Arts in Education Strategies

Warm Ups:

THE TENNIS BALL GAME

With a partner, students engage in verbal persuasion. One partner has an imaginary tennis ball and the other partner tries to talk him out of it. It is important to emphasize the objective of each partner before starting; the one tries to get the ball, the other gives it to him only if he is satisfied with the reason. After a minute or two, have partners switch roles and play the game again. After completion, ask students to discuss the various strategies they used, whether or not they achieved their objective.

Going Further in Depth:
Curriculum Ice Breaker. Use a curriculum topic which can be argued from different points of view. Examples:
History—whether colonists should or should not revolt against England. One partner plays England (or King George) and the other plays America (or Ben Franklin) trying to talk England into giving America independence or repealing the tax laws.
Geography—whether someone else's need can be more urgent than your own. One partner plays a desert community member where there is a drought and water is severely rationed ("one 8-ounce glass of water every 24 hours") and the other plays someone lost in the desert for 48 hours who is dying of thirst, trying to talk their partner out of their daily ration of water.
Language Arts—whether humans having fire introduced into their lives was a good or bad thing. One partner plays Prometheus (or the Native American trickster Coyote) pleading for fire to save the human race and the other plays Zeus (or the fire gods) deciding whether or not it's a good idea to give humans fire.

NOTE: This game works with most ages, and is especially good as an "ice-breaker" for older students. It demonstrates to students of any age that "anyone can act." Communicating verbally and with gestures, pursuing a specific objective, and using emotional appeals, together constitute the essence of acting.

This strategy was taken from the book "Teaching Curriculum Through the Arts," available at http://www.creativeeducationalsystems.com/web_files/TeachingCurriculum.html

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