INSET SESSIONS
Intext Performance also presents INSET workshops and teacher's twilight sessions.
The INSET is available as a half day workshop. It focuses on using storytelling, drama games and creative play in the classroom as a stimulus for the wider curriculum. Some staff have found them very useful for ideas for the creative curriculum, and there are obvious links to PSHE issues through drama and roleplay. The ideas are of course closely linked to SEAL initiatives as well.
The twilight sessions run for one hour or 90 minutes, depending on your schedule and requirements. It covers similar ideas to the INSET, but in a slightly truncated form.
The following stories and workshop ideas might prove useful. Many are based on stories I tell in the classroom, and some were featured in a recent teachers' conference in Gateshead.
The first two stories both contain many repeated phrases which children enjoy joining in with. (It also makes them easier for you to learn!) When I perform them, I use a variety of actions and gestures that the children can copy.
Remember the important thing is to tell these stories in your own way. It takes a bit of time, but with practice you will start to find your own storytelling voice. Do use the ‘script’ to give you confidence at first. After all, the children probably won’t be expecting you to have a story learnt off by heart to begin with! (Doing it without the paper in your hand does make it easier to act out gestures though.)
THE LITTLE TAILOR
Once upon a time there was a little tailor. He was the best little tailor in the whole wide world.
He was so good that the King and Queen called him to the palace. They said “we want you to become our royal tailor and make all our royal clothes. We will pay you lots of money.”
The tailor went back to his workshop and started to make the new clothes for the King and Queen. He was so busy making new clothes for them he didn’t have any time left to make any clothes for himself. Soon his clothes were all old and ragged and threadbare, which meant they had holes in them. Even though he was the best tailor in the whole wide world soon he was the scruffiest, messiest person you have ever seen in your life. Every time he went out into the street all the people turned their heads, and they were very rude and they all laughed at him.
The king and queen found out. They called him back to the palace. They said you’re a mess! Smarten yourself up or we’ll get someone else to make our clothes and we’ll pay them all the money.
The tailor went back to his workshop.
He spread a length of beautiful cloth on his workbench.
(Repeated sequence)
He stayed up for the whole of one night, snipping with his scissors and sewing with his needle.
By the morning he had made a new jacket. Not just any jacket, this was the best, the finest jacket he had made in his whole life.
He put the jacket on and he went to look in the mirror.
Ooh! Didn’t he look smart!
He went out into the street and all the people turned their heads.
They all said “that’s a wonderful jacket, I wish I had one like that.”
The tailor felt happy. So happy he wore that new jacket for a long time.
He wore it until it wasn’t new any more. It had started to get old, and ragged, and threadbare.
He went back to his workshop and he was just about to throw it in the bin when he thought, “Hang on, I can make something out of that.”
So he spread the jacket out on his workbench.
Etc. Repeating the sequence above highlighted in red substituting jacket for waistcoat, then repeat again, this time substituting with:
A cloth cap,
Then with
A bowtie,
And finally with:
A cloth covered button.
And finish with:
He was just about to throw the cloth covered button onto the bin when he thought, “Hang on, I can make something out of that.”
So he took the threads of cotton, all that was left of the cloth covered button, and he stayed up for the whole of one night, and by the morning he had made...
A STORY!
When the children look bemused (most of them will!) explain by saying that that is what we have all just made together... a story, made up of everything that
happened to him.
The following tale is similar, and is easily repeated/retold by the children. This one also works well as an assembly story, dealing as it does with
wanting more, not appreciating our own skills, feeling good about ourselves etc.
THE LITTLE COBBLESTONE MAKER
Once there was a little cobblestone maker. He was the best in the whole wide world.
He wasn’t happy. He wanted to be more important than that.
He thought, ‘If I wish to be the most important, most powerful thing it is possible to be, I must wish to be the King himself. There is nothing more
powerful than that.’
As he said these words, there was a flash of light. When the smoke cleared, the people bowed down to him. There was a crown on his head.
He thought, ‘My wish has been granted. My ambition has been fulfilled. I am the King himself. There is nothing more powerful or important
than that!’
And he was happy. For about half an hour.
Then the sun came out and everyone ignored him. They took off their coats and smiled up at the sky.
He thought, ‘Now the sun is more important than I am. If I wish to be the most important, most powerful thing it is possible to be, I must wish
to be the sun itself. There is nothing more powerful than that.’
As he said these words, there was a flash of light. When the smoke cleared, he was shining down from the sky.
