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...

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...

Breathe life into a reading of the children's story Clever Jack Takes the Cake with this Reader's Theater script. Offering speaking roles for nine students plus a sound effects chorus, this is a great activity that engages the whole...

Size within the solar system is a difficult thing for pupils to imagine. Using everyday objects, they build models to show the scale between the sun, moon, and Earth. They situate their props in proportional distances between the objects...

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.

Invite your class on a ride through the American Revolution. Young historians travel through time as they explore the events that led to the foundation of the United States of America. Over the course of eight lessons, this unit...

Is it possible to create an environmentally friendly shampoo? Learners accept this challenge in the fifth lesson in a green chemistry series of 24. The analysis of their shampoo ingredients must address pH, exothermic reactions, and...

Learning about literature can be so much fun; it can also be made more accessible through projects and dramatic play. As they explore theme, character, and setting, the class gets creative and makes a dramatic recreation of a classic...

Glaciologists in your class make models of glaciers to simulate how they move down a valley, and then they use it to test any aspect of glacier movement. Not only is this a vivid visual of how these monsters of ice flow, but it is also...

The inverse square law is revealed when your class participates in this activity. They move a graph paper or perfboard square back and forth in a square of light to see how the intensity changes. You will definitely want to add this...

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...

As part of a unit, this lesson familiarizes youngsters with components of a rain garden. They speculate about the role of an assigned component in contributing to a rain garden, and ultimately, in the health of the local watershed. Each...

Using role play, a graphic organizer, and discussion, your class members will compare and contrast the movement of people and goods between countries in the European Union before and after the organization was established. This is a...

After reading about the legal status of women in the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt and doing some additional research, your young historians will work in groups to develop short skits that reflect a typical gender-role related scenario...

Young lawyers put Goldilocks on trial as they develop an understanding of the legal system in the final lesson of this five-part series. After learning about key terms relating to litigation, students are assigned roles and reading...

Turn your young scholars into young tree-tectives with this fun science investigation into the life of trees. To begin, a class volunteer gets dressed up in a tree costume as the different parts of trees are introduced. Then, the...

Help learners who struggle with blurting out statements when they are angry by reviewing a series of statements and determining when, if ever, they are appropriate to say.

What does your posture say about you? How can it affect the outcome of conflict resolution or negotiation? Show scholars the importance of nonverbal communication during the sixth in a series of 15 peacebuilding lessons. Learners work...

What is your body saying that maybe your words aren't? Scholars explore the vast world of the subtle, and not-so-subtle, nonverbal communication cues through group and individual work. Lesson seven in a series of peacebuilding exercises...

Line, shape, color, texture, space. The first in a three-part series of lessons intended for advanced theatre arts classes introduces the elements of set design. Class members examine maquettes and analyze how designers have put together...

The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The instructional activity explains what the Bill of Rights is and how it applies to everyday life, like freedom of speech or the right to a jury trial. Young historians complete...

Young performing artists create a song or choreograph a dance to illustrate a theme in a text they are reading. Step-by-step directions are included.

Engage and entertain young learners with this collection of readers theatre activities. With over 25 different scripts, a wide range of topics are covered from simple counting and rhyming exercises to adaptions of popular children's...

Lights, Camera, Action! Pupils read Little Women and create, act, and direct a melodrama that Jo March and her sisters would enjoy. The lesson plan comes complete with resources for the educator on melodrama as well as examples...