Animated Story

Community Builders

Materials

A short book with lots of action. See the following examples:

Instructions

Step 1

Identify an area to be a stage.
Say, “I’m going to read a story out loud. Listen to what is happening in the story. Whatever I read aloud, you can act out as a group. For example, if I read, ‘Sheep leap to push the jeep!’ you should pretend to push an invisible jeep. We are going to pantomime, which means acting without words. We’ll only use gestures and expressions.
Ask youth if they have any questions.

Step 2

Read the story aloud. Pause after each page or action to allow youth to act out what you’re reading.
Encourage youth to act out different characters they hear, using gestures and expressions.
Re-read the sections with action and prompt youth to act out what is happening in the story.
Optional Extension: Depending on time, ask if another youth would like to be the narrator of the same story or another story while you act along with youth.