv
This one I actually have took a video of, but its a simple idea. My 6th grade class was acting out a number line that we use to convert units in the metric system. I started by giving them examples and we had students act as the different marks of the number line and a student who acted as the decimal point of a number, who would count the number of jumps and identify the direction. Eventually, I started cold calling kids to give a starting measurement, another student to choose the unit of measure that we would convert into, and another student who would be the decimal point. I'll have to share the video at our next meeting!
- Mike
- Mike
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Show Don't Tell
During part of our revisions in our Small Moment writing unit, we teach the the concept of "show, not tell." This concept is a bit abstract and can be a little tricky for first graders. After giving many examples of how writers show their emotions, without just coming out and saying them, I noticed that many of the students were able to identify what the emotion was, but were still having a hard time using this in their own writing. So I brought in a little improv to help them gain a better understanding of this concept.
I had the students sit in a circle and there was one person who was the 'guesser'. The 'guesser' had an emotion taped onto their back (they did not know what it was). The guesser would walk around the circle slowly so that everyone else could see the emotion. The other students in the circle would raise their hand and show what the emotion was without saying the actual word. At first we started out by just using facial expressions, but since I wanted the students to apply this into their writing, I told them that they had to use words or scenarios to explain the emotion. The students did a great job and the guesser was able to guess the emotion word every time. I have also seen a significant increase with 'show don't tell' in their writing!
I had the students sit in a circle and there was one person who was the 'guesser'. The 'guesser' had an emotion taped onto their back (they did not know what it was). The guesser would walk around the circle slowly so that everyone else could see the emotion. The other students in the circle would raise their hand and show what the emotion was without saying the actual word. At first we started out by just using facial expressions, but since I wanted the students to apply this into their writing, I told them that they had to use words or scenarios to explain the emotion. The students did a great job and the guesser was able to guess the emotion word every time. I have also seen a significant increase with 'show don't tell' in their writing!
Improv Partnership with William Paterson University
Some exciting stuff is happening in the world of musical improv this week. I have begun to partner with Dr. Payton MacDonald from William Paterson University to combine our two improvisation groups for the 2nd half of the school year. Our students will rehearse together and develop a program that will be performed at both WPU and Cranbury School.
I think it would be fantastic to showcase what our students have been doing in our little interdisciplinary project as well! I know this is a quick update, but I will give you more information as we move forward!
I think it would be fantastic to showcase what our students have been doing in our little interdisciplinary project as well! I know this is a quick update, but I will give you more information as we move forward!
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Improv for Independence!
Hi improv friends :)
Team Social Studies utilized an improv lesson today in 7th grade! In order to present research on an African nation's struggle for independence, each student had to create a flag and newspaper front page from the date of independence. Sara and I decided to try to assess students and give them a fun and creative way to share their learning with each other using improvisation.
Each student posted up their news article and flag somewhere around the room (some made such big flags they had to hold them... so naturally we had a Wavin' Flag dance party :) ). Then we counted off odds and evens. The odds began the class as 'reporters' and the evens began as their choice of 'freedom fighter' or 'government official'. The reporters visited each freedom fighter/official and interviewed them about their nation's journey from colony to independent, often-struggling independent country. The representatives were required to take on a persona and act out that character through a series of different 'interviews' with about 10 reporters. The reporters were challenged to improvise questions based on the nations they visited, the visuals presented by the representatives, and knowledge from their own research. Then, the roles switched and the evens were the reporters. This gave each student about 20 different improvisational switches since they were presented with new interview questions and responses with each new 'visitor'. It was especially fun since the kids had no idea until all their posters were up what they would be doing with their research!
My favorite part of this lesson was seeing how the students reacted to each other. I was amazed and excited to see students who easily fulfilled the 'reporter' role and used visual cues to develop insightful, interesting questions for their classmates. Even better, those students elicited the best responses since their level of improvisation inspired and assisted their classmates in finding their 'character' as well. And since each improv interaction was on a 1-on-1 basis, I saw students who are typically reserved and insecure taking risks and really enjoying their 'roles'!! This was such a great way for us to assess our students as well, since we were able to travel around and see each reporter and representative in action, grading their synthesis of research and materials at the same time (nothing better than a time saver for busy teachers :) )!!!
We thought this was an effective and fun application of the 'Scenes from an Italian Restaurant' idea. It could be used for any individual research assignment.
Love reading all of these other amazing ideas! We are really enjoying thinking of ways to incorporate more improv and help students develop metacognition about their experiences.