He thought, ‘My wish has been granted. My ambition has been fulfilled. I am the sun itself. There is nothing more powerful or important than that!’
And he was happy. For about half an hour.
Then a cloud floated by and everyone ignored him. They all ran for shelter.
He thought, ‘Now the cloud is more important than I am. If I wish to be the most important, most powerful thing it is possible to be, I must wish
to be a grey raincloud filled with rain. There is nothing more powerful than that.’
As he said these words, there was a flash of light. When the smoke cleared, he was a grey rain cloud and he started to pour down the rain
onto the earth below.
He thought, ‘My wish has been granted. My ambition has been fulfilled. I am a great big rain cloud. There is nothing more powerful or
important than that!’
And he was happy. For about half an hour.
Then he saw that the rain had made the river burst its banks and it was flowing down the valley, taking everything with it.
He thought, ‘Now a swollen river is more important than I am. If I wish to be the most important, most powerful thing it is possible to be,
I must wish to be a swollen river. There is nothing more powerful than that.’
As he said these words, there was a flash of light. When the smoke cleared, he was rolling down the valley, the water sloshing and
splashing, carrying everything with it.
He thought, ‘My wish has been granted. My ambition has been fulfilled. I am a great big swollen river. There is nothing more powerful
or important than that!’
And he was happy. For about half an hour.
Then the river reached a granite mountain and it had to flow around it, losing all its power.
He thought, ‘Now a granite mountain is more important than I am. If I wish to be the most important, most powerful thing it is possible to be,
I must wish to be a granite mountain. There is nothing more powerful than that.’
As he said these words, there was a flash of light. When the smoke cleared, he was a granite mountain, strong and tall at the bottom of the valley.
He thought, ‘My wish has been granted. My ambition has been fulfilled. I am a granite mountain. There is nothing more powerful or important
than that!’
And he was happy. For about....a year and a day.
Then one morning he woke up with a sharp pain in his back. He turned around and there, half way up the mountain, cutting out bits of stone
with a pickaxe was a little cobblestone maker...
I’ll leave it up to you how you want to follow that one up!
THE GIRL AND THE BOAT. (The story I performed by folding and tearing the piece of paper.)
Once there was a little girl who lived in a safe house near the sea. (First fold down the middle of the paper to make the roof.)
She loved to read stories. (The folded paper becomes a book.)
She loves stories about the sea, ships and sailing. (fold paper into a paper hat)
She wore a sailor’s hat when she read them. (put hat on head)
Her mother said: ‘it’s time to go to sleep. Put out the light.’
But the girl loved the stories so much she told her mother that she wanted a boat of her own.
Her mother said it was too dangerous and she would miss her too much.
But when she was 18 (and knew absolutely everything about the world) the girl took her mother to the seashore. She showed her a real boat that she
had made. (use the paper as a boat.)
Her mother could tell she was serious so she let her sail away.
There was a storm. The waves grew higher. (actions with the paper boat.)
A bolt of lightning came down and tore off the mast (tear the top off)
The boat sailed on but a wave broke off the front of the boat. (second tear)
The boat sank and the rocks underwater tore off the back of the boat. (third tear.)
The mother stood at the water’s edge with tears in her eyes.
Then she saw a little speck in the distance. It grew larger and larger. She saw it was her daughter.
She waded out to her crying: ‘How worried I was. I thought I had lost you!’
The girl said: ‘Don’t worry Mother, you don’t think I would have gone to sea without my lifejacket do you?’
(Unfold to make the lifejacket shape.)
Zou Chou and the Three Beasts
There was once, in a city far away, a young man called Zou Chou. He was a mean man. As he walked through the streets he would push people
out of the way, or say cruel things that made people feel bad inside. Everyone else in the city would run to get out of his way, or hide.
One day Zou Chou was walking past the Magistrate’s palace. The Magistrate was a bit like a judge, or a mayor. He made the laws and made
sure everyone obeyed them.
There was a notice on the gates to the palace. It said:
Wanted, Brave Hero to defeat the Three Beasts.
Zou Chou always thought of himself as a bit of a hero. He pushed open the gates and marched up to the palace. He knocked on the door and
they were opened by the two soldiers who stood there very still, very silent, very solemn and straight. Zou Chou pushed past and went straight
to the magistrate’s office.
There sat the Magistrate, with his fingers together and his chin resting on his hands.
