Drop Of A Hat: Drama Lessons, Games and Activities

‘A flexible, varied book filled with engaging drama activities… for primary teachers, I would very much recommend ‘Drop of a Hat’ for its content, ease of use, and engaging activities, as well as for demonstrating how you can use drama to great effect in many areas of the curriculum… Secondary drama teachers will find the activities useful and many of the stimulus materials would be relevant at KS3 and 4.’
— Drama and Theatre Magazine (January 2020)

For any teacher – no experience needed! Includes Activity Sheets and Cards!
Dozens of ready to go drama lessons and activities. Flick through and find an activity to use across the primary curriculum and beyond. Lessons include Looking after Pets, Bullying, Refugees, Science topics and YouTubers. Activities for stories and poems include ‘The Tiger Child’, ‘Funnybones’, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, ‘The Lost and Found Cat’ and ‘The Magic Box’. Includes advice on teaching drama online and socially-distanced. Written by drama expert David Farmer, author of several best-selling books on drama and creator of the website www.dramaresource.com.

Section 1: Drama Lessons
The Magic Box: Explore images in ‘The Magic Box’ poem by Kit Wright and lead on to the sharing of early memories
The Tiger Child: Explore the story of ‘The Tiger Child’ by J. Troughton through a range of fun and easy-to-do drama activities
Funnybones: An interactive storytelling session to explore the plot and characters of Funnybones by J. and A. Ahlberg through a range of drama and movement activities
Caring for Pets: Learn that pets need to be looked after and should be treated with respect
If Pets Could Speak: A range of drama activities to explore understanding of pets and attitudes toward them.
The King’s Sentence: Explore the value of words and the power of non-verbal communication through a specially-written fable by David Farmer
3D Living Pictures: Explore any picture, artwork or photograph through a variety of drama strategies
Bullying: Explore situations which involve bullying, using a range of drama strategies
Hit the Headlines: Generate ideas for writing a detective/thriller story (or any other genre)
The Lost and Found Cat: Explore the real-life story of a refugee family and their cat using storytelling, discussion and drama
Refugee Rucksack: Explore what we really value when we take a journey and find out what actual refugees took with them on their travels
Science and Drama: A wide range of ideas for exploring science
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Become familiar with the setting and characters of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, culminating in a live performance of the story of Titania and Oberon
YouTubers: Quickly prepare and present a story or information in the form of a ‘video’ performed live by students

Section 2: Drama Games and Strategies
Action Clip
Best Bits
Conscience Alley
Freeze Frames
Hot Seating
Hot Spotting
Imaginarium
Improvisation
Role Play
Soundscapes
Speaking Objects
Spotlight
Stop, Go, Jump, Clap
Storytelling Whoosh
Teacher in Role
Ten Second Objects
Thought Tracking
Where Do You Stand?