Curated OER
the Little Red Riding Hood
Students respond to the story of Little Red Riding Hood. For this Red Riding Hood lesson, students retell and discuss story elements. Students practice phonic sounds. Students role play, make predictions, use picture cards and practice...
Curated OER
Art Show with the Masters
Students contribute to a classroom art show. In this art appreciation lesson, students research the lives and works of artists from different ages. Students write reports, recreate artwork of their researched artists, and participate in...
Curated OER
Seeking Shakespeare in Local Communities
Students explore where Shakespeare exists in local community plays. In this Shakespeare lesson, students create a documentary to define the existence of Shakespeare in their community drama activities. Students participate in community...
Roald Dahl
Matilda - Bruce Bogtrotter and the Cake
After reading the 11th chapter in Matilda, class members take on the role of Bruce Bogtrotter and re-enact the cake eating scene. Here's the catch: they must come-up with an impromptu re-enactment of the scene from the story, and use...
Roald Dahl
Matilda - Arithmetic
Mr. Wormwood, one of the characters in Roald Dahl's Matilda, is not the most trustworthy of characters. Have student groups take on the roles of car salespeople and play a game to see who can make the most profit by selling refurbished...
Teacher Created Materials
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Bring Julius Caesar to life with a reader's theatre approach that engages the entire class. The opening exercises model the importance of reading with expression while choral reading exercises permit class members to practice their...
Roald Dahl
Matilda - The New Home
Matilda finally gets her happy ending with a new home with Miss Honey. But first, Mr. Wormwood goes on trial for his wrong doings and bad car sales. Class members take on the role of a character in the trial and participate in a role...
Curated OER
Decades of Drama
Learners explore, examine and study August Wilson's 10-play series where each play focuses on a particular decade. They discuss each play in depth and then speculate on the possible plots for an eleventh play set in the 21st century.
Curated OER
In Search of Caesar's Ghost
Students collaborate in small groups to choose a scene that they write in place of a scene in Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar". In this dramatic expression instructional activity, their scripts include roles, lines and stage...
Curated OER
Reader's Theater, Get Ready
Students recognize what features make a play. In this reader's theater lesson plan, students read the play Master Man: A Tall Tale of Nigeria told by Aaron Shepard and determine what features make this a play and what the author's...
Curated OER
A Light in the Storm
Examine the genre of historical fiction while reading A Light in the Storm. They extract events in chronological order to make a timeline. Then, they use information in the book important to the characters to create a presentation of an...
Curated OER
Investigating the Harlem Renaissance
The work of Langston Hughes opens the door to research into the origin and legacy of the Harlem Renaissance and how the literature of the period can be viewed as a commentary on race relations in America. In addition, groups are assigned...
Curated OER
Creating and Presenting Haiku with Kid Pix
Third graders research what a Haiku is and be able to answer related questions on an example of a Haiku. They create an original Haiku of their own using general Haiku characteristic guidelines. Students use Kid Pix to type in and...
Curated OER
Shakespeare's Macbeth
After reading Act II of The Tragedy of Macbeth, give your class this prompt to complete. One other question is listed along with information regarding the divine right of kings. A full plan is not written out here, but the prompt is a...
Curated OER
The Cinder-Eyed Cats - Storybook Theater
The students listen to the story "The Cinder-Eyed Cats." The students then chose individual parts to play in a theater like production. The students move like their character, be it a fish, an octopus, a lobster, a cat, etc. Water music...
Curated OER
Giving from the Heart: Art from the Heart
Students perform a play to benefit others. In this service learning lesson, students are introduced to theatrical play as they perform an adaptation of "The Quiltmaker's Gift" and discuss the concept of philanthropy.
Curated OER
Self-acceptance
Students assess the importance of acceptance of self and others via the development of self-worth and the looking for the good in others not the bad. They explore the task of looking at the world through the eyes of others. In addition,...
Curated OER
Acting Out The Story, Jane And The Dragon
Third graders reflect on and discuss the story, Jane and the Dragon, and portray their understanding of stereotyping through the actions of their character. Through the use of legends, drama can be used to educate understanding for other...
Curated OER
Hamlet and the Elizabethan Revenge Ethic in Text and Film
Students discover how Shakespeare's play interprets Elizabethan attitudes toward revenge, as reflected in the structure of the Elizabethan revenge tragedy, one of the most popular forms of drama of that era. Students perform certain...
Curated OER
Choose Your Path
Middle schoolers identify the plot and theme of cartoons. In groups, they discuss and compare the written and movie versions of popular fairy tales. Individually, they write their own fairy tale and share them with the class. They...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Drawing Conclusions Based on Literary Elements
Students compare versions of Cinderella and draw conclusions based on the story elements identified. In this literacy comprehension and story elements lesson, students read several versions of Cinderella, complete a "Comparing Folklore"...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Analyzing Literary Elements in Fiction
Students analyze the characters and events in fictional writing. In this literary elements lesson, students study the meaning of the words characterization and fiction. They listen to the story Pigsty by Mark Teague, or any other book...
National First Ladies' Library
We're off to see the Wizard!
Students explore the process of play and movie making from books. They study the basic elements of drama and write and produce a play based on a chosen theme. Students explain the basic elements of a play by looking at "The Wonderful...