In a way, every communicative situation where two or more people are interacting is a kind of improvisation. There may be a vague script or patterning to the interaction, but the specifics are constatnly being created on the spot. Language learners do the same thing when they put their language to use "out on the street." They do the best they can with what they have.
This collection of improvisations is designed to bridge the gap between the classroom and the street. Each improvisation is in a two-page format. There are three principal parts.
Part I Getting Ideas is a warm-up that starts the students thinking in general about the topic of the improvisation by doing a variety of exercises - brain-storming, free writing, read-arounds, graphic organizers, and word sorts.
Part II The Story is a short, spare scene that leaves much to the imagination. After reading the story, the students answer some questions that stimulate their imaginations.
Part III The Improvisation. The students work on developing the characters and then plan out a story line. Finally, they perform their improvisation.