Drama Series: Gibberish

This drama strategy invokes the use of gibberish (nonsense speech with no recognizable words) to communicate a thought or idea. This activity relies heavily on non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, movements, and gestures to communicate so it may be more appropriate for older students who have a stronger grasp of these concepts. One of the great things about this activity is that it provides insight into the lives of students with language barriers. However, this strategy may be difficult to assess; I suggest posing a question to the students so that you can control the dialogue and actions you will hear/see. For differentiation you could pose more challenging questions/ideas to higher achieving students. A cross curricular link could explore the perspectives of immigrants moving to Canada with Grade 4 Social Studies who are suddenly thrust into an unfamiliar culture and language. Matt Buchanan has provided a comprehensive list, ranging in difficulty that the students could attempt to describe or model using gibberish. That being said, be wary of the level of excitement the students can display within this activity; classroom management becomes key when using engaging strategies such as this. Also be prepared with additional clues/movements if the students are having difficulties communicating their ideas. Overall, this is another fantastic Drama tool that would be beneficial for a variety of grades and subjects.