5 Ways With… is a series that gives you a whole week of ideas with one resource! This time we’re focusing on how to create dramatic tension.
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1: Draw them in
Next time you tell a story, keep your audience close, slow down your movements and build anticipation by using pauses and hushed tones.
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2: Countdown!
Adding a countdown automatically adds tension – what’s going to happen when its reaches zero? Imagination flourishes in those gaps between numbers (and you’re exploring some a wee bit of cheeky numeracy at the same time!)
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3: Hiding and revealing
Hide an object under a blanket, in a box or a bag, and build up to a big reveal as they try and guess what’s hidden. This is a great way to add value/interest to new resources, revisit old favourites… or even keep the box empty and take turns pretending what’s inside!
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4: Mild peril
Building up to a sneeze, wobbly steps on an imaginary bridge, nearly dropping something or falling – take time to explore the “maybes” in imaginative play and watch wee ones to see how they react.
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5: Repeat, repeat, repeat!
When your dramatic reveal gets a laugh, try it again a few times… and then add in a surprise! Adding a silly face, a new sound, or another object adds to the imaginative journey.