There’s Drama at Night

Use this activity to help students explore and theatricalize their nightly routines!

Materials Needed: Chart paper, markers

1. Ask your students to think about what they do every night before they go to sleep. Ask them questions like: What time do you go to sleep? What is the first and last thing you do before you lay down to sleep? As students respond, scribe their answers on the board or large chart paper.
2. As a group, have students physicalize what it looks and feels like to get ready to sleep by asking questions like: How do you brush your teeth at night? What does it feel like to lay down at night? Do you yawn and stretch first? Explore these out of sequence at first and then put them into sequential order in preparation for the next few steps.
3. Now that you’ve physicalized students’ nighttime routines with added emotions, it’s time to theatricalize them by creating a set! Using objects and furniture found in your classroom, create an apartment or house complete with a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room and dining room.
4. Using the set you’ve created, have different volunteers show the class their nightly routine without using words.
5. Finally, have a group discussion about the similarities and differences between everyone’s nighttime routines. Bonus: To deepen this activity, extend the exploration to students’ full daily routines!

Reflection Questions:

• What was your favorite part of this activity?
• How did it feel to act out your nightly routine in your classroom?
• What did you learn about your classmates’ nighttime routines?