Introduction

The game is called "The Airplane Game". It is inspired by Greenfader's & Brouillette's warm-up activity. The students form a circle and the instructor/teacher stands in the middle of the circle. There are different gestures (listed below) needed for the game, that have to be explained to the students before starting. The teacher will point at one student naming one of the four gestures. Then the student and, if needed, his two neighbors will have to form the gesture. There will be a practice round and then the game starts. Students being to slow in forming the gesture have to sit down and are out of the game. The game ends when there are only two students left. 

Gestures: 

1 Elephant: The student in the middle forms the trunk with his arms and the two students standing next to him/her form the ears of the elephant. 

2 Airplane: The student standing in the middle forms the body of the airplane and the two students standing next to him/her form the wings. 

3 Banana: The student has to raise their arms and form a banana with his or her body. 

4 Bibedi-bibedi-bop: The teacher says "Bibedi-bibedi" and the student pointed at has to say "bop" before the teacher comes to the end of the word. 

Target group and Time

Target group: The game can be played with nearly every target group, because other more difficult gestures can be added. 

Time: Depending on the size of the group the game takes 5-10 minutes in maximum. The game can be easily repeated to expand the time. 

Learning objectives

Vocabulary: The students need to understand what the gestures mean to quickly react to the teachers instructions. 

Coordination: The students have to follow the given instruction very quickly and coordinate their body to form the right gesture. 

Instructions to set up the activity

Explaining and practicing: The key to success of the game is a clear explanation and a short practice. The students should be familiar with the gestures before starting the game. 

Letting it run

• It is important to set up clear rules about how long the students are allowed to think about the implementation of the gesture. In my opinion this depends on the age and learning level of the students. 
• The teacher has to point at the students very clearly to avoid misunderstandings. Another very important point is that the teacher has to articulate the names of the gestures clearly, so the students can quickly process the information. If the teacher speaks to quiet or pronounces words unclear, it can lead to major misunderstandings and it will take more time for the students to carry out the gesture.   
• If the students are familiar with the game they could think about some new gestures to include into the game. Another possibility is to let one student stand in the middle of the circle and take the teachers role. In this case the teacher has to keep an eye on the group to make sure that everything runs its course. 

Sources: Greenfader, Christa and Liane Brouillette. "Grade 2 Theatre, Lesson 1". Centre for Learning in the Arts and Sciences. Web. 27 June 2019. <https://sites.uci.edu/class/second-grade/theater-second-grade/grade-2-theater-lesson-1/>.