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readingspeakingcommunicationfluencymainsmall-grouplow prep15-25 min

Students act out a scene from a text; on "freeze," each speaks their character's inner thoughts.

Procedure

  1. Students act out a scene from a text they've read.
  2. Teacher calls "Freeze!" — all students freeze in position.
  3. Teacher taps each frozen student; they speak aloud what their character is thinking or feeling at that moment.
  4. Resume the scene.
  5. Discuss: what did the inner thoughts reveal that the text didn't say explicitly?

Tips

  • The gap between what characters SAY and what they THINK is where inference and interpretation live.
  • Works brilliantly with texts that have subtext or tension.

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