Danielle and Sara
Team Social Studies utilized an improv lesson today in 7th grade! In order to present research on an African nation's struggle for independence, each student had to create a flag and newspaper front page from the date of independence. Sara and I decided to try to assess students and give them a fun and creative way to share their learning with each other using improvisation.
Each student posted up their news article and flag somewhere around the room (some made such big flags they had to hold them... so naturally we had a Wavin' Flag dance party :) ). Then we counted off odds and evens. The odds began the class as 'reporters' and the evens began as their choice of 'freedom fighter' or 'government official'. The reporters visited each freedom fighter/official and interviewed them about their nation's journey from colony to independent, often-struggling independent country. The representatives were required to take on a persona and act out that character through a series of different 'interviews' with about 10 reporters. The reporters were challenged to improvise questions based on the nations they visited, the visuals presented by the representatives, and knowledge from their own research. Then, the roles switched and the evens were the reporters. This gave each student about 20 different improvisational switches since they were presented with new interview questions and responses with each new 'visitor'. It was especially fun since the kids had no idea until all their posters were up what they would be doing with their research!
My favorite part of this lesson was seeing how the students reacted to each other. I was amazed and excited to see students who easily fulfilled the 'reporter' role and used visual cues to develop insightful, interesting questions for their classmates. Even better, those students elicited the best responses since their level of improvisation inspired and assisted their classmates in finding their 'character' as well. And since each improv interaction was on a 1-on-1 basis, I saw students who are typically reserved and insecure taking risks and really enjoying their 'roles'!! This was such a great way for us to assess our students as well, since we were able to travel around and see each reporter and representative in action, grading their synthesis of research and materials at the same time (nothing better than a time saver for busy teachers :) )!!!
We thought this was an effective and fun application of the 'Scenes from an Italian Restaurant' idea. It could be used for any individual research assignment.
Love reading all of these other amazing ideas! We are really enjoying thinking of ways to incorporate more improv and help students develop metacognition about their experiences.
Danielle and Sara
"Can I Be the Comma?"
Hey Guys,
I recently incorporated improvisation into a grammar lesson with 8th grade. We were initially doing a somewhat dry activity in which the students had to identify comma usage in a New York Times article. The students were getting really bored with it, so I decided to change it up and work on comma rules physically.
Each student had to think of either a complete sentence, dependent clause, complete subject, or complete predicate. Then the students would come to the front of the room and "play" that part along with a peer's sentence/clause. They would have to figure out in what order to stand in, and whether or not they could stand together without a comma. If we needed a comma, a third student would come up to play that part (the most coveted role..haha); that is, turn his or her body into the shape of a comma and stand where the class deemed he/she should go to make the sentence correct. The activity provided a nice kinesthetic learning opportunity and allowed students to visualize where in a sentence a comma belongs. I plan on implementing a version of this activity with the parts of a paragraph next!
So sad to be missing the Monday meetings, but I love reading your blog posts!
Teresa
I recently incorporated improvisation into a grammar lesson with 8th grade. We were initially doing a somewhat dry activity in which the students had to identify comma usage in a New York Times article. The students were getting really bored with it, so I decided to change it up and work on comma rules physically.
Each student had to think of either a complete sentence, dependent clause, complete subject, or complete predicate. Then the students would come to the front of the room and "play" that part along with a peer's sentence/clause. They would have to figure out in what order to stand in, and whether or not they could stand together without a comma. If we needed a comma, a third student would come up to play that part (the most coveted role..haha); that is, turn his or her body into the shape of a comma and stand where the class deemed he/she should go to make the sentence correct. The activity provided a nice kinesthetic learning opportunity and allowed students to visualize where in a sentence a comma belongs. I plan on implementing a version of this activity with the parts of a paragraph next!
So sad to be missing the Monday meetings, but I love reading your blog posts!
Teresa
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Inspired by 4th Grade Improv- Oh! Pierre Ensemble
After reading Christine's post and chatting about her 4th grade class experimenting with improv, I "stole" one of their games to see how my middle school students would react.
I asked my ensemble members to begin walking around the room and explained that I would call out a different scenario, or place that they would be walking in. It was their job to act or react accordingly. As the students were walking I began to call out some of these ideas:
"You're in quicksand"
"You are walking on hot sand on the beach"
"You are walking on a skating rink and forgot your ice skates"
What I found was that my middle schoolers not only reacted to the scenarios that I gave them, but they expanded upon it. For example, when I called out "You are walking on hot sand on the beach," one of my 7th graders began hopping around the room calling for his family. When I asked him why he did that he said, "Well when I go play on the beach I very often can't find my family's umbrella afterwards so I have to shout for them." He was making connections to his own life experiences and acting them out in the scenario.
