Teach Children to Pantomime
Teaching children to pantomime encourages imagination and a deep understanding of stories and concepts. Pantomime also gives children a chance to explore their bodies and creative movement. While children are naturally interested in pantomime, they may need some encouragement to immerse themselves in it.
Instructions
1. Realize that children are natural actors. You don't need to teach them act; you just need to provide an atmosphere that encourages them to explore without self-consciousness.
2. Tell the children that pantomime is just acting out something without words. It can be a single action or it can tell a whole story.
3. Start by asking them to pantomime simple daily actions like brushing their teeth or playing with their pet. As they pantomime this, join them in the pantomime.
4. Select a short children's book that features daily actions. Explain that pantomime can bring a story to life. Ask the children to pantomime the story as you read it. Read slowly, pausing at each page, and give the children a chance to play. You can do this with a series of books over a few days.
5. Choose two more books to read, but this time have half of the students pantomime to one book first, then half to the other. Encourage the children who aren't pantomiming to watch closely.
6. Discuss what the children noticed in the pantomime. Ask them if they could always tell what the person was pantomiming and discuss their answers, leading them to an understanding that pantomime can be as clear as words if you choose the right gestures.
7. Explain that pantomime doesn't need any words to tell a story. Break the children into small groups if you're working with a large group, and give each group a familiar scene from a story to act out or a situation they can relate to. Give the children time to work out their pantomime, then have them perform it for the other children.
8. Encourage children to write their own pantomime stories or come up with their own situations to pantomime. Have them work in small groups of their choice and then perform their pantomime for the other children.
