Improvising
I can work in a team to improvise a scene and perform it.
Improvising
I can work in a team to improvise a scene and perform it.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- To improvise means to make something up on the spot and in the moment.
- Actors often work together to improvise scenes.
- A team of actors is called a cast.
- Improvising involves being creative, being quick-thinking and working as a team.
Keywords
Improvise - to make something up on the spot and in the moment
Scene - a chunk or section of drama
Cast - a team of actors
Common misconception
Pupils may think that improvising a scene means taking a long time rehearsing it before a performance - like a normal play.
A cast of actors do not usually rehearse an improvised scene. They might spend only 30-60 seconds organising themselves on the stage and telling each other a very brief idea about how they are going to act.
To help you plan your year 3 english lesson on: Improvising, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 3 english lesson on: Improvising, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 english lessons from the Reading and performing scripts unit, dive into the full secondary english curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
Licence
Starter quiz
6 Questions
the name of a play
the name of a scene and a very brief overview of what happens in it
a chunk or section of a play
a brief description of how a scene should look for the audience
an instruction to an actor for how to say a line of dialogue
Exit quiz
6 Questions
section or chunk of action
group of people who watch a performance
to make something up on the spot and in the moment
a group of actors