Acting Activity Award

To earn this award ❑ Animal Action

complete appropriate activities for each requirement: Supplies to share:
❑ 1. Acting Games ___________________________ • copies of animal actions
❑ 2. Acting Practice __________________________ • container
❑ 3. Acting Out ______________________________ Copy and cut apart the animal actions. Add others you think
of. Let club members take turns choosing a card with eyes
1. ACTING GAMES (choose 2 or 3) closed. Club members pretend to be the animal(s) they draw.
They should show how they would move and what noises they
❑ Simon Says would make.
Play Simon Says but IT asks players to act like something
or someone else (“Simon says, ‘Act like a robot,’” etc.). Ideas:
• robot cat being chased by dog
• trees blowing in wind
• kangaroo
• fish swimming dog chasing squirrel
• fish swimming
• cow
• Pioneer Clubs leader
• astronaut floating in space prairie dog too big for friend’s hole
❑ Noisy Circle
Club members sit in circle. One person makes a noise. bear with hurt paw
Next player copies noise and makes new noise. Third person
copies new noise and makes another. Keep going around
circle. If that’s easy, have each player try to repeat all noises
in order as new noises are added. hungry dog asking for food

thirsty elephant smelling water

❑ Owner and Pet

Have each club member find cat falls off shelf, gets embarrassed
partner. Partners think of pet. It may
be normal pet like dog or silly pet like
hippo. One person pretends to be lion stalking dinner
owner. Partner pretends to be pet.
They act out these situations as you
give directions: Ideas may be copied for use with Pioneer Clubs® materials.
• feeding pet
• teaching pet a trick
• giving pet exercise ❑ Upstage, Downstage Game
• another activity they think of Explain that learning stage direction is important part of
Then partners switch roles. staging a play. Stage direction is usually written in script. This
They may repeat same pet or game is best played on stage or in large area.
choose another. Choose “director.” Let director look at this art. Director calls
out a stage direction. Players must quickly move to that area
8 Activity Guide
 Acting Activity Award
of stage. Then director calls out a new direction:
“Cross to ________.” Players cross to that
area of stage. After a few turns, let someone
else be director. Option: Players who miss
can sit out a few calls.
❑ Directing Game
Pick one person to be director. Assign
a scene for everyone else to flesh out,
such as:
• SUV gets stuck in the mud on
AUDIENCE
safari and there are wild animals
approaching
• people evacuating burning building and firefighters
coming to rescue On count of three, talkers have 30 seconds to talk to listener,
• kids on a roller coaster at same time. They compete for listener’s attention by talking
• people swimming and then escaping about interesting things or making funny noises. They may
beach because of shark not move feet, and they may not touch listener. At end of 30
• football players making the seconds, listener decides which actor captured more of his or
winning play and touchdown her attention.
• bank robbers holding up a bank
Once scene has been thought
❑ Your Choice
through, director calls, “Places!”
2. ACTING PRACTICE (choose 1)
Everyone gets in place to begin
scene. Then director calls, “Action!” ❑ Create a skit.
Actors act out scene. When scene is
Assign a skit idea to each group, which they will perform for
over, director calls, “Cut!”
the others. Be sure each person gets a part. Ideas:
Next, that director or another assigns new direction, such • Retell a Bible story from different point of view: man being
as “slow motion.” Director calls out, “Places!” and “Action!” lowered through roof for Jesus to heal, animal being
again. Actors begin acting out same scene, but this time in loaded onto ark, child seeing the Red Sea part, child
slow motion, until director calls, “Cut!” Director may assign: sharing fish and bread with Jesus to feed thousands.
slow motion, fast forward, on one foot, backward, underwater, • Tell what happened after familiar fairy tale ends: What do
overly dramatic, and so on. dwarfs do after Snow White marries Prince Charming?
Change directors and do another scene. Does Red Riding Hood’s grandma let her walk back home
by herself?
❑ Attention Game • Provide a story starter, such as: Friends find buried
Supplies to share: treasure while hiking; family
• watch that shows seconds goes to toy store to buy birthday
Three players stand in a line. A fourth player keeps track present for friend; dog gets
loose on field while kids are
of time. Person in middle is “listener.” Other two are “talkers.”
playing a sport; family
is packing for
vacation and
kids keep trying
to smuggle cat
along.
• Your choice.

