Rain Storm

Type: Warm-Up, Focus

Purpose:   This is a great game to play in the beginning of a session to calm down a group of high-energy students. It’s simple, peaceful, and allows everyone to focus on one common goal.

• Procedure:

• 1.  The goal is to create the sound of a rainstorm using only our bodies.  This requires no speaking

• 2.  Ask everyone to sit with you in a circle on the floor.

• 3.  You will begin an activity, then the person to your right will join in, then the person to his/her right will join in, etc. until it creates a wave all around the circle.  Once it reaches back to you (the leader) you begin a different activity, and this creates a second wave.

• 4.  Tell the students that they are to carefully copy the movements of the person to their left, and not switch activities until that person switches.  Try to encourage them to not focus on “the leader”, but instead on the person to their left.

• 5.  Activity 1:  Rub your hands together.  (This is the wind)

• 6.  Activity 2:  Tap one finger on the palm of your hand.  (These are the first raindrops.)

• 7.  Activity 3:  Tap all 4 fingers.  (Many more rain drops.)

• 8.  Activity 4:  Full out clapping.  (It’s getting more intense!)

• 9.  Activity 5:  Slap on the floor, or your thighs.  (Thunder enters!)

• 10.  After a big crescendo, repeat all the activities in reverse order as the storm dies down, until you’re rubbing hands together.

• 11.  Then quietly stop, and there should be absolutely silence.

• 12.  Reflect on whether it accomplished the goal of sounding like a rainforest.  Ask the students if there’s any other activities they could add to make it sound more realistic?  (Standing and stomping on your feet for thunder?)  Ask what other environmental sounds could be created using just our bodies?

• 13:  For an extended activity, group the students and give them 5 minutes to create their own “soundscape”.  Ask each group to share.

Quick Change

• Type: Focus, Observation

• Purpose: Helps kids become aware of the details around them.

• Procedure:

• 1.  Have the students seated in a circle Choose one student to be the “changer”.

• 2.  Let the class study his/her appearance for 3 seconds.

• 3.  Ask the “changer” to leave the room out of sight.

• 4.  While out of sight the “changer” must change three things about his/her appearance (pull a sock down, change watch from one wrist to another, unbutton a button, etc.)

• 5.  When the student enters, the class must figure out what three things changed.

• 6.  Continue this for several rounds

Sausage!

• Type: Focus

• Purpose: To help kids not break focus and stay in character.

• Procedure:

• 1.  Divide the class into two groups, Group A and Group B.

• 2.  Have Group A form a single file line offstage right, and Group B form a single file line offstage left.

• 3.  One person from Group A and Group B will walk toward the center. “A” will face “B” and ask him/her a question. No matter the question, “B” must keep a straight face and answer “sausage”.

• 4.  Then they will exit and a new pair will take the stage.

• EXAMPLE: A: What’s that hanging from your ear? B: Sausage A: What’s your sister’s name? B: Sausage A: How old are you? B: Sausage.

• 5.  After everyone has gone, select a few volunteers to go into the “hot seat” and ask him/her several rapid fire questions, in which each response should be “sausage” with a straight face.  See if they can get through 8 questions in a row.