Theatre Sports, Bananas, and Infomercials: A Full-Body Approach to Vocabulary Review

Cathleen Steg, The Country School 

What do Patrick Henry, a Shrek Dixie Cup dispenser, and theatre sports have in common?  My middle school English students would tell you that these are all part of the eclectic grab bag of elements we use in our regular vocabulary review sessions.  And surprisingly enough, many of these young adolescents tell me, year after year, that these sessions are among the most fun — and most useful — classes they’ve ever had in school. 

Though our weekly new-word vocabulary lessons come with appropriate structure and a certain amount of predictability, I’ve crafted review and reinforcement sessions to keep students on their toes, to keep them interested, and to vary modalities in order to increase the chance that every student will really internalize the words.   To the students, the activities have become favorites because of the element of surprise, the fact that they always involve collaboration, and the frequent focus on kinesthetic learning.  As all cognitive scientists know (and as my mother always told me), the more body parts you use to learn something, the better you remember it!

Just about the only common element to our review sessions is the fact that they are unannounced.  Without warning, students will enter the classroom only to be divided into small groups (ever-changing), where they receive brief instructions about a project which usually takes about 20 minutes to complete.  Though a bit mystified the first time, students soon learn to expect a treat as well as some highly memorable review.  In all cases, the groups have an opportunity to share their product with the entire class and a requirement to receive feedback from other groups on whether or not their vocabulary words have been used correctly.  I’m always surprised at how closely the students listen to their peers, catching them in every error; I’m also continually pleased to see how appreciative the groups are of the other students’ creations. 

A few sample activities should help to illustrate the concept of the many ways a fresh, slightly offbeat, and often physically active approach to vocabulary review can help students truly own the words they study:

The Tableau:  Assign several words to each group and ask them to create tableaux, using all members of the group, in order to present each word as a sort of living picture.  (It is appropriate to have a discussion about classroom safety rules before beginning this activity.  Though lifting the current student council president off the floor and hoisting him on the shoulders of the other group members would show that he was “superlative,” or “above all the rest,” such overtly physical displays might work best only on a padded surface in the school gym.)  Other groups try to guess which of the vocabulary words is represented by each still picture.

The Random Fairy Tale:  Ask each group to provide an item from an arbitrary list of topics (for example, ask for an animal, a country, a skill that a middle school student can perform well, and an unpopular vegetable).  Write all the suggested items on the board, and tell the groups that they have 20 minutes to write a fairy tale, with happy ending, using all four items and at least ten vocabulary words from their current lists.  Have students sit in a circle on the floor to enjoy story time, after all fairy tales have been crafted.

The Infomercial:  Most middle school English classrooms have a number of unusual items tucked away.  (Among the treasures in my room are a Dixie Cup dispenser shaped like Shrek leaning on a tree trunk, a rubber chicken, and several authentic Remo percussion instruments that look like pumpkins, summer squash, and bell peppers.)  Invite each group to choose something at the beginning of class, and then explain that they need to develop an infomercial (as seen on TV) in which they market their product to the whole class, using at least ten vocabulary words from their current lists.  For some reason, this silly idea brings out enormous amounts of creativity every year; students tell their younger siblings to look forward to it!

Theatre Sports:  This activity, based on the popular improvisation games used in high school acting classes, works well near the end of the year, when a long list of words has already been studied.  (For a delightfully thorough list of possible variations on the theatre sports theme, see  http://www.unexpectedproductions.org/living_playbook.htm for a freely-offered document from the Seattle improvisation group Unexpected Productions.)  Students from each group are asked to improvise skits based on a variety of instructions, using as many of the words as they can incorporate in the time permitted.   One of the most hilarious skits is “Asleep in a Minute,” where each group is given a set of random elements proffered by the other groups (for example, “tennis practice + angry little brother + banana”).  They need to improvise a skit, using all members of their group, all of the elements, and as many vocabulary words as possible; in order to succeed, they must create a plot that ends with one member of the group falling asleep before the end of the minute.  (High schools call this one “Death in a Minute,” but I opt for “Asleep” instead, in the interest of creating a more gentle classroom for my younger students.)

Another memorable skit is “Arms,” where each group is given a set of elements (dog sitting for neighbor + alien landing in back yard, for example), and then two members of each group take turns at the front of the room as they present a story, based on the elements (and yes, as many vocabulary words as possible).  One student does all the talking, making up the story as he goes along, while keeping his arms behind his back.  Another student hides behind the speaker, but pretends his arms belong to the speaker.  The challenge is for this student to use his hands and arms effectively, gesturing appropriately in order to enhance the meaning (and hilarity) of the story, even though he doesn’t know what his partner will say next.  [photo files available upon request; submission form only permitted one text file]

The Song:  Have students develop a song or rap on a subject near and dear to their hearts (spring break, graduation, the eighth grade beach trip, etc.), using at least ten vocabulary words, and adhering to the rhyme and rhythm schemes appropriate to the form each group has chosen.  This project works well during a poetry unit.  Give the groups enough time to rehearse after creating their song or rap; groups that throw themselves into this project tend to produce some outstanding “backup singer” choreography and beat box talent.  Because rhyme and rhythm are employed, students tend to remember these vocabulary words especially well.

The Speech:  Our eighth graders engage in a public speaking unit each winter, studying great historic speeches from Patrick Henry to Martin Luther King, Jr., as they learn techniques for writing and delivering speeches of their own.  As a result, the vocabulary review session near the end of this unit focuses on speechwriting.  Each group is invited to write a persuasive speech in which they argue a point of their choice (an end to the dress code?  an end to homework?), using at least three of the rhetorical devices learned during their public speaking lessons (and, of course, at least ten vocabulary words from their current lists).  This activity deserves rehearsal time as well, in order to allow student speakers a chance to practice appropriate vocal delivery and body language. 

 The list continues, of course.  Though I tend to re-use activities that have proven overwhelmingly successful in the past, each new class provides inspiration for new lessons.  And speaking of inspiration, I must say that I have been so impressed with the fact that almost every group in every class succeeds in these challenges.  Not only do they use the words correctly most of the time (or, if they don’t, other students in the room correct them, so everybody wins), but they also show creativity, wit, and humor that I’m really not sure I could exhibit if I were asked to perform these activities with a group of my own adult colleagues.   At some point each year, I do admit to the students that these tasks may well be impossible, based on the time constraints they’re given.  The fact that they tackle them anyway, with such gusto, makes for some of the best learning they experience all year.  Yes, there’s a place for flash cards at home, and peers quizzing peers in the library on the day before a vocabulary test.  But it’s good to see them, at their age, really playing with words in class, making everyone in the room laugh.  That’s when the learning happens.

Cathleen Ann Steg teaches seventh and eighth grade English at The Country School in Easton, Maryland.