Curated OER
Introduction to Drama
Introduce your class to drama! You cast each pupil as a different character from a story you have read. They are given a general outline of the scene, act out the scene multiple times, then discuss the weak and strong aspects of each...
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...
Roald Dahl
Matilda - The Platinum-Blond Man
Before reading Chapter Six, "The Platinum-Blond Man" in Matilda, readers preview the illustration of Mrs. Wormwood dropping her plate of food, and think about what may have happened to cause the scene. After reading the chapter, class...
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 4
Class members have an opportunity to compare how a film and a play handle the same source material by viewing the opening chapters of George Lucas's Star Wars: A New Hope and acts I and II of Ian Doescher's play, William Shakespeare's...
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Days 13 and 14
How important are sound effects in films? In stage plays? In radio programs? To gain an understanding of the impact of these special effects, class members watch a short video spoof of the sound in a scene from Star Wars: A New...
Curated OER
Programs for Shakespeare's Plays
Pupils design theater programs which show their understanding of William Shakespeare's plays. They design original art to include in the programs.
Curated OER
Playing with Puns
Learners examine the wit of characters in two plays. In this drama lesson, students read The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary L. Blackwood and Twelfth Night by Shakespeare. Learners analyze the puns used in both plays and write essays that...
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...
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 6
How can a screenplay create meaning and drama in ways that other forms of writing cannot? That is the question class members must answer as they compare the cantina scene of the screenplay for George Lucas's Star Wars: A New Hope with...
Roald Dahl
The Twits - Mrs Twit Gets a Stretching
A cork, a rubber snake, and a bucket of mud may not seem like the best materials for washing a car, but they are in The Twits. The fifth lesson in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl has readers role play...
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...
Penguin Books
Teacher's Guide: A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
It's the American Dream! A house of your own, a better life, freedom to be who you want. But what happens when the dream withers? Lorraine Hansberry's award-winning drama, A Raisin in the Sun, offers some powerful answers to these...
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
Peter Pan: Teacher Resource Guide
What are some of the pros and cons of staying young forever? With the Peter Pan resource, learners discover the magical world of Neverland. Scholars create advertisements that promote eternal youth, and then write persuasive pitches for...
Ken Taylor
The Stones: Guilty or Not Guilty?
Young drama pupils will perform a number of expressive speaking exercises as they consider the themes of responsibility, consequences, and justice in the very modern Australian play The Stones. With a lot of role playing and...
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 12
Class members compare the final 30 minutes of Lucas's Star Wars: A New Hope with Act V of Doescher's play, William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope and consider how the choice of media influences viewers' impression of the...
Roald Dahl
The Twits - Mr Twit Gets a Horrid Shock
Mr. and Mrs. Twit do not treat each other very nicely. The sixth instructional activity in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl explores the way the characters talk to and treat one another. Role play and writing...
Roald Dahl
The Twits - Muggle-Wump Has an Idea
If a bar of chocolate was on the floor, would you try to pick it up? What if it was covered with glue? The eighth lesson plan in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl has scholars imagine crazy scenarios. The...
Curated OER
Brothers in Hope
Young scholars demonstrate their understanding of a book read in class. In this reading comprehension instructional activity, students participate in a process drama led by their teacher in order to demonstrate their understanding of the...
Yale University
Discovering Persephone
Here is a resource that introduces learners to how the stories from Greek mythology explain the workings of natural phenomena, movements of the seasons, and how the conflicts of the gods mimic our own daily difficulties. Learners...
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...
Poetry Society
War Horse and WWI Poetry
Here's a resource that deserves a place in your curriculum library. As part of their study of War Horse individuals create an anthology of World War I poetry.
Curated OER
Dramatic Pause
Pupils view live theatre. In this play productions lesson, students visit selected venues online or in person to see up to 41 plays in the United Kingdom.
Curated OER
"Romeo and Juliet" English Lesson Plans
English lesson plans focusing on "Romeo and Juliet" can be a great way to introduce students to Shakespeare's plays.
Write Away!
Voices In the Park
Explore the impact a narrator's point of view has on a story with a reading of the children's book, Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne. Written in four different voices, the story is told and retold from different perspectives to...