Unit Plan
Pearson

Musical Theater Performance

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Musical theater is a trifecta, requiring cast members to be actors, singers, and dancers. Help theater arts students develop these skills with a unit designed to prepare them for a staging of a musical.
Unit Plan
Broadway GPS

ALADDIN: Broadway's New Musical Comedy

For Parents 5th - 9th Standards
Aladdin, Disney's Broadway musical comedy, is a magic carpet ride. Prepare your class for a field trip to the show with a study guide that is a treasure trove of activities, cultural connections, and background information.
Unit Plan
Broadway GPS

The Lion King—The Broadway Musical Study Guide

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
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...
Unit Plan
Johnny Mercer Foundation

The American Musical

For Teachers 7th
General music students learn about the history of popular American music by creating and performing a one-act musical. After researching and creating an American Musical timeline, class members write a song with lyrics using Jam Studio,...
Lesson Plan
Connecticut Gilbert & Sullivan Society

Jobs in the Musical Theater

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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 students to the roles played by the behind-the-scenes- personnel with an worksheet...
Unit Plan
Charanga

Sing!

For Teachers K - 12th
Whether new to the Kodály Method of music instruction or an experienced veteran, you'll find much to make your heart sing in a teacher guide that was designed for a music appreciation project. 
Unit Plan
Orange Public Schools

Stagecraft

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The house lights dim, the curtain parts, lights slowly come up, revealing the stage. Before the actors appear, before a word is spoken, the audience is drawn in by the lighting, by the colors, by lines of the set, by the props, and...
Activity
Oxford Cambridge

Set and Prop Design

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What's the difference between set dressing and a prop? Between a costume accessory and a personal prop? As part of their study of set and prop design, class members engage in a series of activities that prepare them to design a prop for...
Activity
PBS

Broadway and The American Dream

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Considering a unit study of American Musical Theatre? What better way to start than at the very beginning. Eight pairs of cards provide class members with background information about the genre from 1893 through 2004. The cards are...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Epic Improvisation

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
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....
Activity
National Arts Centre

Create a Set Design

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Groups create a set for a play or story they select, build a model, and share their stage with the class. The team explains the rationale for their choices and the mood they feel their staging creates.
Activity
Digital Public Library of America

Women and the Blues

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A 12-piece primary source packet sets the tone for a study of the role women played in the origins, development, and impact of blues music. Legends like Bessie Smith, Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Mamie Smith, and Ida Cox are featured, as are...
Unit Plan
Honors College at Scholar Commons

From Start to Strike: A Lesson Plan for the Whole Theatre Experience

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Introduce young thespians to all aspects of the theater. A syllabus for a one-semester drama course provides lessons that take learners from the history of drama to the many facets of play production.
Activity
York Catholic

Elements of Drama

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Introduce young actors to the key elements of performance with this handout that defines key staging terms and activities.
Handout
Shakespeare Globe Trust

Fact Sheet: Indoor Theatres

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Pull up a cushion, grab an apple or some nuts, light a candle, and get ready to explore indoor theatres from Elizabethan England. Readers use a handout to distinguish between indoor and outdoor theatres and the types of actors who...
Lesson Plan
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Brigham Young University

Creating a Design Concept

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Putting together information gained from their script analysis, their readings, and their research, groups create a conceptual design statement for their assigned scene. The statement explains how their scenic design creates the mood and...
Lesson Plan
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Star Wars in the Classroom

"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Days 13 and 14

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
Unit Plan
Film Foundation

The Day The Earth Stood Still: The Filmmaking Process

For Teachers 6th - 10th Standards
How are films made? As part of their study of film, middle schoolers investigate the pre-production, production, and post-production process and consider the role of the director, the screenwriter, production designer, cinematographer,...
Lesson Plan
Poetry Class

Eccentricity and Sound

For Teachers 4th - 12th
What do Lady Gaga and Dame Edith Sitwell have in common? As they examine Sitwell's poetry, class members learn that the similarities are far more than their unique appearance.
Lesson Plan
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program

Dinosaurs Before Dark

For Teachers 1st - 5th Standards
Young readers travel back to the time of the dinosaurs in this literature unit based on the story Dinosaurs Before Dark. Intended for use with upper-elementary special education students, this resource provides reading...
Activity
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Curated OER

Educator's Guide: A Christmas Carol

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Planning on using Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol this year? Then give yourself a gift and download this colorful guide thats packed with goodies. Kids, as well as the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future are sure to...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Breaking the Code: Actions and Songs of Protest

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil changed history. Their sit-in at the lunch counter of the Woolworths in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960 became a model for the nonviolent protests that...