Bringing the Classroom to Life with Role-Play By Lenore Blank Kelner

Use role-play to activate your students' imaginations.

Anything is possible with role-play. Don't worry if you are not an actor—all you need are a few props and your imagination. Try changing your voice, pitch, pace, or accent. The more you or your students look and/or sound like someone else, the more exciting the role-play. Here are some things to keep in mind when creating a role:

• Introduce the acting tools to your students, so that they know about the use of voice, body, and imagination.

  It is also important that they understand the acting skills of cooperation (working together as an ensemble), and concentration. After each role play activity, students can reflect on their performance: How did I use my voice? How did I use my body? How could I have done it better? Assessing student performance will ensure that students continue to improve in the use of their acting skills.

• Reality and fantasy can be confusing for young children (Pre-K - Grade 1).

  Prepare young children by explaining that you are going to pretend to be someone else. Show them the costume piece or prop you will use and tell them the name of the person you are about to become.

• When beginning a role-play, turn your back to the class and put on your costume.

  If possible, assume the posture and face of the character as well. When you turn around and face the class, you are the character. Try speaking in the character's voice and manner. If in the middle of the role-play you need to address an issue as the teacher (because of a behavior problem or a knock at the door, for example), take off one costume piece, be yourself, and address the issue. Then put the piece back on and resume character. When you've completed the role-play, turn your back to the class again and take off your costume, then turn around and be yourself again. Students who are taking on roles should follow a similar procedure.

• Feel free to modify the way in which you and your students move from reality to fantasy and back to reality.

  You may use a sound effect, a word, a chant, or simply ask the students to close their eyes. The important point is that the activity should have a clear beginning, middle, and end so that the transitions to reality and fantasy are always clear and clean.

• Keep it short, especially for younger children.

  The more you do role-plays, the longer they can become. In group role-plays, ask that every group member speak at least one sentence in the presentation. This stops one or two students from taking over.

• If the entire class takes on a role, add these steps:

• Have the students clear the tops of their desks or their hands of anything that is not appropriate for the fictional situation they are about to create.
• Explain to students the purpose and goal(s) of the role-play.
• Take on a role of authority to help direct and focus the role-play.
• Have the students enter the fictional world of the role-play together. Have everyone put on one last costume piece at the same time and let that signal that the role-play has begun.
• Before you even begin, set up a device that ends the role-play. For instance, you might say, "When I take off my hat that means the role-play is over, and it's time for us to be ourselves again."
• Often older students need only a few minutes to plan or prepare their role-plays. However, sometimes you may want to assign roles the day before so that students can read appropriate material, gather costumes, and prepare the role.

Following these simple steps will help keep reality and fantasy clear and help the students know what is expected of them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lenore Blank Kelner is an actress, director, writer, and educator. She has taught all grade levels from preK-college, and she has directed her own educational theatre company, InterAct Story Theatre, since 1981. This article was excerpted and adapted from The Creative Classroom: A Guide for Using Creating.