Multipart Story Drama

Groups of students each prepare and perform a different section of a story, creating a collaborative dramatic reading for the whole class.

Procedure

1. Choose a story with good action and 3-5 main characters. Divide it into 4-5 parts. Make enough copies so each group gets one section.
2. Divide the class into groups of 3-5 students. Give each group one section. For large classes (e.g., 60 students), form 12 groups and give each part to three groups.
3. Give students about 20 minutes to read their section together and prepare to act it out. They may assign a narrator, assign roles freely, add dialogue, leave out non-essential details, and make quick props from available materials. They should practise performing their part.
4. Call groups to the front in the correct order to perform. If multiple groups prepared the same part, select one to present. Move between groups as seamlessly as possible so the story flows.

Tips

• A variation on "readers theatre" — students can vary the text using louder/softer voices, higher/lower pitch, choral and solo reading, pauses, repetition, and sound effects.
• Encourages students to think about emotion and meaning between the lines.
• The physical interpretation engages different learning styles.
• Works with almost any text: folk tales, coursebook reading texts, excerpts from novels.