Introducing a Social TheatreTM, this book provides guidance on how to deliver fun and transformative activities to develop social skills in teenagers and children. Drawing on ideas from Social Thinking®, CBT, mindfulness and assertiveness training this book develops games, skits and short plays which can be adapted to suit children and teenagers including those who are gifted, typical, and those with mild to moderate cognitive abilities. These activities will help participants become more assertive and flexible as well as improving confidence, focus and self-esteem. Social TheatreTM can be used in small groups, in class or throughout the school, as well as in group therapy sessions. It provides a new and inclusive way to teach social skills and collaborative learning and is especially useful for those with anxiety, ADHD and ASD.
Children with strong social-emotional skills are better able to cope with everyday challenges and benefit academically, professionally, and socially. But the benefits that can be derived from these skills can only be seen if children are given the opportunity to develop them. This accessible guide helps teach children to participate in social-emotional learning. Offering fun group activities including social skill-based improv games, participant written plays, and basic plays that can be transformed using the creative minds of children themselves. To increase participant comfort levels with these activities, the book allows for a graduated exposure of techniques, starting with improv trust building and joint focus games, and progressing to improvisation and writing sketches. Featuring additional downloadable content, including worksheets and lesson plans for classroom use, this is the perfect companion for educators and therapists.
Most people know The Second City as an innovative school for improvisation that has turned out leading talents such as Alan Arkin, Bill Murray, Stephen Colbert, and Tina Fey. This groundbreaking company has also trained thousands of educators and students through its Improvisation for Creative Pedagogy program, which uses improv exercises to teach a wide variety of content areas, and boost skills that are crucial for student learning: listening, teamwork, communication, idea-generation, vocabulary, and more.
This guide provides educators, professionals, and parents with an easy-to-follow and comprehensive approach to utilizing improvised theatre as a tool to teach social and communication skills to individuals on the autism spectrum. Opening with the philosophy of the curriculum and the considerations of mental health, play, and environmental factors on individuals with autism, the book then breaks down specific activities, suggests course sequencing, and explains how each activity works and applies to desired outcomes. Packed with dozens of activities and explanations, the book includes all the information necessary to design a full curriculum or create an at-home learning program for parents. By combining the fun and engaging atmosphere of improvisational theatre with the systematic teaching of social skills, professionals and parents can cultivate learning in a way that keeps students engaged while providing long-lasting improvements in social interaction, self-confidence, and communication.
This engaging and complete resource has everything you need to bring drama and theatre techniques into the ESL, EFL, or World Language Classroom. Are your students reluctant to speak out in class? Do they lack confidence in their language skills? The dynamic drama games in this book are the perfect catalyst to transform your students into engaged learners, and help them build confidence and language skills. The interactive theatre games and techniques are specifically designed for use in Second, Foreign, and World Language classrooms to empower students through meaningful, agentive language learning. With over 80 activities and games, and hundreds of extensions that can be catered to every level, this book provides teachers with clear, step-by-step instructions to teaching dramatic activities with L2 learners of all levels and backgrounds. The games and strategies in this book will enliven classrooms with communication that is creative, memorable, inspiring, and fun. Grounded in cutting-edge research, this book explains why teaching language through drama is effective and inspiring for teachers and students alike, directing readers to a wide array of resources and approaches to teaching language through theatre. You’ll also find guidance on leading drama games with language learners in a variety of online platforms, lesson planning models, and an example lesson plan for easy implementation in physical or virtual classroom spaces.
Theatre presents readers with an introduction to the role theatre plays in human health and wellbeing. It presents an overview of scientific evidence, case studies on how theatre can be employed in different settings, practical advice for bringing the benefits of theatre into health and social, public health campaigns, and the family home.
This innovative approach to managing Forest School, with a focus on children with additional or complex needs, helps children to explore, increase their confidence, take measured risks, improve their self-esteem and become more resilient. Offering a behavioural toolbox and techniques you can put in place immediately within your own practice, this hands-on guide supports positive behaviour with a full range of learners. The book provides you with the tips, suggestions and philosophy to utilise outdoor skills and activities that children can benefit from, regardless of many additional needs they may have.
