Who Let the Fun Out? Why Whodunit Drama Circles Are My New Favorite Back-to-School Icebreaker

Back-to-school season can be a wild mix of nerves, name tags, and notebooks.

And while I love setting up my classroom (give me all the cozy corners and bulletin board borders), I know that building classroom community is the real magic of those first weeks.

Starting the year with drama circles isn’t just fun—it’s powerful. Drama-based activities help build a safe, inclusive classroom where students feel seen, heard, and connected. Research shows that drama encourages collaboration, empathy, and risk-taking in a supportive space (Gallagher & Neelands, 2011; Podlozny, 2000). It’s a playful way to set the tone for the kind of learning community you want all year long.

That’s where my new favorite icebreaker comes in —
Whodunit Drama Circles.

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What Is a Whodunit Drama Circle?
If you’ve used my drama circles before, you already know the drill — students gather in a circle, each holding a card that continues a dramatic chain of events, filled with movement, listening, and laughs.

But my newest series takes it a step further:
It’s a whodunit mystery — complete with suspicious characters, physical evidence, and a final reveal.

Each student gets a clue to read aloud (and sometimes act out), and together the class unravels a hilarious mystery like:

• The Pizza Party Sabotage (yes, pickles were involved)

• The Stolen Sneaker Scandal

• Who Let the Dog Out?

They're silly, suspenseful, and sneak in a ton of oral language, reading fluency, inferencing, and cooperative learning.

Click on the images above to view these drama activities on TpT.

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Why I Love Using These at the Start of the Year

Let’s be honest — do we really want drama in the first week of school? Yes, please.

👉 Because good drama means…

• Every student is engaged (even the shy ones)

• They’re learning to listen and speak clearly

• They’re practicing turn-taking and teamwork

• And best of all — they’re laughing together

I’ve used these with grades 4–6, and every time, my students beg for more. They’re the kind of activity that builds classroom culture and once these skills are built, gives you a little formative assessment on the side. Win-win.

Drama circles are meant to be fun, collaborative, and full of energy—but a little prep goes a long way in making the experience smooth and successful. Here are a few tips I’ve picked up along the way that help students feel confident, engaged, and ready to shine:

• Give prep time. After handing out the cards, allow students a few quiet minutes to read theirs and think about how they’ll act it out. This builds confidence and helps the drama unfold more smoothly.

• Buddy check. Before starting, offer 2 minutes for students to check in with a friend. They can clarify vocabulary or brainstorm how to say a line—especially helpful for your more anxious learners.

• Big emotions = big fun. Encourage students to go big with their expressions, voices, and movements. The more dramatic, the better! It helps the whole group follow the story and keeps everyone engaged.

• Differentiate where needed. Some cards are more involved than others. When possible, assign cards based on your students’ comfort levels—some kids love the spotlight, others prefer to play it cool. There’s space for everyone in the circle.

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What’s Included in the Whodunit Bundle?
The full bundle includes 6 original mysteries — each with:

• 32 ready-to-read cards (in both colour & black-and-white)

• A mystery format that follows a consistent, easy-to-follow narrative

• A printable rubric for quick formative assessment

And yes — you can run them with no prep beyond printing and cutting. It’s perfect for sub days, team-building blocks, or just plain fun on a Friday.

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If you’re looking for a high-engagement activity that builds listening, cooperation, and a whole lot of laughter, check out the Whodunit Drama Circle Bundle here.

Or grab just one and get ready for your students’ new favorite activity.

Let the mystery begin!

Elevate Learning with Drama Circles: The Ultimate Novel Study Culminating Activity

Are you tired of the routine book reports and presentations for novel studies? Do you dream of adding an engaging, interactive, and imaginative twist to your novel read aloud? Well, if you haven't heard of them before, welcome to the world of Drama Circles, an incredible tool that can take your novel study culminating activity to new heights.

Breaking down Drama Circles

I started to make drama circles over 20 years ago for my classroom.  Over the years, my drama circles have evolved from random fun topics that got my students building confidence in drama activities, to a more engaging and kinesthetic activity, offering students a new way to delve into their favorite books or learn more subject-based content.

Why Drama Circles?

Now, you might be wondering, why Drama Circles? How do they provide more value than a traditional book report or worksheet?

