As teacher, announce that you have something very special in your hands. Use pantomime to indicate that you are holding a box—in which is a PRESENT. Tell your students that you are going to open it and see what’s inside. They’ll know what it is by the way you hold it or use it. Take out an imaginary object and ask the students to guess what it is. After they do, repackage it and ask if anyone else has an idea about what they might receive as a present in a box like this. Give the volunteer the box and let them open it and use the item as other students guess what it is. Repeat with other several other volunteers.
Describe: What are some of the things were were doing in this activity?
Analyze: Which imaginary presents seemed most realistic to you? What did those players do to help us know what the present was?
Relate: How might our drama work be like a “magic present”?
NOTE: Mention that drama is like an imaginary present that we open together as we create something out of nothing—something that matters to us.
James Thompson