Big Break Curriculum: Group/school version
Big Break: Act and Sing Game is a game that supports emotion learning. It can have even more of an impact if therapists, parents and teachers engage in the game with the player, and talk to the player about emotions. Below are some guidelines for emotion discussions to accompany gameplay.
We recommend starting light, and allowing the player to continue to play as they wish. Many kids find the movie that is generated at the end of each level rewarding, because they get to see themselves acting out a scene. If they need more/external motivation to play, you could consider offering them a reward after each studio is completed (e.g., a sticker for younger children, or 5 minutes of a desirable activity for a teen). You can also see how many coins the player has earned after each studio. We recommend that a player complete a level (one entire studio) per day, 3 times per week. Studios involve 4 rounds of acting out 1, 2, or 3 videos per round, and identifying emotions in videos, or ranking the emotions in order of intensity. Kids are encouraged to play more studios per day as desired.
For classes, we’ve included suggested mini-assignments, as well as a final show which allows kids to perform a scene in front of a class or recorded for future video playback. Scripts for the scenes will be made available so kids can practice.
You can also look up emotion definitions using our companion app for iPhone and iPad: Big Break Emotions. This companion app is included in education packages or subscriptions.
Lesson 1
Big Break Gameplay | Start by asking the player to complete “Bollywood” or “Rock Opera” on Level 1
The player is encouraged to try to get to the end of a level if possible, so that he/she can see his/her movie. |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up Happy and Sad |
Discussion Topics & Questions | Talk about 2 emotions, happy and sad.
|
Mini-Assignment | Look at expressions today, at home/school. See if you can notice a happy expression, or a sad expression. See if you hear a happy or sad voice. We can discuss tomorrow! Draw an emoji of a happy face, a sad face
|
End of Term Assignment | Explain the end of term group acting assignment
|
Lesson 2
Big Break Gameplay | Play another “easy” studio – player picks! If the player wants to play some more, feel free! |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up Happy and Sad |
Discussion Topics & Questions |
|
Mini-Assignment | Take up yesterday’s assignment, ask the players if they remembered an example of when they noticed that someone was happy or sad. Suggest corrections for emojis as needed.
|
End of Term Assignment | Get together with group and practice acting out your scene together. Choose who will be which part. |
Lesson 3
Big Break Gameplay | Play another “easy” studio – player picks! If the player wants to play some more, feel free! |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up Happy, Sad, and Angry |
Discussion Topics & Questions | You’ll notice that some game tasks require the player to rank an emotion by intensity.
Deciphering emotional intensity can be a challenging task, so have lots of patience, and let the player know it can be tough! You can continue to talk about intensity while you discuss other emotions and what they mean. |
Mini-Assignment | Take up yesterday’s assignment: ask kids if they remembered an example of when they saw someone with a sad face or a happy face.
|
End of Term Assignment | Get together with group and try to pick which script you might want to act out together for the final project. |
Lesson 4
Big Break Gameplay | Play another “easy” studio – player picks!
If the player wants to play some more, feel free! |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up Scared and Angry |
Discussion Topics & Questions | Talk about other emotions, such as “angry” and “scared”
|
Mini-Assignment | Take up yesterday’s assignment, ask kids if they noticed any angry faces or voices. – draw an emoji of a scared face
At home, look for examples of scared faces and listen for angry or scared voices, in people around you or on TV. |
End of Term Assignment | Get together with group and practice your lines. Talk about the emotions for each line. Play the game so you can get feedback on your emotions. |
Medium Level
If the player is ready for the medium level, you can use these discussions to go along with medium-level studios. In the medium level of the game, new emotions are added, emotions are a little less exaggerated, and the emotion choices are more similar, so it starts to get a little more challenging to distinguish different emotions.
Lesson 5
Big Break Gameplay | Play medium level – Bollywood or Comedy. If the player wants to play some more, feel free! |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up Scared and Surprised |
Discussion Topics & Questions |
|
Mini-Assignment | Take up yesterday’s assignment, ask kids if they saw any examples of scared faces. Collect emojis and discuss the facial features. Suggest corrections as needed.