1. Active Participation

Firstly, Drama Circles encourage active participation, acting as a great student engagement strategy. Each student plays an integral part, making them feel responsible for their contribution and promoting active learning.  They must follow along (encouraging active listening skills), then follow the instructions on their card to perform once it is their turn.

2. Develops Social-Emotional Skills

Drama Circles are wonderful for building social-emotional skills. They foster empathy as students step into the shoes of different characters, experiencing their struggles, joys, and dilemmas. This is particularly impactful with books like "Wonder," which delve into themes of acceptance and kindness.

3. Enhances Comprehension

By acting out scenes from the novel, students deepen their understanding and comprehension of the plot. Becoming the characters, explaining their motivations, and acting out the conflicts, makes novels like "The City of Ember" or "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" more vivid and engaging.

4. Creativity and Imagination

Unleashing their creativity, students reimagine scenes from novels, add dialogue, and even craft new scenarios. This is a powerful exercise that fires up their imagination, making the learning process fun and exciting.

5. Boosts Confidence 

Standing up in front of the class, performing and expressing oneself helps students improve their communication skills, boosts their self-confidence, and reduces stage fright.  And this is a great thing to remind them of when they are nervous about an upcoming oral presentation - look what you've already done in the classroom!

Implementing Drama Circles in Your Classroom

You can kick-start Drama Circles in your classroom by trying one out at the end of your novel study.  They are easy and no-prep - just print, cut out the cards, and go!  Assemble your students in a large, standing circle (you can do this in the classroom by moving around some desks).  Hand out the cards, in random order, to all students in the class.  Depending on your numbers, some students may have more than one card.  (This is where your 'teacher wizardry' comes in - match the amount of dramatic activity and difficulty of lines to the student's ability as you hand out the cards.  As the lines are bolded on the cards, this is very easy to do quickly).  After you hand out the cards, allow a few minutes for students to read over and plan their moves - they may also want to check with a peer beside them if they have any questions about the words or the meanings.  And then, that's it.  Have the person with the first card step into the middle of the circle and start the drama.  Students do not read out the card numbers, and they only read out the bolded lines on the card.  The actions are not in bold, they are simply to be performed.  Students must listen and follow along so they know when their part is, however, if a student misses their line, the cards are numbered so you can easily pick up where you left off.

Take a step back and allow the children to steer the action. You'll be amazed at how they interpret the text, bring it to life, and, in the process, deepen their understanding of the novel.  And you'll be even more amazed as some of your shyest students come of their shells.

If this is their first drama circle, students sometimes start a little shy.  However, it is amazing to watch how quickly the students catch on and how popular the drama circles become with a little practice as the format for every drama circle is the same.  One teacher friend said, "My students loved these!! They would beg to do them. It was so wonderful to see kids come out of their shells to act out parts. My 5th graders could be a tough crowd at times but they ALL laughed and had fun together during these. Some of my favorite moments from the school year!"

Wrap-up 

Why show a movie at the end of your novel study when you can get your students out of their seats, improving their comprehension and presentation skills, and maybe even grab a drama mark or too (yes, a rubric is included) with a drama circle?  Trust me.  They'll like them.

Take a peek at my new (with more being added all the time) line of Drama Circle Novel Culminating Activities by clicking HERE or on some of the titles below:

• 
  Because of Mr. Terupt
  
• Fish in a Tree
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
• Holes
• The City of Ember
• The One and Only Ivan
• The Wild Robot
• Wonder

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5 Activities for October in the Upper Grade Classrooms

I love everything about the Fall.  It's the perfect combination of weather, beauty, and all things cozy.  It's also one of my favourite months in the classroom.  We're starting to get our routines down pat, beginning of the year assessments are complete (or almost ... haha), and our classroom community vibes are pretty strong.  We can start to handle some more engaging and hands-on activities ... and in my opinion, there is no better month to do it.  

1.  Fall Poetry Books - Falling into Poetry is easy with this resource that's perfect for the beginning of the year when the leaves start to change.  Students get an introduction to many different forms of poetry, as well as figurative language.  There are examples of each type of poetry and figurative language device, as well as space for students to complete their own examples.  Completed pages turn into a beautiful poetry mini book.  Each poetry form also has a leaf outline so students can copy their best poems onto the leaf and colour for display.  There is a branch included for each student to make their own little poet-tree, or individual leaves could be added to a bulletin board, kraft paper tree in the classroom, or REAL branches for a gorgeous autumn display.  

