Using Voice to Show Feelings in One Sentence
About this lesson
Children say the same simple sentence in different feelings, changing how loud, fast and high their voice is so a partner can guess the emotion. They practise using vocal expression the way actors do. You only need six feeling words written on the board, and it takes about 12 minutes.
- Grade
- 3
- Subject
- Drama
- Time
- 12 min
- Prep
- 3 min
Objective
Students will change the volume, speed and pitch of their voice to show a feeling, and name the voice clues they hear in others.
Prep
3 min: write the sentence 'I found a box on my desk.' and six feeling words (happy, scared, angry, sad, surprised, bored) on the board
Materials
- whiteboard
- marker
Steps
- Point to the sentence and feeling words and say, 'Actors show feelings with their voice by changing volume (loud or soft), speed (fast or slow) and pitch (high or low).'
- Say the sentence twice in two different feelings, then ask the class to guess each feeling and name what changed in your voice.
- Call out a feeling and have the whole class say the sentence together in that voice, then freeze silently; repeat with three or four feelings.
- In pairs, Partner A secretly picks a feeling and says the sentence, then Partner B guesses it and names one voice clue; switch roles and keep going for about 4 minutes.
- Invite two or three volunteers to perform for the class, who guess the feeling and say which voice clue gave it away.
Quick Check
Ask a few students to say the sentence as 'scared' and explain one thing they changed in their voice, such as speaking softer, faster or higher.
Differentiation
Make it easier: Use only three very different feelings (happy, sad, angry) and let students add a facial expression to help.
Make it harder: Add trickier feelings like nervous, proud or jealous, and have guessers name all three voice clues: volume, speed and pitch.
Good For
- Brain break
- Before lunch
- End of day
- Supply teacher
