Theater Games to Build Working Memory in Students
By remembering the information necessary to play certain games, students develop skills that lead to academic success.
This article was originally published on Edutopia
“Turn in your homework, get out your book, and come to the rug.” Seems simple enough. However, anytime students need to follow multistep directions and keep information in mind long enough to accomplish a task, we are actually asking them to use a complex form of cognitive processing called working memory, which helps store information in the short term. For example, when students read a passage, they use working memory to retain information, perhaps just long enough to successfully answer questions about it. Or, in math, students might use it to keep track of which step they are on in order to solve a problem correctly.
Working memory is like the brain’s scratchpad. It’s a core executive function skill that neuroscientist Adele Diamond determined is critical for cognitive, social, and psychological development; success in school and in life; and mental and physical health. Research supports the connection between strong working memory and academic success, especially as it relates to math and reading comprehension.
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Learn More Theater Games for Working Memory
1. Movement Story
For the game Movement Story, start by making up a simple story with your students. Anytime a new character or element is introduced, ask them to act it out with a gesture. You can follow a similar pattern and play Sound Story with noises or catchphrases.
“As a theater teacher, I already believed that imagination could unlock incredible potential in our young people.”
2. Four Corner Emotion
In Four Corner Emotion, students repeat a phrase inspired by different “feeling” words. The phrase could be simple, like “How are you?” or a more complicated line of dialogue from a book.
“Making believe can have a most profound impact on young minds: When children “self-distance” or pretend to be someone else, these skills actually improve“
3. Landmarks
To play Landmarks, first brainstorm a list of specific locations with your class. These could be places in a book, geography terms, or a relevant tie-in with your curriculum. With each of these locales, the students come up with a pose they would make that uniquely symbolizes the place. For variation, turn on music in the background and play it like a freeze dance game
Learn More About Theater Games in the Classroom with Jocelyn
Read the Full Article about Building Young Students’ Working Memory Through Theater Games on Edutopia