I have also integrated this into an art activity, where students paint a Fall background on a page, then choose 2 -4 completed poem leaves to glue down onto the background for a beautiful writing and art piece.  Click either picture to take a closer peek at this resource in my store.

2.  Clay Sculpted Leaf Art - Every year I look forward to decorating my classroom with gorgeous Fall Leaf Art.  For these beautiful Fall Leaf bowls, we used air dry clay.  I had students pick a real leaf from the school ground (a fallen leaf, of course) - one they felt they could trace.  Students were each given some air dry clay to flatten out to about 1/4 of an inch thickness (and just slightly larger than the leaf they chose).  Note - be sure to have them work with the clay on some type of paper, it's no mess that way.  Students then used a pencil to trace around their leaves on the wet clay, and then used a plastic butter knife to "cut out" their leaves and draw on the veining (copying their real leaf).  When done, we put them vein side down, over some crumpled up paper to sort of form the leaves into a slight bowl shape.  It takes about 3 - 4 days to fully dry.  Once dry, paint (we used acrylic paint) the leaves in gorgeous Fall colours.  Experiment a bit with this.  Using a toothbrush to splatter some of the paint on top makes very realistic spotting on the leaf - and practice mixing and blending with colours.  We sealed our leaves with a spray varnish when complete, but you don't need to do this step.

3.  More Leaf Art - This Fall Leaf Art Lesson is perfect to study line, shape, form, and colour with the elements of design.  Students will trace 2 - 4 leaves on their page, then fill the rest of the page with concentric circles (if you're brave you can have students use a compass, or use the page I included with the circles already drawn).  Choose 3 or more warm colours for the leaves, and colour each section made (by the circles) in a pattern.  When the leaves are coloured, choose 3 or more cool colours for the background, again alternating colours in a pattern.  The leaves look like they're falling against a beautifully windy sky backdrop, or falling into a pool of water.

4.  ALL the Craftivities - While I do love to sneak in my 3D craftivities at different points in the year, I have to admit, all the Fall ones top my list.  These activities make the perfect station activity, or independent work activity so you can meet with small groups or get some assessment done while students are hard at work.  Each one takes approximately one week.  I usually have students finish 2 questions (2 panels) from Monday - Wednesday.  On Thursday they colour all the panels, and then Friday is assembly day.  I have craftivity packages for both literacy and math.  The October Literacy 3D Craftivities Bundle has two different book report resources covering story elements and reading comprehension (the pumpkins and the ghost), as well as a fun one for synonyms and over-used words.  The Fall Math Review 3D Activity Bundle has a candy corn place value review, as well as a pumpkin pie shaped activity with word problems (about pumpkin pies, of course).  Click on either title or picture to the right to see these resources in my TpT store.

5.  Fall Drama Circle - You can't have all that Fall beauty without a little drama. ;)  A drama circle, that is.  This is a new drama circle with a Fall theme - make a circle, hand out the cards, and have some fun.  If the weather is nice, this one is even better outside!  All drama circles now contain colour and black and white copies, and a observation rubric for assessment of drama skills.  Click HERE or on the picture below to take a peek.

You can find all of these Fall-themed resources in one bundle that can take you through the month of October in your classroom.  You can out my Fall Activity Bundle HERE, or by clicking the picture on the right.

And lastly, if you made it all the way to the bottom, reward yourself with this little Candy Corn Decimals Place Value Printable.  Just click on the picture to the right to grab a copy for yourself.  Happy Fall, Y'All!

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New Christmas Drama Circle Activities

The month of December always brings out the excitement in my students, and for me, one of the best ways to take advantage of that excitement and energy is to pull out the drama circles and let them perform!  Drama circles aren't just for drama though, they are also perfect for engaging in morning meetings, oral reading activities, reading with fluency and expression, following instructions, listening, cooperative learning, and risk taking ... all bundled into a fun activity that always has my students asking to do the activity again.  With December just around the corner, I have created two brand new Christmas Drama Circle activities - 'Twas The Night Before Christmas and Santa's Workshop - that will be so much fun in the upper elementary classroom!

Drama Circles are similar to the "I Have / Who Has" game.  Each drama circle contains 40 cards that follow in a sequence, with each card having a different instruction to act out or say aloud. Students assemble in a circle to perform their scenarios. Cards are passed out randomly, and students can have more than one card (so all cards are used).  As each student finishes acting out his or her card, the student with the next card in the sequence starts acting out his or her card. The game continues until the last card is acted out. 

