The document outlines a workshop by Susan Hillyard on teaching English through 'actionsacks', which are personalized teaching tools inspired by the concept of story sacks. It explains the methodology of using actionsacks at various educational levels, integrating drama and interactive activities to enhance language learning. Additionally, the document provides practical guidance on creating and utilizing actionsacks, emphasizing the developmental benefits of drama in education.

1. Susan Hillyard - ActionSacks
Teaching English through Storydrama
Using ActionSacks
Presenter: Susan Hillyard B.Ed.(Hons)
Tel: 54 11 4541-3010
e-mail: ssnhillyard@gmail.com
blog: http://susanhillyard.blogspot.com.ar/
Abstract
This experiential workshop outlines the methodology for teaching English
using personalised ActionSacks, designed and constructed by English
language teachers. The basic philosophy of a story sacks project used in the
regular literacy programme in the UK will be outlined in order to clarify the
theory. This methodology can be applied at all levels and for all abilities. An
authentic, original ActionSack will be presented with the contents displayed
and practical activities will be explored for participants to enjoy and
understand the developmental aspects of Storydrama. The participants
should leave the session with some new creative ideas for teaching English
with ActionSacks.
Biodata
Susan Hillyard, B.Ed.(Hons) Warwick University
(U.K.) Susan has work experience in seventeen
countries as a teacher, HOD, speaker, workshop
facilitator, consultant, researcher, on-line tutor.
She was Prof. Language IV in Lenguas Vivas and
UTN, teacher training Colleges in Buenos Aires.
She is a NILE Associate Trainer, in Norwich,
UK, training worldwide teachers in methodology.
She has co-authored a Resource Book for
Teachers Global Issues for OUP and TDI-TKT On-
line Course for Pearson, New York.
Now tutor: the Masters in ELT, Language and
Globalisation. Her most recent post is
coordinator: English in Action, teaching English
through Drama in Special Education, Ministry of
Education, City of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

2. Susan Hillyard - ActionSacks
Handouts
Questions for today
What is an ActionSack?
How do I make an ActionSack?
How do I use an ActionSack?
Where does Drama fit?
Story Sacks
Neil Griffiths created Story Sacks as an alternative way for children to benefit from
books and, most importantly, as a fun activity where learning takes place
without noticing (Griffiths, 2000). They are designed to help adults share books
with children in a way that is positive, theatrical, special, interactive and fun.
Bag + Book + Realia + Activities = Story Sack
ActionSack
English in Action created ActionSacks from the original story sack concept to fulfill
the needs of older teenaged beginners who might not be motivated by authentic
illustrated children’s storybooks. The principle idea is the same, except that the
springboard may be any other stimulus which promotes ACTION through educational
drama. Instead of ONLY using storybooks, the ActionSack can employ music, film,
poetry, newspaper cuttings, video, non-fiction, poster, theme, biography.
Sack + Springboard + Realia + Activities = ActionSack
Drama
Drama is defined very broadly and includes all aspects under the broad umbrella of
drama: language games, voice work, body movement and body language, singing,
storytelling, story reading, poetry, chants, role play, improvisation, playing with
sounds and rhythm, acting out, process drama structures and frames.
· a willing suspension of disbelief
· agreement to pretence
· employing all past experiences
· employing any conjecture of imagination
to create a living, moving picture of the springboard which aims at surprise and
discovery for the participants rather than for any onlookers.
It must be active and conform to Drama as the SPICE of ELT: S for social
development, P for physical development, I for intellectual development, C for
creative development, E for emotional development.
Adapted from Dorothy Heacote (1984)

3. Susan Hillyard - ActionSacks
How to make an Action Sack
Find a large cloth bag/pillow case/suit case/box/container to make the
ActionSack itself. Include any of the following materials, as appropriate for
the age, needs and abilities of the learners within your setting:
• A copy of the story book/ song/poem/newspaper
cutting/poster/film/video
• Flashcards
* A different medium version of the springboard e.g. video, podcast,
• Related non-fiction books/articles/pictures/references
• Realia like models of characters and objects from the springboard
• Activities or games relating to the springboard
• Materials like paper, crayons, markers, paints, plasticene etc.
• Activity cards
• Microphone, ball, binoculars, pieces of cloth
• Teacher’s Book with all the activities explained
How to use the ActionSack
This is not prescriptive. There are many ways to use the sack.
You could start with:
 simply showing the sack and asking students to guess the contents
 showing the illustrations of the book
 a dramatic reading of the story
 a showing of a video clip
 with pre-teaching the vocabulary from the springboard
 playing language games related to the story
You develop the story by webbing out into other areas of the curriculum:
 maths
 social studies
 art
 music
 science
 drama
 ethics
 citizenship
All the development should be designed through drama activities with the
students developing holistically in all the areas of SPICE.
Choosing a Springboard
The springboard you choose will depend on the age, interests and abilities
of your class. You will probably have mixed abilities in your group and the
sack enables you to offer differentiated learning exercises. Choose
something you yourself like and feel enthusiastic about so you will be
inspired yourself to develop the sack creatively.
Process Drama Conventions
Drama may also be called Process drama or Applied Drama or Educational
Drama but all the terms refer to Drama related to the above definition.

