Theater Play Teacher Resources

Fight or flight? Could a play be so scary that it makes the audience want to run from the theater? Andre de Lorde actually had the dream of writing such a play. Scholars learn of him and other French playwrights that focused on the...

Does theater really influence society? In the nineteenth century, drama displays that depicted the treatment of different races actually contributed to the spread of racism. Scholars view images from such plays to gain a better...

There are two distinct periods of African theater: BC (before colonialism) and AC (after colonialism). The 49th installment of the Crash Course Theater and Drama introduces viewers to African dance and theater traditions. However, they...

Welcome to America! A very entertaining video teaches pupils the history of drama and how it made its way to America. It discusses those that were not pleased with the appearance of theater in the New World and even tells the tale of a...

Just how real is realism? It seems that the Theater Duke, as the video discusses, felt every realistic detail mattered. Scholars learn about the use of realism in plays and the importance of realistic details in props, costumes, and more.

Shakespeare may have been one of the greatest playwrights of all time, but many masterful dramatists came after him. An interesting video describes English theater after the Bard, particularly focusing on the works of Ben Jonson and...

Musicals have been adapted from stage plays, novels, and movies. With The Lion King, Disney transforms its animated film into show-stopping, live-action musical theatre. The guide Disney provides to accompany a study...

Much like an iceberg, the actors you see on stage are only a fraction of the number of people involved in a theatrical production. Introduce theatre arts high schoolers to the roles played by the behind-the-scenes- personnel with an...

Students act out the Civil War through reader's theater. In this performing arts lesson, students research the Civil War and find costumes, props and scenery appropriate to the time period. They become characters from the Civil War time...

The Diary of Anne Frank is not only a book, but a play as well, and this quiz focuses on the play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. Nineteen of the questions are multiple-choice and one is fill-in-the-blank.

Let's play! Pupils create titles for their readers theater scripts and act them out in a fun game of charades. Next, as part of their end of unit assessment, they write final copies of their individual scripts.

After reading Acts III and IV of Othello, give your class a fun, interactive, music-related activity. Begin by asking students about songs they have heard in movies or plays. Let them look up the lyrics online and ruminate about the...

In this reading worksheet, students perform a reader's theater script based on Three Billy Goats Gruff. Students read the 4 character script like a play.

Students analyze the conventions used in Noh plays and write an introduction to a Noh play of their own. In this Noh play lesson, students identify the conventions of the Noh form and analyze the realizations the main character achieves....

A great actor has the ability to make or break a play. A series of lesson plans related to William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar looks closely at the choices actors make during a production of the play to help provide insight into the...

A study guide for Native Gardens, a dramatic play, introduces theater lovers to a set of a neighbors and the problems they face. Discussion questions in the guide tackle themes of racism, ageism, and classism.

What makes a good leader? Use the curriculum guide for William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar to help scholars answer that question. Pupils research the play's historical context and other background information before engaging in...

Shakespeare did more than write timeless literary works—he coined words such as moonbeam, fortune-teller, and even eyeball! A study guide for Henry V introduces key words the Bard first used with a fun vocabulary activity, part of a...

Before Hamilton, Lin Manuel-Miranda gained fame with In the Heights. A study guide prepares theater goers for a performance of the musical about a group of friends living in the New York City neighborhood of Washington Heights....

Shakespeare loved to write plays about famous kings. A study guide for Richard II explores the drama surrounding the reign of King Richard while reinforcing important language arts skills. After attending a performance of the play,...

Introduce the origins of theater and dramatic roles with this highly entertaining, animated video. It illustrates the evolution of the stage from the shrinking of the chorus in dramas during the fifth century BCE in Ancient Greece,...

George Bailey learns that it truly is a wonderful life when he discovered how many lives he has touched—not to mention how many new generations of lives the story touches every year. A study guide on It's a Wonderful Life ...

Students participate in reader's theatre. In this compare and contrast lesson, students read the book The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza. This lesson promotes fluency and expression. Students also read the traditional story of...

Students participate in a reader's theater about the Civil War. In this performing arts activity, students review the Civil War through a reader's theater. They practice reading their parts to work on expression and fluidity before...