Curated OER
Writing Drama-Trying Your Hand at being a Playwright
Fifth graders chart the elements of drama. In this performing arts lesson, 5th graders discuss the role of a playwrite, practice doing some Reader's Theatre scripts, write a paragraph about a problem between two people, and perform...
Curated OER
Attack Theatre Movement Lesson: The Toy Shop
Students study even and uneven rhythms in music. They demonstrate slow and fast movements using various body parts and echo clap with their hands. Listening to uneven rhythms of the drum, they skip, jump and hop and simulate toys in a...
Curated OER
Eugene O'Neill on Page and Stage
Students investigate the life and works of Eugene O'Neill. In this American theater lesson plan, students read biographical information about O'Neill and review Long Day's Journey into Night. Students then analyze the play in order to...
Curated OER
Every Puppet Tells a Story
Students make homemade puppet characters that have faces that tell it all. In this early childhood dramatic play lesson, students create stick puppet characters that encourage language and story development, creative-thinking and...
Curated OER
Reader's Theater: Presenting Asian Folktales
Students create and perform folktale plays. In this reader's theater and Asian literature lesson, students work in groups to rewrite Asian folktales into scripts and perform the folktales for their class in a Reader's Theater. Lesson...
Curated OER
The Federal Theatre Project
Students research the Federal Theatre Project and assess its accomplishments. Working in groups, they identify both successes and failure of the project and record their findings on a chart. Students explain the credibility of the...
Ford's Theatre
How Perspective Shapes Understanding of History
The Boston Massacre may be an iconic event in American history, but perhaps the British soldiers had another point of view. Using primary sources, including reports from Boston newspapers and secondary sources from the British...
ReadWriteThink
Beyond the Story: A Dickens of a Party
It's time to party like it's 1899! Incorporate a research-based celebration of the Victorian Era into your unit on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. After learners read the novella or view a production of the play, they craft a...
Brigham Young University
Understanding Design, Composition, and Color
The set for a play combines design elements (style, line, shape, mass, measure, position, color, and texture) and principles of composition (unity, harmony, contrast, variation, balance, proportion, and emphasis) to create a particular...
Orlando Shakes
The Best of Enemies
History comes to life with the play The Best of Enemie. Scholars learn literary elements as well explore racial issues in American history. The play is based on a true story and addresses the universal truth that people are capable of...
Curated OER
Theatres of War Wordsearch
In this battlegrounds worksheet, students analyze the names of 20 theatres of war. Students find these names in a word search puzzle.
Curated OER
Paws in Jobland: Lesson Plan 2 - Role Play
Students discuss and role play various careers in order to become familiar with the curriculum of the book "Paws in Jobland". For this introductory lesson, students pretend they do a certain job, and answer written questions about what...
Curated OER
Lesson 13- Lucille Ball: What's So Funny
Learners study who were important in Hollywood cinema in the 1940's, 1950's and today. They participate in a comedy improv exercise.
Curated OER
Costume And Make-Up Shakespeare Style
Students create original costumes and make-up for a puppet presentation of a scene from Shakespeare in this week long creative project. Performances of the Shakespeare scenes end this lesson geared towards state and national standards...
Curated OER
Dance: Personal Soundtracks
Students create a musical autobiography. In this fine arts lesson, students explore the emotions that music can express by listening to and discussing a variety of music. Students construct a personal timeline and a collection of music...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Hamlet Meets Chushingura: Traditions of the Revenge Tragedy
Students read texts, view film and video and conduct research in an analysis and comparison of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and the Kabuki piece "Chushingura". They focus their analysis on the theme of revenge.
Hot Docs
Docs for School: Viewing and Teaching Guide
Teaching documentary in your class? Inform your instruction with a guide meant to support teachers as they begin with documentary. The resource includes information on what a documentary is as well as documentary modes, elements, and...
Curated OER
Theatre- The Critic's Review
Young scholars construct a critical review of a performance. For this theatrical lesson, students learn why critical reviews are important and create their own critical review. Young scholars discuss their review.
Curated OER
Tracking the Monster: Ashley Judd and Indie.Arie Confront AIDS in Africa - Lesson 3
Students see how music and theatre deals with contemporary problems and issues. The sight-read new music and examine the musical, 'RENT.'
Curated OER
Creating Nonviolence: A Theatre of the Oppressed Approach to Things Fall Apart
Eleventh graders analyze Ahimsa and complete activities for nonviolence. In this nonviolence lesson, 11th graders define violence and relate it to their lives. Students adapt prose into a dialogue to act out and analyze the violence in...
Curated OER
Happy April Fool's Day!
Grab students' attention with these lesson and activity ideas on April Fool's Day.
Curated OER
Ready . . . Set . . . Read! Teaching Reading Fluency
There are many activities and lesson ideas that teachers can use to reinforce reading fluency skills. This article brings a variety of strategies to light, including how to incorporate fluency instruction within novel units and...
Curated OER
Personal Poetry: An Introduction to Narrative Poetry
Here are some simple and easy to manage lesson ideas to introduce narrative poetry in your classroom.
US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – End of the War
You are Winston Churchill, and on May 9th, 1945, you receive millions of grateful cards and telegrams. How do you respond? High schoolers put themselves in the Prime Minister's chair with an activity that prompts them to respond to a...