Action Illustrators
(taken entirely from an old magazine clipping)
Submitted by: jranieri@northnet.org
"Verbs of action can suggest different kinds of 'being' or 'doing' imagery." Here students choose an action verb, think of several images that illustrate the action, and then act out or draw a picture of one of those actions. (From Dance in Elementary Education, Harper & Row.)
Students may work alone or in groups. Set aside a specific time for students who have decided to act out their images. Ask other students to try to guess the actions being demonstrated. If some children have difficulty thinking of an action, you can suggest some of the following to help them on their way:
close (like a book, curtains, a drawbridge( collapse (like a pile of blocks, a sand castle, a balloon) cover (like a plastic bag, a tent, fallen leaves) expand (like an accordion, elastic, yeast dough) float (like feathers, a parachute, a kite) gather (like a rake, a steam shovel, a fishing net) glide (like a surfboard, a sailboat, a Frisbee) melt (like a candle, a snowman, ice cream) open (like a door, a can, blinds) revolve (like a sprinkler, an electric beater, a reel) stretch (like taffy, animals, elastic rope) surround (like an octopus, a moat, a fortress) swing (like a rope swing, young trees in a storm, an elephant's trunk) turn (like a propeller, a washing machine agitator, a weather vane)