The Audience ExperienceActivities & Teaching Strategies
Active learning fits this topic because young children learn social behaviors best through direct experience and reflection. Role-plays and movement stations let students practice audience behaviors while feeling how it impacts performers, making abstract rules concrete and memorable.
Learning Objectives
- 1Identify at least three respectful behaviors expected of an audience member during a performance.
- 2Explain how audience reactions, such as clapping or cheering, can positively impact a performer's feelings.
- 3Demonstrate how to offer kind and constructive feedback to a peer after a performance.
- 4Compare the feelings of a performer receiving positive feedback versus negative feedback.
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Role-Play: Performer and Audience Switch
Pairs perform a 1-minute action like jumping or singing while the partner practices quiet watching and clapping at the end. Switch roles twice. End with a quick share on how it felt to receive cheers.
Prepare & details
What should you do when you are watching someone else perform?
Facilitation Tip: During Role-Play: Performer and Audience Switch, pause frequently to ask students how they feel as both performer and audience member to build empathy.
Setup: Inner circle of 4-6 chairs, outer circle surrounding them
Materials: Discussion prompt or essential question, Observation notes template
Circle Share: Kind Feedback Round
Students sit in a circle. One child performs a simple pose or movement. Each classmate shares one positive comment, such as 'Your arms were strong.' Rotate performers three times.
Prepare & details
How do you think performers feel when the audience claps and cheers?
Facilitation Tip: For Circle Share: Kind Feedback Round, model the sentence starter 'I liked your...' and ask students to give at least two specific compliments to peers.
Setup: Inner circle of 4-6 chairs, outer circle surrounding them
Materials: Discussion prompt or essential question, Observation notes template
Stations Rotation: Audience Behaviors
Set up stations showing good and bad audience actions via photos or props. Small groups mimic behaviors, then discuss impacts on a pretend performer. Rotate every 5 minutes.
Prepare & details
Why is it kind to say something nice when giving feedback about someone's performance?
Facilitation Tip: At Station Rotation: Audience Behaviors, provide a visual checklist so students can self-assess their behavior choices before moving to the next station.
Setup: Tables/desks arranged in 4-6 distinct stations around room
Materials: Station instruction cards, Different materials per station, Rotation timer
Video Response: Clap and Comment
Watch a 2-minute child performance video as a class. Students show thumbs up for appreciation, then pairs generate one kind feedback sentence to share aloud.
Prepare & details
What should you do when you are watching someone else perform?
Setup: Inner circle of 4-6 chairs, outer circle surrounding them
Materials: Discussion prompt or essential question, Observation notes template
Teaching This Topic
Experienced teachers approach this topic by making the invisible visible, such as asking students to close their eyes and imagine a performer they just heard laughing because of clapping. Avoid lectures about respect; instead, use guided questions that let students discover the impact of their actions. Research shows that young learners grasp social-emotional concepts more deeply when they connect actions to emotions in real time.
What to Expect
Successful learning looks like students demonstrating respectful audience behaviors during role-plays and explaining why those actions matter to performers. They should also share kind feedback and recognize how their behavior affects others' feelings.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionDuring Role-Play: Performer and Audience Switch, students may say talking helps the performer.
What to Teach Instead
During this role-play, pause and ask both audiences and performers to describe how loud talking affects focus or smiles. Redirect by having students practice quiet attention while the 'performer' acts out a song, showing how silence supports concentration.
Common MisconceptionDuring Video Response: Clap and Comment, students may believe clapping is only for perfect performances.
What to Teach Instead
During this activity, pause the video after a simple performance and ask students to clap loudly, explaining that claps celebrate effort, not just skill. Invite performers to share how the claps made them feel, even if small mistakes happened.
Common MisconceptionDuring Circle Share: Kind Feedback Round, students may start feedback with what went wrong.
What to Teach Instead
During this circle, model starting sentences with 'I liked...' and prompt students to give two positives before any suggestions. If a student starts with criticism, gently redirect by asking, 'What was one thing you enjoyed first?' to reinforce the structure.
Assessment Ideas
After Video Response: Clap and Comment, ask students: 'What are two things you can do right now to show you are a good audience member?' and 'How might the performer feel if you did those things?' Listen for specific behaviors and empathetic reasoning.
After Station Rotation: Audience Behaviors, provide two scenario cards: one showing a student talking during a performance, the other showing a student clapping. Ask students to point to the respectful behavior and explain why it is good for the performer.
During Circle Share: Kind Feedback Round, after students share their drawings, have them turn to a partner and say one thing they liked using the sentence starter 'I liked...'. Listen for kind and specific compliments to assess understanding of supportive feedback.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge early finishers to create a 'Super Audience Badge' poster showing three ways to be a great audience member, including a drawing of themselves demonstrating each behavior.
- Scaffolding for struggling students: Provide picture cards with audience behaviors to sort into 'good' and 'not good' piles during Station Rotation.
- Deeper exploration: Invite a guest performer (another teacher or older student) to share how applause made them feel, then have students write or draw one thing they will do to show support next time.
Key Vocabulary
| Audience | The group of people who watch or listen to a performance, show, or event. |
| Performer | A person who acts, sings, dances, or plays music for an audience. |
| Respectful | Showing politeness and consideration for others, especially when they are performing or sharing their work. |
| Feedback | Comments or information about how well someone has done something, which can be used to improve. |
| Applaud | To clap your hands to show approval or enjoyment of a performance. |
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