Using Role-Plays to Develop SEL Skills

More often than not, social and emotional learning (SEL) and character development curricula present situations in vignettes. In my observations of these lessons, the vignettes almost always are processed via verbal discussions. It’s one thing to be able to say how a situation should be handled, like being a good listener when a peer or adult is speaking, or welcoming a new student who is isolated during recess. It’s another matter to carry out the process entirely, even as a simulation.

Acting out scenarios via role-plays provides a set of valuable opportunities for students’ further skill development that can be used in all parts of the curriculum. Here are some guidelines that can be adapted for use in third through eighth grades.

Preparing for Role-Plays

When introducing a skill-based activity like role-playing, it’s almost always a good idea to ask students to define it. Start by asking them, “What is role-playing?” Make sure your students understand that the term refers to their acting out situations while the rest of the class watches and listens carefully to understand what’s happening.

One way to ease into role-playing is by beginning with pantomimes. For each of the following situations, or others you choose, tell the chosen student their role and have them play the part. After 10–15 seconds, give the class a chance to guess. For example, students can act out driving a car, reading a book, waking up from a nap, brushing their teeth, eating a meal, or going shopping.

After each example, ask, “What did you see that led you to understand the role being played?” Follow up with your class by asking, “Does anyone have any ideas that could have made acting the part out even more realistic?”

The Role-Play Process

Start off by letting your students know that the best way to learn how to handle different situations is to practice working on them. Have some relatively common situations you might have your students consider.

• You are a new student in a class, and you want to join a group and make friends.
• You have a new student in your class, and you want to welcome him/her.
• You are having trouble doing a math problem and you want to ask the teacher for help.
• One of your classmates has a copy of an upcoming test and wants to share it with you and have you share it with others.
• You get nervous before you have to speak in front of the whole class.

Eventually, you’ll choose role-play scenarios from your SEL and character curricula, real-time classroom situations, and other school occurrences.

There are four basic steps for conducting a role-play:

Prepare the script: Select a relevant interpersonal situation and establish the problem and goal. Choose participants who you believe can successfully handle the role(s). Be wary of casting a student in his or her “typical” role, such as being shy or the class clown. Explain the overall situation and the expected actions of each character, including the feelings they should be conveying.

Run through the action: There are two parts to this. First, have students spend a few minutes to think to themselves about what they will say and do. Then, give them about the same amount of time to practice running through the scenario and repeat any parts that you feel need work. Encourage audience participation and constructive suggestions during the run-through process.

Action on the set: Have students enact the situation. Feel free to coach students as they go along, especially as you first do role-plays with them. Discontinue the role-play if any student shows signs of upset or if the audience begins acting in an off-task manner. If the latter occurs, remind the students about the rules for how the audience acts during role-plays. Be sure to speak with the upset student individually and ease him or her into subsequent role-plays as appropriate.

Review the performance: The audience shares their opinions of the performance and reports on assigned tasks. It’s also a good idea to ask the role-players for their perspective. Students can reflect on how the role-play was the same as or different from their experience with the situation in real life and the best ways to handle things when they happen in real time. This should take about four or five minutes; it will usually take less time for younger students because they are in the process of learning what to look for in role-plays.

What Does the Audience Do?

The students watching a role-play will have specific behaviors to observe. These behaviors make all the difference in whether or not a good solution to an SEL situation will be successful. You can assign multiple students to focus on one of these, to later report out after watching a role-play:

Verbal behavior: Tone of voice, volume, and speed of speech.

Nonverbal behavior: Posture, movement of arms and legs, eye contact.

Lesson learned: Be ready to discuss the lesson(s) learned from the role-play.

One actor: Focus on a particular role and how well the verbal and nonverbal behavior fit that role as intended.

Prompt your students to give positive feedback before giving any suggestions for improvement. It’s important that reviews of performances begin on a positive note. This encourages students to work as a problem-solving team and to want to participate in role-playing.

After your class finishes a role-play activity, you can conclude by taking about two to three minutes to ask your students which SEL skills were involved in resolving the situation. Be generous in what answers you accept, including nonverbal behaviors, as long as your students are on target. This will be a good check on what students might be absorbing from the SEL-related instruction you are doing. Recognizing skills in action represents a big step toward students’ internalizing their own ongoing use of those skills.

When Can Role-Playing Be Used?

The most obvious application for a role-playing activity is when interpersonal issues come up in classroom, playground, cafeteria, hallway, staircase, bus, team, club, or performance contexts. Putting these settings into role-plays involves all students and helps cement the idea that these situations can happen to anyone. Some classes even have a suggestion box where students can put in a note identifying a situation they would like to see role-played.

Role-playing engages many SEL and character skills, helping students get more connected to how their hearts and minds influence their physical and emotional actions.