Take your class to the theater! First graders will examine characters that actors play such a villians and heroes. Then participate in creating plays and performing in them. They will also research what it takes to create scenery, props...

Conduct a Reader's Theater. Third, fourth, and fifth graders rewrite books with a baseball theme to a Reader's Theater format. They form groups of four or five, practice reading the script, and then perform it for an audience.

Learners practice fluency. In this reader's theater instructional activity, students practice their fluency by rehearsing a script with their group. Once the group is ready, they create a background and props and are videotaped...

Here is a series of five exercises intended to bring movement, dance, and theater into the classroom. Intended for special ed classes, but appropriate for any grade, learners will pantomime, play pretend, dance, move, and create...

Students create and perform folktale plays. For 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...

Reader's Theater is a great way to build fluency, intonation, and dramatic flare. The class reads the theater piece, "The New Friends" paying attention to how they express emotion and feeling as they read. They discuss the use of plot,...

Students explore stock characters and pantomime. In this comic theater lesson, students examine an ancient Greek statuette depicting a comic actor and an ancient Roman lamp decorated with a comic mask. Students pantomime short scenes and...

Students view video clips from the program NY VOICES: "The Public" at 50, which examines Joseph Papp's passion and commitment to bring theater to diverse communities of New York. They create a playbill highlighting productions for an...

Sixth graders learn the importance of mask in Greek theater, explore the history of Greek theater, integrate planning - design and construct a mask that shows exaggeration of features, build up features using paper mach mash, enhance...

Second graders create a Reader's Theater script. In this reader's theater instructional activity, 2nd graders create their own script of a story in groups. They make props and act them out on FlipVideo and voice thread. 

“All the world’s a stage,” exclaims Jaques in As You Like It, but it is the structure of the Globe stage and how that structure influenced Shakespeare’s plays that is the focus of an on-line research project. Class members visit a series...

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...

Young analysts write a comparative essay, but about what? They compose a paper based on several critical discussion about reality and illusion, and how both are blurred in art. They analyze several theatre pieces that exemplify Brechtian...

Upper elementary artists create works which demonstrate an understanding of the many elements of theater and the visual arts. This four-day plan combines many wonderful aspects of visual, musical, and theatrical arts into one very...

Students participate in a reader's theater, adapting scenes from The Great Gatsby.  In this reading comprehension lesson, students interpret a given scene from The Great Gatsby in a readers' theater.  Students analyze the scene...

Third graders discover characteristics of fables by reading Aesop's fables and performing a reader's theater.

  Students watch a teacher presented Readers Theater about Colonial America to introduce the students to the topic.  In this Colonial America lesson, 4th graders recreate a timeline of early American history, using...

Young scholars access a variety of websites that present the topic of Reader's Theater. They consider how to use Reader's Theater in the classroom and participate in a Reader's Theater presentation.

Students design theater programs which show their understanding of William Shakespeare's plays. They design original art to include in the programs.

Students build connections between census information and community decision-making by reading a reader's theater script. In this reader's theater lesson plan, students practice reading fluently and learn about the government. The...

Students participate in a reader's theater using farm animals in the novella Animal Farm. In this Animal Farm lesson plan, students evaluate interpretations using the text, personal experience, and historical events.

Tenth graders describe roles of key figures in the Pacific Theater of war during World War II.  In this American History lesson, 10th graders research key events of the Pacific Theater of War during World War II.  Students...

Young scholars perform a readers theater about Anne Hutchinson and her religious dissent. In this religious dissent lesson plan, students re-enact her trial through the reader's theater.

Learners perform Reader's Theater of the story of King Midas as they investigate how greed effects people. They look at a contemporary famous person who gave into greed what the effect was. They chose a creative activity from a list...