My students also began to perform as an ensemble or in pairs as I called out different scenarios. For example, when I called out "You are walking on a skating rink and forgot your ice skates," two 6th graders began to balance on each other and help pull each other around the "rink." When I questioned why they reacted this way, both students explained that if they were losing their balance they should help each other, or would want a friend to lean on. Another student in the same scenario began to only walk around the perimeter of the room. When I inquired why this 7th grader chose this action they explained that when they lose their balance ice skating they try and hold on to the wall to help them get around. I really feel that their problem solving skills were able to really shine through!
I asked my ensemble members to begin walking around the room and explained that I would call out a different scenario, or place that they would be walking in. It was their job to act or react accordingly. As the students were walking I began to call out some of these ideas:
"You're in quicksand"
"You are walking on hot sand on the beach"
"You are walking on a skating rink and forgot your ice skates"
What I found was that my middle schoolers not only reacted to the scenarios that I gave them, but they expanded upon it. For example, when I called out "You are walking on hot sand on the beach," one of my 7th graders began hopping around the room calling for his family. When I asked him why he did that he said, "Well when I go play on the beach I very often can't find my family's umbrella afterwards so I have to shout for them." He was making connections to his own life experiences and acting them out in the scenario.
My students also began to perform as an ensemble or in pairs as I called out different scenarios. For example, when I called out "You are walking on a skating rink and forgot your ice skates," two 6th graders began to balance on each other and help pull each other around the "rink." When I questioned why they reacted this way, both students explained that if they were losing their balance they should help each other, or would want a friend to lean on. Another student in the same scenario began to only walk around the perimeter of the room. When I inquired why this 7th grader chose this action they explained that when they lose their balance ice skating they try and hold on to the wall to help them get around. I really feel that their problem solving skills were able to really shine through!
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Oh! Pierre & "Teaching" Musical Improvisation
Our improv ensemble has been knee deep in learning our Cue Drive Improvised piece "Oh! Pierre." Students have been engaged instrumentally and vocally through out the piece. What I have been finding is that students often go to humor or "just whatever" they can play as their default "style." This got me thinking.... we need to experience HOW to improvise before getting to the PERFORMANCE of improvisation. I have been brainstorming a few ideas as to how to "teach" students to improv with purpose, here are some of my ideas.
- Give them a scene, or video clip played for them with the audio muted. Have the students improv a soundtrack to the clip, illustrating what is happening in the clip.
- Play with emotions. Give students an emotion and have students play or sing in the style of that emotion
- Playing in pairs. Have students play in pairs or smaller groups. Students should really listen to each other, and react to their "mini-ensemble."
These are just a few ideas and concepts I am playing with, however, I want my students to think about improv on a higher level. Struggles are great, they make us better and more innovative in the end!
- Give them a scene, or video clip played for them with the audio muted. Have the students improv a soundtrack to the clip, illustrating what is happening in the clip.
- Play with emotions. Give students an emotion and have students play or sing in the style of that emotion
- Playing in pairs. Have students play in pairs or smaller groups. Students should really listen to each other, and react to their "mini-ensemble."
These are just a few ideas and concepts I am playing with, however, I want my students to think about improv on a higher level. Struggles are great, they make us better and more innovative in the end!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
4th Grade Improv :)
Hey Guys,
As a morning meeting activity today I tried some improv with my fourth graders, and they LOVED it! I have a class that is full of personality this year, so it was really a blast. Using three types of cards: who, what, and where, three students came up and each picked a random card. They had one minute to act our the scenario for the class with a small skit. Being that this was the first time we tried this, I made the time short, and the students told us who they were, what they were doing, and where it was. My goal is to have them improv different scenarios next time and the class will have to guess. They added such creativity and humor into this... I really enjoyed it! If anyone would like to borrow the cards, come on down to my classroom. :)
Christine
As a morning meeting activity today I tried some improv with my fourth graders, and they LOVED it! I have a class that is full of personality this year, so it was really a blast. Using three types of cards: who, what, and where, three students came up and each picked a random card. They had one minute to act our the scenario for the class with a small skit. Being that this was the first time we tried this, I made the time short, and the students told us who they were, what they were doing, and where it was. My goal is to have them improv different scenarios next time and the class will have to guess. They added such creativity and humor into this... I really enjoyed it! If anyone would like to borrow the cards, come on down to my classroom. :)
Christine
Thursday, October 4, 2012
La vaca y el mono
This morning in 8th grade, I did improv without realizing it. After the fact, I checked with Ashley to confirm that it was in fact improv.