“Well, Zou Chou, what can I do for you?” he asked.
“I saw your notice,” replied Zou Chou. “You need a hero, I’m your man.”
The magistrate looked at him and said, “There are three beasts who are spoiling things in our city and frightening the people. Do you think you can
get rid of them?”
“Yes, and I’ll tell you something else Magistrate, it will be easy.”
The Magistrate took a picture from his desk and showed it to Zou Chou. It was a picture of a huge, three headed, fire breathing dragon.
“This dragon flies over the rooftops,” said the Magistrate. “It breathes fire down on all the rooftops. The dragon lives in the foothills of the
far mountains. Do you think you can defeat it?”
“Yes, and I’ll tell you something else Magistrate, it will be easy.”
Zou Chou set off and he soon reached the foothills of the far mountains.
He went in and it got darker and darker and darker and.....
Suddenly, up ahead he saw three little orange lights. They grew brighter and dimmer, brighter and dimmer, brighter and ...
He got closer and saw that the lights were the breath of the sleeping dragon. One fire coming from each of the three mouths.
Suddenly he didn’t feel so brave. Then he saw another light, a silvery glow coming from another tunnel. He followed it and saw the moonlight
shining through a hole in the roof. There was a lake of clear water fed by a river rolling over the rocks.
Next to the lake there were three buckets. Zou Chou filled them and carried them back towards the sleeping dragon. One, Two, Three!
He threw the buckets over the heads and the dragon woke up coughing black smoke and ashes from its three mouths.
The dragon spread his wide wings and flew out of the cave. It disappeared over the mountain tops and was never seen again.
Next morning Zou Chou made his way to the magistrate’s palace, pushing people out of the way, and making them feel bad. He pushed open
the gates and marched up to the palace. He knocked on the door and they were opened by the two soldiers who stood there very still, very
silent, very solemn and straight.
Zou Chou pushed past and went straight to the magistrate’s office. There sat the Magistrate, with his fingers together and his chin resting
on his hands.
“Well Zou Chou, did you get rid of the fire-breathing, three-headed dragon?”
“Yes, and I’ll tell you something else Magistrate, it was easy.” Said Zou Chou. “Where’s the second beast you want me to get rid of?”
The Magistrate took a picture from his desk and showed it to Zou Chou. It was a picture of a long lizard.
“This lizard has a forked tongue and 200 legs,” said the Magistrate. “It slithers over the city walls and drinks from our water barrels, but its
tongue is so poisonous that as soon as it touches the water, it is poisoned forever and no one can drink it, or touch it. Can you get rid of
this second beast Zou Chou?”
“Yes, and I’ll tell you something else Magistrate, it will be easy.”
That day was a market day. Zou Chou went to the stall selling salt. He bought the largest, heaviest bag of salt in the whole market.
He took it to the longest water trough and emptied the salt into the water. It tasted of sea water, or the way your mouth feels after
200 bags of salty crisps.
Zou Chou sat down behind the water trough to wait.
The sun went down and it started to get dark.
Zou Chou heard a sound. It was a hissing, slithering sound. The long lizard came slipping over the city walls on its many legs. It began to drink
the water but as soon as its tongue touched it, the lizard began to spit it out.
“Who hasss done thisss?” hissed the lizard.
Zou Chou jumped up from behind the trough. He bowed down very low in front of the beast.
“Worthy creature, great and noble lizard,” he said. “I am so sorry, but all our water, every drop in the city has been spoiled. Now there is not a
single drop left that is worthy of such a noble creature as you.”
“All?” asked the lizard. “Then where shall I sssup?”
“I know where there is a lake of clear water fed by a river rolling over the rocks. Go to the far mountains and follow the silvery light and you will
find it.”
“Iss there on one elssse there?”
“No lizard,” said Zou Chou. “I know there is no other creature there.”
“Then I sssshall.”
And the lizard slithered away and was never seen ever again.
Next morning Zou Chou made his way to the magistrate’s palace, pushing people out of the way, and making them feel bad. He pushed open the
gates and marched up to the palace. He knocked on the door and they were opened by the two soldiers who stood there very still, very silent,
very solemn and straight.
Zou Chou pushed past and went straight to the magistrate’s office. There sat the Magistrate, with his fingers together and his chin resting on his hands.
“Well Zou Chou, did you get rid of the long lizard with the many legs and the forked tongue?”
“Yes, and I’ll tell you something else Magistrate, it was easy.” Said Zou Chou. “Where’s the third beast you want me to get rid of?”