This book represents a summation of a decade’s worth of therapy, research, workshops, and presentations around the unique aspects of social-emotional development in the neurodivergent community. The book grounds its approach in neuroscience and then applies those data to how our brains impact our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. As a child psychologist who specializes in working with this population, I pride myself on identifying the challenging aspects of having a different brain and empowering kids to manage those differences. As such, this book will contain sections that directly address the parts of being gifted that have traditionally been emphasized less: making friends, maintaining relationships, regulating emotions, communicating your feelings and needs appropriately, and being able to identify contextual factors to understand why people are acting the way they are. Naming the issues is one thing, but each section will contain case examples, clinical advice, and tangible skills that will help students grow in the areas of social-emotional learning (SEL). These skills are deliverable, generalizable, and appropriate for school, home, and the community. Most importantly, they work. I often say that I want my clients to have a little “pocket Dr. Matt” to help them navigate the world; this book is my attempt at creating that kind of external support.
A vivid exploration of working with autistic children using empowering techniques from a range of creative therapies. Each chapter in this heartening book is the story of a child with autism and how therapy was pivotal in confronting his or her individual dilemma. Covering many of the behaviours characteristic to autism, such as uncontrolled anger and obsessive tendencies, the therapies used range from drawing and dancing to meditation and martial arts, depending on the needs and interests of each child. The key message is that investing in the relationship between the therapist and the child - so that they grow, play and develop together - is transformative.
Hi, I'm Greg Sullivan. As parents, my wife and I are always tracking how much "screen time" our daughter spends each week. While limiting it is fine, experience dealing with my pride and joy tells me that yours is also likely to ask what they are expected to do with the remaining time. Helping to answer that question in part (I hope), I have drawn from my over twenty years' experience as an improv teacher and written this book. These "wacky" improv games will engage your child and build their creative muscles in new ways - all without relying on technology. Some of the games are even suitable for toddlers just learning their numbers and ABCs, but they are largely written for school age children. You can play some of the improvisations with as few as two people. Many of the improvisations are great for 8-12 players. In this regard, this book can also serve as a great resource for teachers and even summer camp counselors. Older children with acting aspirations will especially enjoy the last four improvisations. SPOILER ALERT: though the title says the book has 24 improvisations, I have actually included 30 in order to include these more challenging improvs, but don't fret, they are all equally wacky. The games are simple. For example, in SLAP-CLAP-SNAP-SPEAK, the players stand in a circle. Everyone slaps their thighs, then claps their hands, then snaps their fingers before the one whose turn it is speaks. What do they say? Before starting, they are given a topic; "animals" for example. So when it's someones turn to speak, they say the name of an animal. Then the cycle starts again. There are a few rules which can be added to make things more challenging, but that is the gist of this game. There is a significant amount of appendix material included in this book. Appendix A is my GS Improv Quick Start Guide, which is a summary of the improvisation techniques I teach. Appendix B is the full text of my GS Improv Technique Book. Both appendixes have been adjusted for young readers. They are geared to give older kids whose interest in theater is growing a strong basis for performing improv, but they are not required reading to do the first 26 improvisations in this book. Besides being fun games to play, my experience has taught me that improvisation is a great means of gaining confidence by participating in group activities and doing public speaking. I have taught improvisation for over twenty years in NYC at my GS IMPROV classes and I am the author of 11 other eBook titles on the topic. (For example, my The Improv Show Book is great for those ages high-school and beyond who have an interest in learning more about improv and putting on a show.) I have been teaching improv since 1997 at my GS IMPROV classes in NYC, was a substitute at NYC's highly respected HB Studio (13 years), founded the improv troupe KLAATU and have been featured in three BACK STAGE cover stories. I have been a guest instructor at The Little Red Schoolhouse and The Browning School. I am also the Book Review Editor and Podcast Host of Flight Journal magazine's upcoming "Flying Off the Shelves." Most recently, I founded an improv troupe, The Bookworms, which is based in our hometown library. In addition to performing scores of improv shows, I have also done the male leads in traditional theater shows like Arsenic & Old Lace, The Mousetrap, Rehearsal for Murder, Romantic Comedy and Strange Bedfellows. I studied acting with many wonderful teachers, including Michael Beckett, Ginny Borton, Sam Groom, Anne Jackson, Rasa Allan Kazlas, Salem Ludwig, John Monteith and Austin Pendleton.
