Kids love to put on shows, and the best productions allow all students to showcase their unique talents.
These production ideas come together quickly! And they’re for any classroom, any time. They can be a fun way to end the year, engaging students while reinforcing creative writing and presentation skills!
The special sauce is that each piece can be crafted separately. Students work independently, in pairs, or in small groups to work on one piece of the production. And then it’s just all put together! No need to rehearse as a group more than once or twice!
Here are three examples of this kind of kid-created production:
POPULAR TV SHOW
Many years ago, my 5th-grade class produced a version of “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee,“ a popular show at the time. The photo above shows a younger version of me ( way younger 😂) posing with “Regis” and “Kathie Lee” holding their signature mugs!
What fun! The idea was sparked by the fact that the students in my class that year had so many diverse and unique talents! Instead of putting on a talent show, we presented it as a morning variety show. I wrote a little introduction with some fun back-and-forth conversation between Regis and Kathie Lee, and they revised it a bit, adding loads of personality! They introduced the guests one at a time, using the real show as inspiration. One student was an accomplished pianist, and others shared their unique talents as “guests” on the show. We even included commercial breaks!
Our homemade commercials were hilarious and a huge hit. Students who were not part of the TV show worked on producing short commercials, using actual commercials for inspiration. The commercials were played on screen at appropriate times between talent performances. (Note: back then, television shows could not be recorded, so everyone had to sit through commercials, and there were memorable ones that everyone had seen!)
Some of my shy students were stagehands who worked on the simple set and held up APPLAUSE signs at appropriate times during the “show.” The audience, especially younger students who came to watch, loved clapping on cue! We also had camera operators behind makeshift studio cameras to add to the feel of a live TV show (I think we used old camcorders!).
I never tried this type of production with a GT class, but I think it is ideal for developing many different kinds of creative skills and talents. A version of “America’s Got Talent” or another reality show would work well for this!
| The decision of whether to present these to an audience can be postponed, especially if it’s close to the end of the year. The students will still enjoy the process of creative production either way, and you may end up with something so fantastic, you will want to present it to others. |
LOCAL NEWS SHOW / DOCUMENTARY
This format is also a TV SHOW, but more in line with educational programming or news. Student “reporters” produce video pieces (slide shows or video) with information or interviews designed to reveal fascinating facts about various topics (e.g. the deep ocean, archaeology, mythology). Playing the role of “experts” or reporters in the field, students share learning in a novel way. If your students are already producing products to share, this would involve no extra preparation other than to have an opening and closing segment for the “show.”
SOCIAL MEDIA REELS
There are many ways this idea could be produced. As a play, one or two students could be on stage, acting as if they are scrolling and watching video reels found online.
The videos can be produced by students individually or in small groups. The sky’s the limit when it comes to the content of the reels (within your guidelines, of course). Students might showcase talents, provide interesting information, demonstrate how to create something, share a recipe or magic trick, etc. One year, our TV / Talent show included a student who could recite the names of all U.S. Presidents in order of their service. (Side note: I was so inspired that later I decided to create this resource so that my students and I could easily do it!)
With so many tech tools at our disposal today, I’m sure students could come up with many creative ideas! If you try any of these with students, I hope you will be willing to share, either in the comments below or in our Facebook group.
RELATED RESOURCES
All the World’s a Stage ~ Spotlight Your Students’ Learning
End-of-Year Showcase Events ~ 3 Simple Ways to Enhance the Experience!