Improv to Improve! Colin Wells, cwells@mckinneyisd.net Using the basics of Improvisation to create a fun and interactive learning environment at the secondary level

What is Improv? Improvisation is an act of spontaneous creation– a character, story, scene or song. Three types: Stories, Games & Skits The beauty of improv is there are no limits and no wrong answers!

Rule #1 of Improv YES! AND . . . “Yes” refers to acceptance of an idea. When a player offers an idea it much be accepted by all other players. “And” refers to enhancement– other players must not only accept the idea but add something to it. Build!

Make Your Partner Look Good! Rule # 2 of Improv Make Your Partner Look Good! By supporting and giving your scene partner (or student) ways to continue engagement, you continuously highlight their strengths. Imagine if every kid felt like a million bucks every time they spoke up! Make one simple statement or offer at a time

Let’s Improvise! STORY

One Word Story In this exercise, a group of individuals tells a cohesive story one word at a time. It starts when one person says a single word and unfolds when someone else in the group offers up another word. Groups can do this in circles, so the participants know when it is their turn to talk, or at the will of the teacher. From personal experience, small groups are better. The improvising continues until the group has created a story.

Conducted Story Participants form a line with the teacher up front, who behaves like the conductor of an orchestra– ‘cueing’ the next person to speak. When the conductor points to student, the student begins to tell the story until the conductor moves to another student. The new student will pick up and add to the story. Conductors can pick storytellers in any order they like.

Let’s Improvise! GAMES

Night at the Museum A great first game for students who might not want to talk! One student is the night watchman searching for moving museum figures. The rest of the class pose and must remain still when the night watchman is looking their way. If he turns his back, they can switch positions. The teacher or leader should initiate the shape of each new pose so students are reinforcing the content. For example, the psychology class might pose like each of the developmental stages of a child.

Magic Box Another great first game for students who might not want to talk! In a circle, the leader opens a box for all to see. He or she removes an object from the box, does something with it in pantomime and then returns it to the box. Then he or she passes the imaginary box to the next student who does the same. Objects in the box can be anything! Any class could apply this exercise by allowing objects to represent key vocabulary in their class Example: A statistics student might choose to pull the term “variable” out of the box and pretend to use a measuring tape to analyze the term

The Dating Game The Host (Teacher) picks one person to be the Contestant who steps outside. Three “eligible partners” are assigned. The class decides who/what these partners are. Contestant comes back in and ask three rounds of questions. -Historical figures, characters in novels or plays, animals, plants, athletes, tools needed to complete a task -Remind students to think outside the box!

Party Quirks Click the link below for a clip from Like the Dating Game, a student leaves the room. They are the host of a party. Any number of party guests enter in character. The host must guess who they are. -Historical figures, characters in novels or plays, animals, plants, athletes, tools needed to complete a task -Remind students to think outside the box! Click the link below for a clip from Party Quirks on Whose Line is it Anyway? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjc0dfYPvHY

Let’s Improvise! SKITS

Half- Time Improv Students create a scene in one minute. Then perform again condensing to 30 seconds. Then 20 seconds. Then 10 seconds. Can be used for chapter reviews, subject-related articles, concept re-caps, short stories and poetry Great for dramatizing any major process (Scientific Method, Permutation, Differentiation, Process of Speech, Photosynthesis, DNA Replication, Historical Inquiry, Due Process of Law, etc)

5 Minute Movie A favorite short form game at improv shows, this game gives a group five minutes to condense an entire movie into a one minute performance. The movie can be replaced with a chapter from a textbook or novel It can be used to re-cap concepts Reduce the amount of time for presentation if needed Half-time Improv is a variation of this game

But why Improv… Reinforces memory recall Practices active listening Builds students’ comfort level Fosters teamwork and better brainstorming Improves communication and presentation skills Promotes creative problem solving Helps you think on your feet Creates willingness to take risks Promote a supportive culture

Improv in the classroom is mneumonic dramatization

And it’s Not just for Liberal Arts… The Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University offers a graduate course on improv to help emerging scientists convey their ideas without resorting to textbook speak or one-sided lectures.

Kids learn a lot when we create structures in which they can explore and they can experiment and they can engage in critical thinking to solve a problem which is much of what improvisation is about. That’s what I really love about improv…at first it may seem that it’s a bunch of simple exercises but there’s a lot of complexity in and layers to those simple exercises that force you to develop those skills. -- Dr. Katherine McKnight The Second City Guide to Improv in the Classroom

References Alda, Alan. [StonyBrookJournalism]. (2010, Mar. 23). Improvisation for Scientists: Workshops by Alan Alda and the Center for Communicating Science. [Video File]. Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtdyA7SibG8 Lobman, C., & Lundquist, M. (2007). Unscripted learning: using improv activities across the K-8 curriculum. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University. Whose Line. [Muggs8787]. (2010, Aug. 6). Party Quirks 2. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjc0dfYPvHY