At home, look for example of surprised faces and voices, in people around you or on TV. |
End of Term Assignment | Get together with group and practice your lines. Talk about costumes. Do you like the costumes used in that scene in the game? How would you design costumes for your scene? |
Lesson 6
Big Break Gameplay | Play another “medium” studio – player picks!
If the player wants to play some more, feel free! |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up Calm and Happy |
Discussion Topics & Questions | What is calm? Calm is an emotion we feel when we are relaxed and satisfied.
|
Mini-Assignment | Take up yesterday’s assignment, ask kids if they saw any examples of surprised faces or heard surprised voices. Collect emoticons and discuss the facial features. Suggest corrections as needed.
At home, look and listen for examples of calm faces and voices, in people around you or on TV. |
End of Term Assignment | Get together with group and practice your lines. Talk about where your movie should take place. Where does it take place in the game? And what would you do differently? Inside, or outside? What type of things would be around you? |
Lesson 7
Big Break Gameplay | Play another “medium” studio – player picks!
If the player wants to play some more, feel free! |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up Disgust, Anger, and Sadness |
Discussion Topics & Questions |
|
Mini-Assignment | Take up yesterday’s assignment, ask kids if they saw any examples of calm faces. Collect emoticons and discuss the facial features. Suggest corrections as needed.
At home, look for examples of disgust faces, in people around you or on TV. |
End of Term Assignment | Get together with group and practice your lines. Try standing and doing actions that would go along well with your lines. Were there actions in your scene in the game? Do you want to do the same ones, or new ones? |
Hard level
At the Hard level, emotion choices become more difficult, and the emotions are even less exaggerated so they’re more difficult to tell apart. This will give kids an extra challenge. If they’re not ready for the hard level yet, they can keep playing studios over in the easy and medium levels.
Lesson 8
Big Break Gameplay | Player can pick any hard level to begin with
If the player wants to play some more, feel free! |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up each emotion |
Discussion Topics & Questions | Pick any hard-level studio to play. Talk about how emotions can be positive or negative.
Talk about how even though “sad”, “fearful”, “anger” and “disgust” are negative, they are still important
Ask kids if they have a favorite emotion. Why is that your favorite? Can you make a face like that right now? |
Mini-Assignment | Take up yesterday’s assignment, ask kids if they saw any examples of disgusted faces. Collect emojis and discuss the facial features.
|
End of Term Assignment | Get together with group and practice your lines. Talk about costumes. Do you like the costumes used in that scene in the game? How would you design costumes for your scene? |
Lesson 9
Big Break Gameplay | Play another “hard” studio – player picks!
If the player wants to play some more, feel free! |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; have all emotions available for reference |
Discussion Topics & Questions | As kids start to get more comfortable with the expressions used in the game, you can also discuss why emotions are important. Why are emotions important?
|
Mini-Assignment | Take up yesterday’s assignment, ask kids if they saw any examples of positive or negative faces. Which emotion was it? Today, watch out for an emotion that causes someone to act. Eg., if someone looks scared and then runs away, or if someone looks happy to see you and says hello. |
End of Term Assignment | Get together with group and practice your lines. Try setting your scene and rehearsing in costume (if using). Get ready for final performance. |
Lesson 10
Big Break Gameplay | Player can pick any studio they like |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up each emotion. |
Discussion Topics & Questions | Pets & emotions
|
Mini-Assignment | If you have a pet at home, try to see if you can tell how they are feeling. Or, look up an animal video you like on youtube, and see if you can tell how they are feeling. |
End of Term Assignment | Perform your scene for the class. Use costumes when possible, and create your scene when materials/space available, eg., inside/outside, props, and so on. Can also record scenes on video if desired. |
Lessons 11 & up
Big Break Gameplay | Player can pick any hard or hardest level to begin with
If the player wants to play some more, feel free! |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up each emotion. |
Discussion Topics & Questions | Keep track of whether there are certain emotions the player has the most difficulty with. Come back to these emotions and discuss them again. What do they look like? Why are they important? What do they mean?
|
Mini-Assignment | Take up yesterday’s assignment, ask kids if they saw any examples of disgusted faces. Collect emoticons and discuss the facial features.
|
End of Term Assignment | Remaining performances can take place today |