Instructions:

​

Step1: Abstract improvisation

Split the class into of no less than 5 people per group, depending on the class size. Tell the children that they will be doing an improvisation activity, explain that improvisation is an acting technique that does not follow a script, and that by doing the activity they will have a lot of fun. Give them a random key word such as “Red” or “Banana”, anything that comes to mind they can easily formulate a story around. Give the children 5 minutes to discuss and prepare a scene, and ask them to perform the scene for the other group, acting as an audience. Be mindful that some groups may have a long piece prepared and that other may have a very short scene. Longer scenes may gentle prompting to finish. For example: a short scene were a girl/boy loses their school bag, and inside the bag contained a magical banana. This acted as a time gun to pause time. The story can be as weird or wonderful as the children like! The more creative the better!

The aim of the abstract is to get the children to start thinking creatively and give them some confidence while carrying out a performance. Giving them an easy key word to work with will enable them to prepare a piece without limitations, and it will widen their scope of thinking. This exercise aims to get the children to start thinking outside the box. It will also encourage the children to express emotion through drama; e.g. sadness about the missing school bag.

​

Step 2: Earth/Moon improvisation

At the teachers choosing either keep the groups as before or if you feel the need, change up the groups again. This time assign the topics “Life on Earth” and “Life on The Moon”. Ask them to recall everything that they have learned about the moon so far and give them both a specific event/topic to base their scene on. For example: “My 10th Birthday party on the moon” vs “My 10th birthday party on the earth”. Talk to them about the things they need for a birthday party and how it may be different on the moon. Give them 10 minutes to prepare and discuss a scene. Go around and listen in to the groups to ensure they are not forgetting the key topics already covered.

Key words and topics that have already been covered: Gravity, oxygen, sound/communication, and friction.

The aim of this exercise is to get them thinking about the topics already covered but also thinking about what concepts have not been introduced to them. The main topics that have not been discussed to date are: Food. Water, Shelter, Light, Electricity and the physical appearance of the moon and earth. These topics will be covered at a later stage however, this exercise is to try get the children to vocalise information that they may already know. For example that the Moon has no natural water supply, this can be easily seen as the earth is blue and green in colour, whereas the moon is white. This physical difference is evident but the children may have limited awareness as to why there is such a dramatic colour difference.

 

Step 3: Performance

Ask the children to perform their piece for their mock audience. Ensure that no booing happens and give a big round of applause at the end of each performance. Encourage a discussion about the differences between the earth and the moon, but let them lead it as facilitates better peer learning.

This is a good way for the children to learn from each other rather than from the teacher only. Discuss the topics that they have generated themselves and if they are unsure about anything encourage them to do some self-research. For example if they ask how do we get food in space? Tell them that we will come to learn about every aspect living on the moon will require but in any spare time they have or if there is access to a computer room get them to search the info.

​

​