One of my new drama circles, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, could also be used for a Christmas play or Christmas concert idea.  The format of this drama activity is slightly different - cards alternate between a "narrator card" and an "audience card".  The classic poem is read by the narrators, with the audience (students with audience cards) interrupting and interacting after every few lines.  Narrators could be standing together, with a seated audience scattered around them.

My newest drama circles also contain black and white versions of the drama circle for an ink-saving option, as well as an assessment tracking page to observe and grade your students' performances.

You can take a peek at these Christmas activities individually, or check them out in a Christmas and Winter-themed Drama Circle bundle featuring 6 different drama circles perfect for the month of December and beyond.  This bundle contains:

• Christmas Drama Circle
• Twas the Night Before Christmas Drama Circle
• Snow Day Drama Circle
• A Christmas Carol Drama Circle
• Santa's Workshop Drama Circle
• Winter Drama Circle

If you're new to drama circles and would like to give them a try for the first time, please give my FREE Fairy Tale Drama Circle a try.  Download it HERE.  Enjoy!

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Theme Day - Book Buffet

If you're looking for a fun theme day dedicated to the LOVE of reading in your classroom, a book buffet day may be the perfect fit.  This was another one of our end of the year theme days this year, but a day dedicated to the love of reading ... happy sigh ... well, it would be perfect at any time during the year.

To get things started, I asked the students to pick their favorite book from independent reading this year.  It could be any genre, and read at any time over the school year.  I was surprised by some of their choices, but when I saw all the books altogether, it just made me happy.

And here they are - my grade 4/5 students' favorite independent reads from the year:

Once we had our faves collected, I told the students they would be writing a Book Love Note - a little sticky note explaining why they love the book they picked.  We started our notes "To the next person that reads this book ..." and then they filled in the rest.  They stuck the notes in the fronts of the books, and then we took a moment to let each student read their note to the class.  I LOVE the idea that my class next year will find all these little love note treasures when they're searching through my classroom library next year.  

In fact ... I LOVED their little notes so much, I just made a little "Book Love Note Nook" to keep on top of my bookshelves next year so I can keep the love going.  I even found some fun little heart-shaped sticky notes to use for it.  We won't limit our love notes to one day next year; students can write a book love note whenever they feel they need to "share the love".  I made this little "Book Love Notes" graphic and uploaded it took google drive in case you'd like to grab a copy for your own class.  You can download it HERE.

After writing and talking about how much we love books, well ... we had to READ!  I told students they could bring in blankets and pillows for the day, if they wished, and I let them make up comfy little nests to read in ... which soon turned into comfy little forts.  Some brought in flashlights, too.  So, all curled up, we started to read.  We read for 1/2 an hour ... and did this 3 times throughout the day (once during each of our 100 minute blocks of our day).  It was awesome!

Next up in our big book buffet, was a fun book raffle.  I had a big box of books discarded from the library, and students brought in some of their old books to trade, too.  We put all the books in the middle of the room, and then I started to draw names.  When their name was drawn, they could pick a book.  After each round, I gave them 15 seconds to make a trade with something left in the middle.  We were able to go through about 3-4 rounds of books, and everyone went home with some "new to them" books.

To finish up our book loving buffet, we did a drama circle I've been working on ... with a theme none other than READING, of course.  I LOVE watching my students perform drama circles - it always brings us closer together.  You can take a peek at my newest drama circle by clicking HERE or on the picture to the right.  What an awesome day of celebrating our love of reading.  And I know my students enjoyed it just as much as I did!

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Drama Circles

Are you looking for a fun, cooperative learning activity that builds confidence in your students AND helps with following directions AND oral fluency practice?  A Drama Circle just may be the answer!

Drama Circles aren't just for drama classes - they are great for any class, at any time.  My class loves them so much they don't even realize they working on so many academic skills at the same time.

Drama Circles Set the Tone
I like to start using drama circles right from the very beginning of the school year as it can really help set the tone for a successful year.

• Students need to actively listen to each other to keep the activity going.
• They must wait their turn, and give their attention to one student.
• They need to cooperate with their classmates and build on the previous action.
• They need to follow the directions given to them.
• They will learn to be open to new experiences.
• They will share a fun activity that has them learning to be comfortable with acting, performing, and reading aloud in front of their classmates.

