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...

What is dialogue? What must it contain? Use this plan to discuss dialogue with your emerging writers. They write a dialogue in script form to dramatize a conversation. Dialogue examples are included. 

What symbols represent you best? Individuals consider how they would draw peers using symbols about their identities with an interview and art activity. After conducting interviews and portraits, the art makes a great centerpiece for...

Use drama to study and practice dialogue. Creative minds discuss what dialogue tells about a character, and how it can be used to advance the plot. They read a play, think about what they gleaned from dialogue, and record their...

Students recognize that each student is unique and has special talents. Students develop a puzzle piece that describes them and their particular talents. Students share their pieces and post on a bulletin board.

Students use their creativity to build character homes. In this early childhood lesson plan, students develop creative-thinking, social, language, math, and motor skills as they work together to create buildings for characters from...

Shadow puppetry has an ancient past, it is also a great way to build oral expression and reading fluency. Young thespians research folk tales, compare and contrast reality and fantasy, then create and perform a shadow puppet play based...

There is nothing more exciting than allowing learners to express themselves through a creative medium. In groups, they write narrative stories, focusing on building a strong storyline and dialogue. Next, they transform their stories into...

Learners discuss their personal connections with stories they've read in the past and identify techniques to connect with more stories. They create illustrations, construct task cards, and complete sentence stems based on books they read...

Students engage in four separate friendship-building activities. They develop social skills and ethical responsibility by role playing and interacting with each other through reading, art, music and dance.

Sculpting can be a rewarding way to accent a lesson in any subject. This project requires learners to design and sculpt a head out of clay. The entire process is outlined in this resource; including photos and suggested materials. Tip:...

Learners complete acting exercises as a part of a precise language activity to help them build vocabulary and improve their descriptive writing skills. In this theatre and writing lesson, students create and act out a sentence with two...

Help young readers find, identify, and use their voices with a set of empowering activities based on Peter H. Reynolds' trilogy of books. Sky Color, Ish, and The Dot focus on recognizing moods and treating each other...

Young scholars explore community service.  In this character development and community lesson, students sing a song based on the fable The Lion and the Mouse. Young scholars participate in a discussion about kindness, and generate...

Students review the style techniques related to the American Method Acting and practice using them in groups. Using various scenes from films, they try to recreate the scene using props. In groups, they discover the proper way to get...

When you look at me, what do you see? Young learners answer this question by creating a portrait that reflects the identity of one of their peers. First, class members create interview questions. Then, they interview classmates to...

Students examine the Edgar Allan Poe story "The Cask of Amontillado." In this character lesson plan, students discuss and analyze the characters in the story. Students make personal connections to the characters and create a brochure...

Students participate in cross-curricular activities and readings to become familiar with the works of Brian Jacques. In this heroes lesson, students discuss the character traits of legends and how their characters develop through events...

Explore character, plot, and setting through dramatic puppet play. Second graders discuss basic story elements and then practice making a character with their sock puppets. After they've crafted a dynamic puppet, they pair up to create a...

Clothes might not make the man but they certainly do help an actor create a character. How costume designers employ the same elements of design found in sets (line, color, texture, shape) to realize a character is the focus of a lesson...

As part of a study of printmaking, class members study the works of Tara Donovan and Donald Sulta. They go on to build a printing plate using glue, textured paper, and found objects.

Learners participate in a variety of activities surrounding the book, Gingerbread Baby, by Jan Brett. They can create a house, a map, ornaments, and their own books. Additionally, they can draw, paint, or write out attributes for each...

Play with clay while building finger dexterity and important sculpting techniques. Learners make camel containers while they practice throwing and molding clay. Fun camel facts make this an interdisciplinary art lesson.

Students explore appropriate ways to communicate feelings.  In this character development lesson, students listen to Hands are not for Hitting and several other books about expressing emotions appropriately.  Students observe...