Exploring God’s Word 9

Acting Activity Award

❑ Three-Word Skit
The Laughing Frog
Supplies to share:
• copies of words Cast: Frog, horse, cow, field mouse; optional: goat,
• container lamb, bull
Copy and cut apart the following words. Add others you A frog sat on a lily pad at the farm one day, laughing
think of. Put slips in container. Each small group draws three and giggling. A horse came over to see what was going on.
words. Next, each group quickly makes up and rehearses “What’s up, Froggy?” whinnied the horse. “I’m so happy!”
scene that uses all three words, but they may not say these said the frog and laughed even harder. A cow came over to
words in skit. When groups are ready, they perform for each join the fun. “What’s up, Froggy?” mooed the cow. “I’m so
other. Groups try to guess each other’s three words. happy!” said the frog and laughed even harder. The same
thing happened with a goat and a lamb and a bull. Finally
a tiny field mouse said, “I’ll get to the bottom of this. If you
don’t tell us why you’re so happy, Froggy, I’ll…I’ll swim over
frog grass and tickle you with my tail.” “Okay, okay,” the frog said. “I’m
so happy because…I eat whatever bugs me!”
Penguins at the Zoo
basketball poison ivy
Cast: man, police officer; optional: penguins
A man walks down the street leading a group of
penguins. A police officer stops him and says, “You really
cell phone pop can need to take those penguins to the zoo. We have laws
about this.” “Okay,” says the man, and he walks away. The
next day the police officer sees the same man walking the
pizza cat same penguins. “I thought I told you to take those penguins
to the zoo,” the officer says. “I’m going to have to give you
a ticket.” “Wait!” says the man. “I did take them to the zoo.
They liked it so much that today I’m taking them to the
elephant boat carnival.”
The Chicken and the Librarian
Cast: chicken, librarian, frog ; optional: horse(s), cow(s)
giraffe trampoline
A chicken comes into the library. It walks up to the
librarian and clucks, “Book, book, book, BOOK!” The
librarian chooses four books and gives them to the chicken.
birthday cake trombone The chicken grabs them and runs out the front door. A
half an hour later the chicken is back. “Book, book, book,
BOOK!” The librarian thinks this is weird but gives the
chicken four more books. This happens two more times.
bike mountain Each time the librarian gets more and more curious. Finally
the librarian decides to follow the chicken to see what it’s
Ideas may be copied for use with Pioneer Clubs® materials. doing with the books. Down the street they go and into the
woods. They pass a horse and a few cows. “Shhh,” says
❑ Joke the librarian. “Don’t give me away.” The librarian finally
sees the chicken stop by a pond. A frog pops up. The
Supplies to share:
chicken shows each book to the frog. The frog looks at
• copies of jokes each cover and says, “Read it, read it, read it, read it.”
Copy and cut apart the jokes to the right. Add others you
know. Assign jokes to groups. Let groups decide who will play Jokes may be copied for use with Pioneer Clubs® materials.
each character. Rehearse and perform.

10 Activity Guide
 Acting Activity Award

❑ Short Pantomimes
Explain that pantomime consists of telling a story using only Genesis 2:19-20 Adam Names the Animals
actions and facial expressions (no speech). Club members
should keep movements simple and large. Whisper a
pantomime idea to each club member (or small group). After
it’s acted out, others guess the action. Ideas: Genesis 13:5-12 Abram and Lot’s Solution
• kicking field goal
• shooting basket
• using cell phone Luke 7:1-10 The Sick Servant
• changing flat tire
• directing traffic
• caring for baby
• painting room John 6:16-21 Jesus Walks on Water
• playing video game
• building sand castle
Mark 2:13-17 Jesus and Levi
❑ Your Choice

3. ACTING OUT (do both) Luke 10:30-35 Good Samaritan

❑ Imitate God.
Read Ephesians 5:1-2a. Explain that when we put on skit, Luke 14:16-24 Great Banquet
we imitate—or act like—someone else. Discuss:
• What does imitating God look like? How do we act? What
do we do?
Luke 15:4-6 Lost Sheep
❑ Act out a Bible story.
Supplies to share:
Story ideas may be copied for use with Pioneer Clubs® materials.
• Bibles
• copies of story ideas
Methods:
• paper bags
• pantomime while someone reads story
• markers
• skit with characters ad-libbing lines
• optional: costume box
• paper-bag puppets
Copy and cut apart the story ideas to the right. Write the • your choice
method ideas on the board or easel pad, Let club members
choose story and method for acting it out. Help them perform.
(Several teams could do same story.)

Exploring God’s Word 11