Really? Rapping The Odyssey? Really. A discussion of the oral tradition of story telling and its links to Epic poetry sets the stage for a series of activities that encourage improvisation to integrate music into other classrooms....

Second graders explore setting through improvisations.  In this theatre lesson, 2nd graders perform a variety of improvisations in different settings and chart how they established the setting in the different environments. 

Students watch "The Greatest TV Moments: Sesame Street Music A to Z" and improvise melodic and rhythmic embellishments for the song "O What A Beautiful Morning" or "Rubber Duckie."

Here are two great lessons that work together and are inspired by the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods. Young writers and actors will retell the story of "The Frog Prince" through games, improvisational script writing, and...

Connect the ideas of jazz improvisation and art to writing poetry. Learners collaborate and write different lines of poetry, imitating the jazz styles of improvisation and freewriting. Take a close look at the poems "Tenebrae" by Yusef...

Read then role-play the characters from story of If You Give A Pig a Pancake. Young actors use improvisation and characterization to create the characters from the story. They will also write and role play original version of the...

Students observe that there are myriad combinations of rhythms to choose from when improvising jazz and blues music, and recognize that while the variations seem infinite, they are in fact finite. They notate a 12 bar blues progression...

Middle schoolers explore and experience jazz through collage. They listen to improvisational jazz, discuss the origins of jazz, then design and create a collage that shows jazz being played. This project will result in amazing works of...

Students explore the work of 3 for All. In this performing arts lesson, students watch a video segment about the improvisation group 3 for All, study improvisation, and participate in their own improvisation routines.

Students are introduced to the concept of improvisation. In groups, they practice improvising a different scenario given to them and explore the various ways people communicate with each other. To end the lesson, they reflect on the...

Students describe and compare characters and situations in dramas from and about cultures and historical periods, illustrate in improvised or scripted scenes, and discuss how theater reflects a culture.

Building a realistic understanding of the trials Jews suffered during WWII isn't always easy. This plan employs student constructed dramatic freeze frame scenes to help build a deeper understanding of Jewish Ghettos, concentration camps,...

Students evaluate jazz music and a jazz music performance. They collaborate and create an improvised group short story. They improvise a musical piece on found objects.

Sixth graders present reader's theatre by improvising folktales from different countries. In groups, they produce an improvisation of a folktale story from an assigned reading of a folktale.

Students practice playing and improvising while playing the 12 bar blues. They practice compositional skills, evaluate and perform musical pieces focused on the blues.

Students compare two versions of Macbeth and participate in improvisational acting.  In this improvisational lesson, students read and discuss the text before watching two different versions of the film.  Students roleplay...

Learners culminate a humanities project by improvising music to accompany a video of a particular era in US history.

Students create a dance study based on the growth cycle of a flower. They improvise movements that relate to each stage of growth. They create artwork on the growth cycle of a flower. They perform their dances for the whole class.

Students get to encounter simple musical notations, basic keyboarding and improvisation. Students exercise on creative thinking skills. Students create their own musical notes.

Upper graders having skills in music performance will extend their abilities through creative musical composition. They'll use Finale 2000 to explore facets of music composition, they'll then compose a piece for their instrument in C, F,...

Hone those musical ears to identify consonance and dissonance in music being played live or on a recording. Learners will work through four activities where they will listen to consonant and dissonant notes being played first by the...

Learners write a script, planning and recording improvisations based on personal experience and heritage, imagination, literature and history.

Learners analyze and critique theater events by evaluating and constructing meanings from improvised and scripted scenes and from theater, film, television, and electronic media productions.

Learners of any age can participate in this imagination and improve development activity. With the use of a small box, they work through a series of questions or situations posed by the teacher. Each group uses the box to create short...