Curated OER
Investigation of Immigration
Students assume the role of a crime scene detective and examine the lives of various immigrant groups. In this immigration lesson, students examine evidence, websites, and pull from existing knowledge to determine which group they are...
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Festival of Fools
Students act out lines from King Lear to show a character's folly. In this English literature lesson, students identify the 'folly' of a given character by choosing a passage from King Lear to demonstrate a time when the...
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Romans in Britain, or Classical Colonialism
Students identify the extent of the Roman Empire on a map of Europe and North Africa. They discuss the reasons behind Roman expansion and occupation. They read Cymbeline and write about the attitudes of 3 characters. Groups stage the scene.
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"I Will Hear That Play": Using Sound to Enhance the Text
Students become familiar with Foley artists and sound effects as they analyze a scene from A Midsumer Night's Dream. They record their own sound for another scene.
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Learning to Give
Students study philanthropy and point of view while reading the novel Gentle Annie. In this point of view lesson plan, the learner writes a persuasive letter from a character in the novel. Students work in small groups to act out a skit...
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Who's Who in Roman History
Students, in groups, produce a classroom documentary about important historical figures from the Roman Empire. They create posters to be part of a classroom timeline showing when each of these people lived and their impact on the empire.
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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Learners design and create photo albums that tell the story of the play, Twelfth Night, using pictures they take of themselves recreating various scenes of the play.
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Garbage Bag Costume Creation
Students create plastic bag costumes for a short scene developed in the classroom. Performances and assessment occur at the end of this quick instructional activity. A very creative mini-project for theatre arts classes.
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Friendship in Julius Caesar
Students examine the vocabulary used to show friendship in Shakespeare's, Julius Caesar. For this Julius Caesar lesson, students discuss their idea of friendship and what it means to them. They work in pairs to determine how same sex...
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Reality Check
Students evaluate different types of reality television programming in "focus groups" and then submit their opinions on this type of programming to a television network.
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Romeo and Juliet...Unfinished Business?
Students act as characters from Romeo and Juliet to carry on a cross-fire type discussion using contemporary language.
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The Reichstag Fire
Students examine the implications of the burning of the Reichstag in 1933. Using the Weimer Constitution as a guide, they identify issues that allowed for Hitler and the Nazi party to gain power. In groups, they create a web of the...
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Basic Feature Interviewing
Students act as reporters to develop interview skills. In this interview lessons, students develop the skills needed to use anecdotes and quotes to make an interview interesting. They practice asking questions over and above the 5 W's so...
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Self-acceptance
Learners assess the importance of acceptance of self and others via the development of self-worth and the looking for the good in others not the bad. They explore the task of looking at the world through the eyes of others. In addition,...
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Twelfth Night: QAR
Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is used to model for readers how to craft four levels of questions that promote comprehension. Questions that can be answered with evidence right there in the text, questions that require readers to think and...
Mississippi Whole School Initiative
Dream Big...With Your Eyes Wide Open
For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...
Activated Story Theatre
Orpheus- A Greek Myth: Reader's Theatre Script
Is this any way to treat a Greek Myth? By all means, turn the tale of Orpheus into a reader's theatre exercise.
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What Really Happened?
Sixth graders recreate scenes from the theories about the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. In this history and theatre lesson, 6th graders review the story of Earhart using a flip chart. Students work on one act plays to depict one of...
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Shakespeare Lesson Plan
Students discuss Shakespeare's background and their initial opinions and perceptions of him. In groups, they are assigned a topic to research and to relate one of Shakespeare's plays to the topic. They present a summary of the scenes...
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Mohandas Gandhi: Changing the World One Step at a Time
Students illustrate pages of a book. In this famous historical icon lesson, students are read a story about Mohandas Gandhi, illustrate the pages in small groups, assemble a class book to read to younger students, and act out a...
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Change slander to remorse: Unscripted Scenes
Learners hypothesize about the content of unscripted moments, search for evidence in the actual text to support their hypothesis, and explore how this hypothesis would affect characterization.
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Who's the Fool in King Lear
Students complete close reading and character analysis for Shakespeare's King Lear. In this play analysis lesson, students reenact scene 1, Act 1 and pick only the lines that demonstrate action. Students act out the scene so their body...
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Stone Fox Plot Frame
Fifth graders recall the major plot points of a chapter book. After reading the chapter book "Stone Fox," they students describe the plot framework through use of a worksheet. Students are then divided into group to act out selected...
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The Odyssey
Students write a dramatic scene based on The Odyssey and perform it for the class. In this living literature instructional activity, students work in small groups to discuss the way the characters look, act, and sound. They then choose...