4. Susan Hillyard - ActionSacks
There is a growing body of research and knowledge on this which you can
access. Some of the conventions are: Teacher in role, Stranger in role, Mantle
of the expert, Narration, Meetings, Interviews, Hot seating, Improvisation,
Collective role play, Pantomime/movement, Dream sequences, Still image or
tableau, Freeze frame, Thought tracking, Guided imagery/visualization,
Decision alley, Role on the wall, Performance Carousel, Soundscape, Choral
speaking.
Explore your Springboard through the conventions
A) Freeze Frame ............Materials: A pair of binoculars or a telescope:
1) Tell the students we are going to work with movements from the
story.
2) Explain you will start each instruction with
“I want to see you........”
e.g. walking like a penguin, skating like Sis, running like Penny’s
friends, cooking like the Polar Bear......
3) Practise with the examples by saying the
phrase and putting the binoculars/ telescope to your eyes and calling
out ACTION. When the students have completed the action several
times, call out FREEZE and go on to the next instruction.
4) Ask for a volunteer to “be the teacher” and hand over the
binoculars/telescope to that student. Stay beside her and help with
the instruction giving.
5) Take real or pretend photos of each freeze frame.
6) Play I believe.......Teacher whispers an action ( “fight like a bear”) to
a student who performs it and freezes. Teacher says” (a lie) I believe
Juanpi is skating like Sis? Class must call out “NO! He’s fighting like a
bear”
B) Hot Seating.................A special chair
1) Sit in the chair and take on the role of Penny the Penguin
2) Tell the students to ask you questions and answer in a “penguin
voice”
3) You might want to revise Questioning technique before you begin.
The Qs can be simple personal Qs or more complex related to the
story.
C) Teacher in Role
1) Teacher takes on a role from the story and invites a student to
take on the role of Penny or the Big Bear or another role and
improvise a short scene from the story. The Sts work in pairs to
impro. Then in groups.
2) Or Teacher takes on the role of somebody NOT in the story e.g.
the Penguin Policeman who comes to investigate the
disappearance of Penny in the village and Sts take on role of other
characters in the story.
3) Or T takes on role of TV Roving Reporter to interview the Pengiuns
in the village about the problems of having a liar in town.
D) Soundscape

5. Susan Hillyard - ActionSacks
1) Think about the opportunities in the story for exploiting SOUNDS
2) Work on voice, opening the mouth, loud and soft, hard and gentle
etc etc. Work on breathing.
3) Do a soundscape for “The penguins playing together”, “The
weather at the South Pole” “The bears fighting” etc etc.
4) Record them on voxopop http://www.voxopop.com/
E) Choral Speaking or Readers’ Theatre
1) Notice how many scenarios in the story are good for group
speaking and make up simple dialogues for group work.
Penny: Please let me play with you?
Group: No! You tell lies!
Penny: But I won’t any more!
Group: We don’t believe you!
Penny: Please……..I cross my heart and hope to die. I’ll
never ever tell a lie!
Group: Alright! Let’s play! Hooray!
2) Perform it for another group.
F) Conscience Alley
The group creates an alley of bodies; one side is the positive,
the other side the negative. A St., who has to make a decision,
walks in between the rows listening to the two sides of the
voices in her head. At the end she makes her decision.
G) Personalisation through Impro
Move the story into the real lived lives of the Sts and have
them impro a scene from their own lives related to any of the
themes in the story.
H) Discussion
Find parallels from known stories e.g. The Boy who Cried Wolf
Little Red Riding Hood, The Farmer and his Sons.
I) Listing- language games.
Finding types of lies e.g. Old Wives tales, white lies, skirting the
truth, saying nothing, parents’ lies, pre-schoolers lies etc. Give
specific example. Impro them.
J) Sayings and chants
I cross my heart and hope to die….Quotes on lying etc. Perform
them.
The 8 Cs of Drama
Confidence
Control

