Encourage beginning improvisation students to act in the moment by assigning them to act out what occurs at the end of a fairy tale. If you're concerned that not all students know a story, provide a brief synopsis at the beginning. Using the story of Thumbelina, which is available on Disney DVD, the fairy, Thumbelina, has a series of adventures with toads and other creatures who want to marry her. In the end she marries a prince her own size. Students can act out what happens after Thumbelina and her tiny prince get together.
Change the fairy tale assignment to ask your students to find a hidden theme in a well-known fairy tale. In the tale of Cinderella, at the story's end she marries Prince Charming. Students might explore why the stepmother and stepsisters of Cinderella really want to keep her from going to the ball, or they might offer an alternative explanation for why she leaves her glass slipper at the Prince's castle. It's important for drama students to delve beyond the obvious storyline in improvisation and for script-based performances.
To get dance students to explore the world of fairies, provide different types of assignments. One game aims at getting students to learn a short dance sequence. Break the group up into several smaller groups, such as two to four students, and ask them to choreograph a fairy scene, such as how Tinkerbell would fly around Neverland. After each group presents its dance sequence, students vote for the best one. The winning group teaches all students their routine. The group practices the dance sequence several times.
A teacher can read or tell a fairy tale such as Sleeping Beauty and stop and ask students to use expressive dance for each part. It's important to have music playing in the background so students have inspiration for their creative movements. You want to observe their movements, showing their reaction to each part of the tale. Every student gets to choose her dance moves for the storytelling.