Fifth graders examine basic theatre vocabulary and use it to discuss a play.  In this theater lesson, 5th graders identify the elements of a play.  Students perform their play and use theatre vocabulary to explain their...

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"...

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

In this vocabulary activity worksheet, students consolidate key vocabulary from a unit of study as they classify terms by unscrambling words and identifying 6 films based on the categories listed.

What a great lesson, upper graders are sure to love. They explore costume design and the relationships between theatre, culture, and history. They research three time periods, write a response about two of them, then create a composit...

Students 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.

Fourth graders explore ballet. In this dance and music humanities lesson plan, 4th graders practice ballet positions and play a card game using French ballet vocabulary. Students count beats in rhythm patterns and listen to classical...

Students create a tableau for a Greek myth.  In this introduction to Greek theatre instructional activity, students discuss the history of Greek theatre and tableau and complete a handout.  Students work in groups to choose a...

Second graders study heroes, inventors, and explorers and role-play as one of the people. In this theatre and history lesson plan, 2nd graders review the people and their accomplishments using a Promethean flipchart. Students then act...

Second graders read and perform a reader's theater version of the story, "Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain." They complete a graphic organizer of cause and effect of their part in the story, look up vocabulary words on a dictionary...

Experience movement in literature. High schoolers are introduced to new vocabulary related to drama and theatre. In groups, they use a piece of literature and develop their own skit to act out in front of the class. As a class, they...

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,...

High schoolers create plastic bag costumes for a short scene developed in the classroom. Performances and assessment occur at the end of this quick lesson. A very creative mini-project for theatre arts classes.

Learners brainstorm the names of Shakespeare's plays and read an article about a new theatre. They complete worksheets about the plays. In groups, they play a game where they give clues about films or plays and others try to guess the...

Students identify and create flashcards of important key terms as related to theatre. Students observe and write a 1-page summary of events seen at the High School Musical production using at least 8 vocabulary words in your summary....

Second graders complete pantomime and improvisational theatre activities. In this theatre lesson, 2nd graders play a 'sound ball' game and recreate sounds as they toss the ball. Students discuss projection for an actor and practice the...

Second graders identify story elements in familiar stories from their lives. In this story elements lesson, 2nd graders act out familiar activities  by following directions. Students read a story and discuss the story elements....

Young scholars participate in theatre activities to study American history. In this American history and theatre lesson, students work in groups to research a specific Native American group to investigate their lifestyle. Young scholars...

West Side Story is widely known as a modern-day Romeo & Juliet. Learners read a list of characters from the play and list their counterparts from Romeo & Juliet before completing a vocabulary enrichment activity and word...

Young analysts write a comparative essay, but about what? They compose a paper based on several critical discussion about reality and illusion, and how both are blurred in art. They analyze several theatre pieces that exemplify Brechtian...

Fifth graders explore the elements of theatre. In this dramatic performances lesson, 5th graders discuss the structural elements of theatre and dramatize "The Origins of the Season," an explanation myth.

Sixth graders present reader's theatre by improvising folktales from different countries. In groups, they produce an improvisation of a folktale story from an assigned reading of a folktale.

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...

Students examine historical events. In this lesson on the US Constitution, students engage in a theatrical exploration of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They also engage in an extensive discussion, complete worksheets and draft...