The 8th graders were reading a short story about a cow and a monkey. We read through it one time, and I could tell that about half the class did not understand the story (in Spanish). I asked for two volunteers to come up and act out the parts of the cow and the monkey while I re-read the story.
The students who did not initially get the story really benefited from visually seeing a representation of the action in the story, and the two actors got to demonstrate their comprehension kinesthetically.
It was a short activity that took little to no planning (the thought really didn't occur to me until I saw the blank stares...) and it ended up helping both groups of students - those that understood and those that were lost.
It was a quick, successful implementation of improv.
The 8th graders were reading a short story about a cow and a monkey. We read through it one time, and I could tell that about half the class did not understand the story (in Spanish). I asked for two volunteers to come up and act out the parts of the cow and the monkey while I re-read the story.
The students who did not initially get the story really benefited from visually seeing a representation of the action in the story, and the two actors got to demonstrate their comprehension kinesthetically.
It was a short activity that took little to no planning (the thought really didn't occur to me until I saw the blank stares...) and it ended up helping both groups of students - those that understood and those that were lost.
It was a quick, successful implementation of improv.
Improv with Multiplying and Dividing Whole Numbers
The other day, I had Ashley in as I tried a lesson involving improvising word problems related to multiplication. I had my students make up word problems using multiplication (one step and multi step) for the rest of the class to solve. The catch was that they will have to make it up on the spot. I made up some topics that the word problems must follow (shopping, taking a trip, distance traveled, working and making money, etc). The student randomly selected a topic from a bucket, and was given a little time to think, and then had to type the problem on my laptop so the class can see it on the SMARTBoard. The whole class solved the problem at their desks (the creator had to solve it too) and then the creator acted as the teacher and lead a class discussion on how to solve it.
The lesson went quite well! For the first problem, the student came up with their problem very quickly and the rest of the class stared in suspense waiting for it to be finished on the board. During the second problem, we had a little more difficulty getting the question out because it involved multiple steps. Still, the class waited patiently for the problem to be finished, then went to work. Ashley and I talked about how I could have students working in their pairs only as they gave each other a topic to base the question off of, create the problem, then exchange, in order to keep everyone involved. Which is what I tried a bit of today...
We started division of whole numbers with 2 digit divisors. After a couple examples as a class, I allowed each pair to challenge their partner with their own problems. I set the guidelines that the problem could include up to a 5 digit dividend and up to a 2 digit divisor and was allowed to include a remainder. The idea was that each student make up the problem, swap with their partner to solve each others', then swap back to the original creator had to check their partner's answer. I had a couple pairs get through several problems and it gave them a nice challenge and gave a nice break in the period.
I plan on doing the Improv Problem Solving again sometime next week with either division problems or mixed application of multiplication and division. I'll let you know how it goes!
- Mike
The lesson went quite well! For the first problem, the student came up with their problem very quickly and the rest of the class stared in suspense waiting for it to be finished on the board. During the second problem, we had a little more difficulty getting the question out because it involved multiple steps. Still, the class waited patiently for the problem to be finished, then went to work. Ashley and I talked about how I could have students working in their pairs only as they gave each other a topic to base the question off of, create the problem, then exchange, in order to keep everyone involved. Which is what I tried a bit of today...
We started division of whole numbers with 2 digit divisors. After a couple examples as a class, I allowed each pair to challenge their partner with their own problems. I set the guidelines that the problem could include up to a 5 digit dividend and up to a 2 digit divisor and was allowed to include a remainder. The idea was that each student make up the problem, swap with their partner to solve each others', then swap back to the original creator had to check their partner's answer. I had a couple pairs get through several problems and it gave them a nice challenge and gave a nice break in the period.
I plan on doing the Improv Problem Solving again sometime next week with either division problems or mixed application of multiplication and division. I'll let you know how it goes!
- Mike
Monday, October 1, 2012
Communication
Hey there folks!
I just saw a phenomenal improv lesson taught by Mike Simonelli today, and I realized I wanted to get this blog up and running so we can share our experiences!
You can include a small "journal entry," video, pictures etc, or share your lesson plan with me (greatly appreciated) by blogging here! Oh, and please, please, please invite me to come see your lessons!!! If I can make it I totally will!
Ashley
I just saw a phenomenal improv lesson taught by Mike Simonelli today, and I realized I wanted to get this blog up and running so we can share our experiences!
You can include a small "journal entry," video, pictures etc, or share your lesson plan with me (greatly appreciated) by blogging here! Oh, and please, please, please invite me to come see your lessons!!! If I can make it I totally will!
Ashley
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