Increasing Engagement With Improv Games

I call on a freshman in my English class, and they look back, frozen. I wait patiently until they finally, quietly, respond. “I don’t know.”

Many teachers recognize this moment. Maybe the student is concerned that they don’t have the “right answer,” or maybe they’re too shy to try. Embarrassment, nerves, and anxiety are among many factors that can silence classroom discussions and weaken collaboration. This is why I’ve introduced improv games into my classroom.

No, this isn’t the improv of comedy clubs or spontaneous scenes on Whose Line Is It Anyway? The improv games I share with my students are less about performance and more about presence. The goal is participation: to see or hear something and add on to it with “Yes, and…”

In school, students often feel pressure to produce polished answers or perfect test scores, so improv offers something increasingly rare: permission to play, fail, experiment, have fun, and try again.

Improv games have helped my students move away from overthinking and toward being present and mindful. Improv games make risk-taking feel safe, as students understand that there are no mistakes, but only opportunities to try something else. It’s important to note that there’s no winner or loser in improv games. There is only listening, responding, collaborating, participating, and having fun.

Interrupt the Pattern of Seeking Perfection

Many students may view the classroom as a place that rewards perfectionism. So, they only raise their hands when they have the right answer. Too often, the conversation becomes dominated by a few.

Improvisation interrupts that pattern.

I tell my students that the purpose of improvisation is to produce off-balance moments and to get all players to interact (using both verbal and nonverbal communication). At first, students laugh nervously and avoid getting too close to the discomfort. But within minutes (and with a few encouraging words from me) the energy changes. Students realize the games reward risk-takers. They engage and get creative. That’s it! The stakes are low and the fun is high.

Confidence is built through repetition, not perfection. As I watch, I see my students (even those who resisted contributing to discussions) try. Students smile, laugh, and find fun in the exercise and the interaction.

Build Communication and Literacy Skills

Improv looks like play, but its connection to literacy is strong. Each improv game I share requires students to listen, interpret, and give thoughtful responses. Many games also require students to build off of what was previously said. These are the same skills that translate to successful discussions, collaborations, presentations, and writing.

I use activities from theater educator Viola Spolin’s book Theater Games for the Classroom. Here are some you might want to check out:

• Quick Numbers. The purpose is to help players focus. A student says a number, and if that’s your number, you have to name another one. If you’re too slow to respond, you shift to the end of the numerical line and all the numbers change.
• Three Changes. The purpose is to improve players’ powers of observation, and students focus on other players to see what changes were made. Two students start by facing each other, then one student turns around while the one facing forward makes three changes (rolls a cuff, moves a watch, flips up a hood) and then the first person turns around and has to name the three changes.
• Mirror. The purpose is to help players see with the full body and to reflect, not imitate each other. The focus is on exact mirroring and becoming a reflection of the initiator’s movements.
• Who Started the Motion? The purpose is to view others critically. In this game, students focus on keeping the center player from finding the leader who starts the motion.
• What Am I Doing? The purpose is to help students multitask. The focus is pantomiming an action while indicating some other action.
• Building a Story. The purpose is to listen with full awareness and understanding to the words in a story. The focus is on keeping attention completely focused on the storyteller.

During each game, I hear laughter and can see students’ anxiety evaporate. But the academic benefits are also strong. Students practice elaboration, active listening, awareness, and verbal fluency. They learn how to sustain ideas rather than offer one-word answers.

These activities translate naturally into classrooms. After reading a piece of literature, students can improvise conversations between characters or perform unscripted scenes exploring conflict and motivation.

Improv Games Support SEL Skills

Improv rewards responsiveness and also supports social and emotional learning (SEL). During improv games, students must remain flexible to have success; they practice empathy by responding to others’ ideas; and they incorporate emotional regulation when activities feel uncomfortable or uncertain. Most important, improv builds community.

In each game, students depend on one another. The game won’t work if participants try to dominate or embarrass others, because the structure rewards cooperation, positivity, and attentiveness. I also encourage students to improvise within each game by keeping the rules flexible, so that nothing stagnates. Taking a risk can lead to discoveries.

Students need to understand that there are no winners or losers and that the point of these games (and school) is to try. The goal isn’t to be funny or clever, but to support one another, learn, connect, and stay engaged. This collaborative environment is especially powerful for self-conscious adolescents. These games allow the class to laugh together, create together, and fail together.

Improv is Manageable: Start Small

You don’t need training, experience, or lesson plans to implement improv games in your classroom. To help me facilitate a successful day of improvisation games, I reached out to a retired educator and theater director to join my class for a day. Consider asking the drama teacher at your school for support, or reach out to a local theater company or theater school. Or implement the games yourself. Some of the most effective improv games, such as the ones I shared earlier, take less than 10 minutes and require no materials at all.

You might already be doing some improv games, but you just haven’t called them that. Collaborative storytelling and rapid-response warm-ups, which are often implemented in classrooms, are actually games.

The Takeaway: Fun

My students and I debriefed after our recent day of improv games. Students said they enjoyed being in randomized groups, stepping out of their comfort zones, thinking on their feet, listening to others, and responding in the moment. The result? They said they experienced more confidence and stronger collaboration, and they felt a willingness to take risks—and of course, there was lots of laughter and fun!

When students learn that they can contribute imperfectly, respond without fear of judgment, and trust themselves, classrooms become more connected places. Discussions grow. Group work becomes more collaborative. Students see themselves as participants. Perhaps most important, improv gets every voice (even the most shy and reluctant) to participate.