6. Susan Hillyard - ActionSacks
Co-operation
Co-ordination
Creativity
Cognition
Culture
Communication
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Story Sacks
Commercially produced Story Sacks to purchase on-line
http://www.storysack.com/
Guidelines on how to make your own story sack
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/assets/0000/3210/Story_sack_guide.pdf
On-line resources from BritLit
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/britlit/little-red-riding-hood
Process Drama
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/arts/drama/posters/3/key/miners_wedding_e.php
EVO Drama
http://www.google.com/#hl=es&xhr=t&q=Process+Drama+Conventions&cp=25&pf=p&sc
lient=psy&rlz=1R2ADRA_enAR377&source=hp&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=Process+Drama+
Conventions&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=35e26099eaba80a9
What is Process drama?
http://esldrama.weebly.com/process-drama.html
Videos on Process Drama
http://www.google.com/#q=process+drama&start=10&hl=es&sa=N&rlz=1R2ADRA_enA
R377&prmd=ivnsb&source=univ&tbm=vid&tbo=u&ei=FcW5TcqzGsjEgQeBioFR&ved=0
CDAQqwQ4Cg&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=35e26099eaba80a9
Books
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/9114392/Ask-Lorna-top-100-books-for-
children.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/children_sbookreviews/9456522/Ask-Lorna-
books-without-gore-for-a-12-year-old-girl.html
Speakaboos
http://www.speakaboos.com/story/the-boy-who-cried-wolf
Educational Drama Texts:
o Baldwin, P. & Malone, J. (2000). The Complete Idiot’s guide to
Acting - Alpha.
o Baldwin, P. & Fleming, K. (2003) Teaching Literacy through
Drama: Creative Approaches – RoutledgeFalmer.
o Baldwin, P. (2004) With Drama in Mind: Real learning in
imagined worlds – Network Educational Press.
o Boal, A. (2002) Games for Actors and Non-actors – Routledge.

7. Susan Hillyard - ActionSacks
o Bolton, G. (1998) Acting in classroom drama: a critical analysis
– Trentham Books.
o Bowell, P. & Heap, B.S. (2001) Planning Process Drama – David
Fulton Publishers.
o Burke, A. & o’Sullivan, J. (2002) Stage By Stage: A Handbook
for Using Drama in the Second Language Classroom –
Heinemann.
o Caruso, S & Clemens, P. (1992) Actor’s book of Improvisation:
Dramatic situations for the teacher and the actor - Penguin
Books.
o Cassady M. (1993) Acting Games: Improvisations and exercises
– Meriwether Publishing Ltd.
o Collie, J. & Slater, S. (1993) Short Stories for Creative
Language Classrooms – Cambridge University Press.
o Dickinson, R.; Neelands, J. and Shenton Primary School. (2006)
Improve your Primary School Through Drama – David Fulton
Publishers.
o Di Pietro, R. (1987) Strategic Interaction – Cambridge
University Press.
o Dr. Hughs, D. & Phillips, B. (2000) The Oxford Union Guide to
Successful Public Speaking – Virgin Publishing.
o ELT & News Views. (1999) KIDS – University of Cambridge.
o Fleming, M. (2001) Teaching Drama in Primary and Secondary
Schools: An Integrated Approach – David Fulton Publichers.
o Hayes, S. (1984) Drama as a Second Language. Cambridge
National Extention College: Cambridge
o Heathcote, D. (1984) Ed: Johnson L and O’Neill C Collected
Writings on Education and Drama . Northwestern University
Press, Illinois
o Holden, S. (1981) Drama in Language Teaching. Longman:
London
o Kitson, N. & Spiby, I. (1997) Drama 7-11: developing primary
teaching skills – Routledge.

8. Susan Hillyard - ActionSacks
o Maley, A. & Duff, A. (1982) Drama Techniques in Language
Learning. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge
o Neelands, J. & Goode, T. (1990) Structuring Drama Work: A
handbook od available forms in theatre and drama – Cambridge
University Press.
o Pascoe, L.(2006) The Magic Of Make Believe Beyond Positive
Thinking – Findhorn.
o Phillips, S. (1999) Drama With Children (Resource Books for
Teachers, ed. Alan Maley). Oxford University Press: Oxford
o Porter Ladousse, G. (1987) Role Play (Resource Books for
Teachers, ed. Alan Maley) ). Oxford University Press:Oxford
o Revell, J. (1980) Teaching Techniques for Communicative
English. Allen and Unwin: London
o Scher, A. & Verrall, C. (1987) Another 100 + Ideas for Drama –
Heinemann.
o Smith, S.M. (1987) The Theatre Arts and the Teaching of
Second Languages Addison Wesley: London
o Spaventa, L. (ed.) (1980) Towards the Creative Teaching of
English. Allen and Unwin: London
o Wagner, BJ. (1999). Dorothy Heatcote: Drama as a Learning
Medium - Heinemann.
o Wessels, C. (1987) Drama (Resource Books for Teachers, ed.
Alan Maley). Oxford University Press: Oxford
o Wilson K, (2008) Drama ( Resource Books for Teachers Ed. Alan
Maley). Oxford University Press: Oxford
o Winston, J. & Tandy, M. (2001) Beginning Drama 4-11 – David
Fulton Publishers.
o Wooland, B. (1993) The Teaching of Drama in the Primary
School – Pearson Education.
o Wright, A., Betteridge, D. & Buckby, M. (1979) Games for
Language Learning - Cambridge University Press.