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Improvise a skit involving a familiar fictional character in an everyday situation.
Compare the imagined lives of fictional characters with real lives.

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For the whole group:

Characters and Situations handout (See attached PDF file)

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Read through and familiarize yourself with the entire activity.

Download and review the Characters and Situations handout. You may wish to replace or add to the entries in the handout; consult the school librarian or a language arts teacher to include fictional characters the students have been studying.

Label 2 bags or other containers to show that they hold characters or situations. Cut each entry from the handout into a paper strip, and place the strips into their respective bags.

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Ask students to define the verb improvise. Confirm or explain that to improvise is to create and perform spontaneously, without a script or rehearsal.
Tell students that today, they will work in pairs to improvise conversations or short skits based on fictional characters in real-life situations. They will have at most 15 seconds to plan their skits. They should choose their roles, one of which will be the fictional character, and the other will be suggested by the situation. The second character could be a school teacher or classmate, a doctor, a parent or sibling, or a friend or neighbor.
Invite students to form pairs, or if necessary or desired, a group of 3 students.
Invite a pair of volunteers to go first. Have them pick one slip at random from each bag, and then read their slips to the group. If necessary, tell students more information about the characters they selected. If students are unfamiliar with their characters, they may replace the slip and choose another one.
Give the pair at most 15 seconds to plan their conversation or skit. Then tell them to choose their roles and begin acting.
If students are stuck for ideas, consider these strategies.
- Invite a member of the audience (another student) to suggest an idea for developing the skit. The audience member may also volunteer to act in the skit with the pair.
- Include yourself in the skit, and offer the first line. Examples could be “Well, Harry Potter, would you like the tacos or the hot dog special?” or “I see the problem, Tinkerbell. You forgot to find a common denominator before you added the fractions.”
After each skit, thank and congratulate the actors, and then invite the next pair to choose paper slips and improvise a situation.
Wrap up the activity with a brief whole-group discussion. Ask students:
- Do you think any of the situations we acted out would likely be included in a character’s story? Why or why not? (Possible answer: Maybe not. We acted out situations that were common in our lives, or the lives of typical middle-school students. The characters in most stories tend not to share our daily routines.)
- Which character do you think was the hardest to improvise? Which was the easiest? How do you explain the difference?
- What other situations or characters do you think would be fun to improvise?

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Invite students to suggest additional characters and situations, and then add their suggestions to the two sets. Alternatively, students may suggest specific combinations of characters and situations.

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Improvisation: Fictional Characters in Daily Life (Grades 6-8)

Improvisation: Fictional Characters in Daily Life (Grades 6-8)

Improvisation: Fictional Characters in Daily Life (Grades 6-8)

Overview