How They Work

Students assemble in a circle, facing each other.  The teacher hands out the cards in a random order (there are 40 cards in most of the drama circles, so some students will have one card and some students will have two).  From there, the activity is similar to the "I have ... who has?" game because students need to listen to their classmates to know when it is their turn to act out the instructions on their card.  Students are encouraged to use large, over-the-top actions and reactions because it not only adds to the fun, but it also makes it easier for the other students to follow along.

Tips to Make Drama Circles Even More Successful

Sometimes you get that class that just LOVES to perform - this class won't need any help with drama circles.  They they will beg you to do them ... every single day.  But sometimes you have a class that is a little quieter, or a little more shy, or just lacking in the confidence needed to perform ... but having done drama circles from the very beginning of my teaching career, I have a few suggestions.

• Number the cards on the back (the majority of the drama circles I have made are numbered, but some of my very earliest ones are not).  That way, if the circle breaks down, you know which number needs to go next.
• Scan the cards as you are handing them out - give cards with a little more talking and actions to some of the more confident students in your class who love performing - you know who they are.  ;)  
• Some teachers highlight the speaking parts on the cards - I have used a bold font for the speaking parts on my newer drama circles.
• After handing out the cards, allow students a minute or two to read over their cards.  They can check with the teacher or person beside them if they have any questions about some of the words, or brainstorm ways to perform the actions on the card - it helps build excitement this way.
• If time permits, let them repeat the circle if it doesn't go perfectly smoothly at first - I have found this is THE KEY to performing drama circles with a class that is a little more subdued - the second time is always better.  Let students switch cards with others in the circle - they will often see a card that they really want to perform - and will have already planned their actions and responses.
• Have fun and let loose.
• If you have the space and the weather is cooperative, take the circles outside!
• And lastly ... but most importantly ... get in there and participate with your students!  Make memories with them.  :)

Are you convinced yet?  I've got a fun FREE Fairy Tale Drama Circle you can download and try with your class right away.  Just click HERE or on the picture to the right to grab a copy.  You can check out ALL my drama circles by clicking HERE.

We've had so much fun with the drama circles in my classroom, I've made some sets of Math Circles which follow the same format.  They are SO.MUCH.FUN when reviewing a concept right before a test - anything that gets them up and moving while learning is always a HIT in my class.  Click HERE to see all my math circles.

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Math Journal Sundays - Data Management

I'm sorry - I was busy with my progress reports last weekend, so I didn't get my math journal idea posted.  The good news ... I have two journal ideas for you today!

We are deep into our Data Management unit right now.  The first journal entry is for stem and leaf graphs.  To be completely honest, when I first started teaching 13 years ago, I had no idea what a stem and leaf graph actually was.  As a result, I have to admit I probably didn't pay as much attention to it as I should have.  Long story short ... when it showed up on our provincial testing and my students were completely ill-prepared, I made sure it my students knew it from that point on.

We used the results from our last math test to make our journal entry for the stem and leaf plots.  Whenever possible, I try to incorporate as many real-life examples as possible into our math investigations.  We listed the percents from our math test as our set of data, then turned those results into a stem-and-leaf plot.  We used a simple flap template.  We wrote definitions for the graph on the outside of the interactive tool, and wrote the numbers for the graph on the inside.  My students really like this type of graph, so I won't be surprised if it turns up on our final assignment for this unit.

Then we moved on to mean, median, mode, and range.  We used our shoe sizes to study these data management techniques.  For our journals, we used 4 index cards for the 4 concepts.  We attached the index cards to the journal page using a brass fastener.  My students already know how to find mean, mode, median, and range, but it always amazes me how quickly they forget which one is which.  By having these cards in their journals, they have an easy reference.

For even more math journal ideas, you can check out my Interactive Math Journal Resource over at TeachersPayTeachers.  Just click on the picture to head on over.








I've just recently added two new drama circles to my store.  The Thanksgiving Drama Circle will have your students "acting" like they're ready to help make Thanksgiving dinner.  The Winter Drama Circle centers around the excitement of a snow day.  Both are perfect for drama activities, cooperative learning activities, improving listening skills, morning meetings, and just plain fun in the classroom.  Just click on the pictures to get a preview of the activities.

Happy Sunday!

Jen

Interactive Math Journal

Interactive Math Journal 2

Building Better Math Responses

Math Concept Posters

InLinkz.com

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