Die Hilfsquelle Home

...die Grenze verläuft mitten durch meine Zunge...

Turkish-German Poems


Introduction

Poems

Poet Biographies

Activities

Lesson Plans

Links


Lesson Plan: Improvisational Theater-"Doppelmann" (50 minutes)


(Ideas for this lesson plan came from Janet Hegman Shier's summer workshop at Valparaiso University on "Theater im Deutschunterricht.")

1) Do physical warm-ups (2-3 minutes)
· Have the students stand up and get into a circle, if possible. While you're doing the exercises, teach or review vocabulary such as: "sich entspannen, ausschütteln, der Streß."

2) Do a Rudolf Steiner speaking exercise (2-3 minutes)
· Have the students continue to stand. Read the Steiner Übung aloud for the students, asking them to repeat after each line. Explain that it doesn't really mean anything. Emphasize volume and clarity of diction.
· Read it chorally.
· Read it line by line-each student says a line to his/her neighbor around the circle.

3) Do interactional exercises (5-10 minutes)
· Have the students continue to stand. The instructor rings a bell and calls out a topic. Students find a partner and briefly share/discuss; when they are done, they move on to find another partner and repeat this until they hear the bell ring again.
· Ideas: etwas, was du gern isst; etwas, was du nicht gern isst; deine Lieblingsfarbe; dein Lieblingssänger; wo du wohnst; woher du kommst; wann du gestern abend ins Bett gegangen bist; was dein Hund heißt oder heißen würde, wenn du einen hättest

4) Work with the poem (5-10 minutes)
· Have the students sit down. Pre-teach the new vocabulary with a glossary, TPR, a matching worksheet, or by drawing pictures on the board: sich in Bewegung setzen, mitzerren, ganz, ständig, die Grenze, rütteln, der Häftling, die Wunde.
· Read the poem aloud to the students, once or twice.

5) Improvisational Theater (25-35 minutes)
· Break students up into four groups. Have each group prepare and present a dramatic interpretation of one stanza of the poem.
· Suggested guidelines for the group work:
- Read through your strophe again
- Choose a word/words to emphasize
- Try out different ideas for emphasizing words
- Choose which emphasis you like the most
- Add gestures, different combinations of people speaking, and different physical arrangements.
- KEY POINT: Whenever anyone in the group has an idea, try it out, right away.
- Practice/try out different things until the practice time is up.
· Have the groups perform, taking the strophes in order.