The magistrate reached into his desk but this time, instead of a picture, he brought out a mirror. He showed the mirror to Zou Chou. He looked
into it and of course he saw his own face reflected back at him.
“Is this the third beast you need me to get rid of?”
“Yes Zou Chou, the third beast who has been worrying this city is the beast within your own heart. Do you think you can defeat the beast
within yourself?”
“I don’t know, Magistrate. It will be...difficult.”
But Zou Chou has been trying very hard. From that day to this he tries every day to defeat the beast inside of himself. Now, instead of pushing
people out of the way, he opens doors for them and speaks in a friendly way. Instead of running away from him, now all the people greet him
and say hello.
Zou Chou thinks this is good.
He still hasn’t completely got rid of the beast, and some days it is more difficult than others, but as long as he keeps trying, then Zou Chou
and everyone else in that city will live happily ever after.
Girl in the Cave
There was once a girl who had been invited to a party at her friend’s house. She put on her best clothes and set off through the forest.
Unfortunately it started to rain.
She ran for shelter before the mud could splash up and ruin her clothes. Up ahead she saw a cave. It looked dry and warm and comfortable.
She crawled in and as her hands felt around in front of her she felt some fur. She moved her hand and felt a paw, then a claw.
She moved her hand again and felt a tooth.
Then she heard a growl.
The girl thought that she had better get out of that cave as quickly as she could, so she scrambled out and away down the forest path.
Luckily it had stopped raining and soon she was at her friend’s house.
She knocked on the door, her friend welcomed her in and she was safe. The End.
Then ask the following questions:
What animal was it?
What colour was it?
What did the fur feel like?
What did the tooth feel like?
Feel free to write the suggestions up on the board if you wish as a record of the children’s suggestions.
Use this as an example of how we all have different pictures in our heads as we listen to a story, and how every one of us
has an important idea to share.
You might like the children to re-tell this story in their own way, this time using some of the adjectives in the list.
I find this exercise often brings out some really rich vocabulary and ideas.
The
These are just a few random ideas of games that I sometimes use in the workshops with children
in the classrooms, but also in teachers’ sessions. They give an idea of some of the ways we
can use drama in the classroom to springboard into a variety of other areas.
GETTING INTO GROUPS (5 – 6 minutes)
Splitting the class into different groups depending on hair, eye colour, or birthday month, this is
a good way to get children working and communicating in larger groups without having to
worry too much about who they are standing next to!
MIRRORS, 3 -4 minutes in pairs
Take it in turns to mirror the actions of your partner. The actions can be realistic or abstract.
Try to make your movements and expressions as close as possible to the ones your partner is making.
The idea here is that you are working as a team. Not trying to catch each other out. Slow movements
work best. Spinning fast on one leg is NOT a good idea in this game!
SCULPTOR AND STATUE 3-4 minutes in pairs
Same as with mirrors, it should be emphasised that you are working with your partner as a team, trying
to make it look as good as you can. One person moulds the other into a statue. (or gives verbal
instructions if they don’t want to touch each other) Does your statue have a name?
Work though a number of ideas for your statues: characters from a story, emotions.
STATUS GAMES. 5 – 7 minutes
This might be more appropriate for older children, and particularly KS3 where you could use it as
an exercise to think about the status of characters in books that you are studying.
Pick a number where 1 is the lowest status and 5 is the highest. Walk around as if you were someone
with that status. Add a gesture, add a word or a phrase, start to relate to others around you.
Half of the groups watch - then the other half.
TABLEAUX. (TELL A STORY IN FIVE STILL PICTURES) 10 – 15 minutes including showing.
Split up into groups of four or five.
Present the following emotions as a series of still pictures or tableaux.
Joy
Fear
Sadness
Victory
Now tell a short story using five still images. Think of them as pictures in a comic strip,
or photos from a newspaper article. Photos can be taken of the tableaux, the children
then have to write captions for each image.
COUNTING GAME
Try to count to 10 one person at a time. There is no order, feel free to add the next number if
you want to, but if two or more people speak at the same time the group has to go back to 1.
The Cost for a daytime INSET session is £250. Two sessions in one day (possibly inviting colleagues from nearby schools for separate am and pm sessions) costs £350.
If I am visiting your school in the day to perform for the children, a twilight session can be booked as an add-on for an extra £150.
Further details on these sessions are available from the company.
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