Explore, analyse and imagine

1. (Starter) The importance of body language

Required Resources

• Student Worksheet 1
• Slides 1-7

Delivery

• Display Slides 1-5 which contain images of four individuals. Each image has a short phrase attached.
• Divide the class into groups of 4 and ask each group to consider how the individual in the photo would say that phrase. Pupils must consider age/gender of the individual, their perceived emotional state and their perceived background (region/accent, level of education, class, etc).
• Several pupils from each group should act out an interpretation of how the individual would deliver the phrase. As a class consider any similarities/differences between the interpretations.
• Display Slide 6 and discuss the importance of non-verbal communication as a class. To demonstrate this point ask students to complete the table on Student Worksheet 1 which shows different facial expressions. Once they have completed the table ask students to compare answers with their neighbour. Students should all have found roughly the same answer, demonstrating the universality of non-verbal communication.
• Display Slide 7 which provides students with a number of types of non-verbal communication to consider when portraying a character.