LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Define improv and evaluate its real-life benefits; describe ways to incorporate improv into your school or environment.

HEALTH ED STANDARDS

NHES 4: Use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks.

 

CASEL: Relationship skills

KEY VOCAB

vulnerable

collaborate

reciprocate

empathy

adaptability

Lesson Plan: The Power of Pretend

Make-believe isn’t just for kids! Find out how to make improvisation—aka improv—work for you.

Table of Contents:

1. Preparing to Read

2. Reading and Discussing

3. Building Comprehension and Vocabulary

4. Expanding SEL Opportunities

1. Preparing to Read

Before you read the article “The Power of Pretend,” ask your students the following pre-reading question:

What is improv, and how can incorporating principles of improv into my daily life be helpful?

2. Reading and Discussing

  • Have your students read the article “The Power of Pretend" independently; read the article out loud to them; or have students partner-read the article out loud.
  • After they’ve read the article, revisit the pre-reading question. Have their answers changed?
  • Next, have your students answer the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking questions, either working in small groups or independently.


Close-Reading Questions
The following questions can be shared in printable or interactive form from the Resources tab. 

  1. What is improv?
  2. According to what you read, what is one real-life benefit of making statements instead of asking questions?


Critical-Thinking Questions

  1. Have you ever tried improv before? If so, did you enjoy it? Explain. (If you have never tried it before, do you think you would like it? Why or why not?
  2. Recall a time you had to “think on your feet,” or come up with an idea or an answer quickly. How did improvisation benefit you in this situation?

3. Building Comprehension and Vocab

Check students’ comprehension of and engagement with the story with the following assessment tools:

  • Quiz

  • Vocab Builder

4. Expanding SEL Opportunities

Continue the learning journey with the following extension activity:

In MAKING IT UP, split your class up into pairs or small groups to create a short improv scene together. If you like, play some improv games from the article with the class first to get everyone warmed up, and then let the unscripted fun begin!

Print This Lesson Plan

Text-to-Speech