Animals oftentimes elicit various characteristics which make them symbolic or representative of human feeling, action, or emotion. The class creates horse characters out of clay to show character action and symbolism. This is a great...

Students use songs to analyze their sense of identity and self-worth. In groups, they discuss and explore their own character development and discover how far they have come in recent years. They also identify the positive and negative...

Character analysis is a skill we use when we read literary works or want to write a good story. Learners will use drama to practice character analysis while focusing on the details that make characters act the way they do. They'll each...

Action! Delve into character development in the play Fences by August Wilson, setting the stage for learners to analyze character nuances. Thespians choose a scene from the script, responding with a written account of the...

Students identify the characteristics of a hero. For this character development and writing lesson, students listen to music with a hero theme and discuss the common traits of heroes. Students explore individuals and charitable...

The tale of "Lon Po Po" is a Chinese story, very similar to the European tale of "Little Red Riding Hood." Learners make cross cultural comparisons between the two tales, focusing on themes common to both. They review story elements such...

Examine homelessness through a series of writing and discussion activities and a short film. Learners first come up with their own stories based on images of characters in the film. They then watch the film and respond to a series of...

A tea party in Wonderland? An East Egg brunch with Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, and Nick? Breakfast with Miss Havisham, Lady Macbeth, and Abigail Williams? Or dinner with Andre, Hamlet, and Randle Patrick McMurphy? Class members select a favorite...

Students respond to works of art. In this art interpretation lesson plan, students examine images of art while using concepts they learned as they read literary pieces. They detail the setting, characters, and the mood and theme of the...

Even those experienced teachers of Hamlet can find much to like in a guide that offers many fresh ideas for activities. Class members may take on the role of FBI profilers that investigate Claudius and Hamlet as murderers, or...

The world is a stage, and so is your classroom! Hone the skills of the next generation of Tony® award winners with a set of exercises, reference pages, writing prompts, and excerpts from famous plays.

High schoolers explain how individual elements (e.g., plot, theme, character, conflict, etc.) comprise the structure of a play. They write an original one-act play with developed characters, specific setting, conflict, and resolution.

Introduce your class to drama! You cast each pupil as a different character from a story you have read. They are given a general outline of the scene, act out the scene multiple times, then discuss the weak and strong aspects of each...

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...

Love, deception, witty bante—that's much ado about a lot!  As learners navigate the resource, they view an interactive character map and read character biographies from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Pupils also...

Literary themes don't just belong to literature. High schoolers listen to the lyrics of modern songs by Arrested Development, Lauryn Hill, and others to enhance their study and to connect to characters, conflicts, and themes of...

One of the best parts about teaching the littlest learners is that you can create thematic lessons that use one topic to address every subject. Here is a nice set of thematic teaching ideas that uses turtles and tortoises to teach...

It's a play, it's a story, it's a puppet show! A lively resource provides academics with a creative outlet to express their views on diversity and social justice. Scholars are responsible for writing, creating, and performing a puppet...

Encourage your class to consider a beautiful short film about a boy named Theo who happens to be visually impaired. Over the course of the lesson, pupils work in pairs, discuss their ideas and the film as a class, view the film,...

Young readers bring characters to life by working in small groups to script and perform stories that contain a community concept. Detailed questions and activities are outlined for the class. Consider having your groups create...

Introduce your middle schoolers to the lives of past Native Americans. First, learners work together to put photographs in a sequence. Then, using their sequence, they create stories to share with the whole class. No matter how old your...

Where do directors and set designers get their ideas so that the set they build creates the mood and atmosphere the director wants for a production? From the script! Introduce theater high schoolers to the script analysis techniques used...

Young composers demonstrate their understanding of the stylistic features of descriptive music, including pitch, tempo, dynamics, rhythm, and timbre, by developing a melody and countermelody for a main character in a story. As part of...

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...