Accompany the African folktale, Anansi the Spider, with a collection of five lessons, each equipped with supplemental activities. Lessons offer multidisciplinary reinforcement in English language arts, social studies, science,...

Middle schoolers practice evaluating art by creating a research project and presentation. They use the Internet and library to discover a piece of art or artist whom they feel has an impact on the world of art. Next, they create a...

Write what you know, sound advice for any writer and something many famous authors are known to have done. Use these materials to explore how Shakespeare's life influenced his plays. This resource is packed with readings, video segments,...

What skills do storytellers employ to bring to life the characters and events in their tales? After listening to a recording of a Haitian folk tale, class members consider how tone of voice, pace, and gestures can be used to enliven a...

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...

Students compare and contrast a website layout and the layout of a Greek theatre. In this Greek theatre lesson, students research the Greek theatre and produce a bulleted list of five facts about the Greek theatre. Students complete a...

Learners discover how setting, props, and character-action communicate information about the characters and the story. Access to videos and a video camera are important to make this lesson a success.

“All the world’s a stage,” exclaims Jaques in As You Like It, but it is the structure of the Globe stage and how that structure influenced Shakespeare’s plays that is the focus of an on-line research project. Class members visit a series...

Both The Ugly Duckling and The Tortoise and the Hare are great additions to an elementary language arts lesson. Young readers focus on the literary elements of each story, including characters and plot development, and apply...

Immerse yourself in the beautiful, twisted world of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. A detailed lesson plan provides important details about the writing, stagecraft, music, and literary elements of the famous musical,...

How often do you ride a bike? Time frequency words are featured in a lesson designed for ESL/ELD classrooms. 

Third graders analyze the importance of characters in fiction writing and performances.  In this theatre lesson, 3rd graders identify the important characteristics of a fictional character and how to portray a character through many...

Commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death with a packet of cross-curricular literacy lessons and activities centered around two of the Bard's most popular plays, Macbeth and The Tempest. Class members look for...

Paul Langan's novel The Bully is the core text in a six-session unit plan that engages high schoolers in an in-depth examination of bullying and its effects on bullies, victims, and bystanders. The richly textured and carefully...

In this World Theatre Day activity, students complete activities such as reading a passage, matching phrases, fill in the blanks, choose the correct word, multiple choice, unscramble the words, sequencing, unscramble the sentences, write...

Students dramatize the story, Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett. In this readers theatre lesson, students read the story and then dramatize the events during readers theatre. There is an included script.

Students explore tableaux.  In this social studies and fine arts cross curriculum lesson, students work in groups of four to create "frozen" stage pictures (tableaux) representing vocabulary and concepts from a "From Farm to You"...

Introduce your middle schoolers to a performance and movement activity that uses their favorite stories from fairytales and folklore. They practice basic acting skills, create dialogues with a partner, and then as guided practice,...

What makes a good leader? Use the curriculum guide for William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar to help scholars answer that question. Pupils research the play's historical context and other background information before engaging in...

William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew combines three things that are sure to capture scholars' attention: love, deception, and clown attire. With the curriculum guide, learners hone their opinion-writing skills and...

Bully, bullied, or bystander? Paul Langan's The Bully is the anchor text in a unit that examines bullying and violence. After a close reading of the text, readers imagine themselves as the characters and consider how they would react in...

Students examine an 18th century drawing and produce a skit based on the drawing. In this art analysis lesson, students analyze the story depicted in a drawing and create a skit inspired the scene. Students research the 18th century...

Learners participate in reader's theatre. In this compare and contrast lesson, students read the book The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza. This lesson promotes fluency and expression. Learners also read the traditional story of...

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...