Performance & Practices Lesson Plans

Students participate in a patriotic performance. In this patriotic lesson, students sing, do reader's theater, tell historic facts and joke. This lesson includes several attachments including the script that was used. 

Twelfth graders investigate Ekon kon or Djola or Jola (dance), a noncompetitive, communal dance performed by the Djola people from the Sene-Gambia region of West Africa. They listen to a lecture by the teacher about the West African cultures that include this dance. The lesson plan includes many resources for the teacher as well as explicit directions for performing the dance.

Fifth graders develop a musical composition to be played on recorders. In this musical composition lesson, 5th graders work in groups to write and perform an eight measure, three part composition that uses a chord structure. They ornament a simple melody and perform it on the recorder.

Young scholars perform a "dumb show" based on a short passage from either A Midsummer Night's Dream or King Lear. This technique allows students to explain the action taking place on stage and the variety of different ways that action can be performed.

Students play games to practice sight words. In this sight word lesson, students play a game to practice sight words. Sight words are written on index cards and made into necklaces for the kids to wear. Students get into small groups and the teacher sings Farmer in the Dell, calling out the sight words. The game goes until all words have been chosen.

Students attend a variety of school concerts and performances to determine how to act at them. In class, they role-play audience members as well as describing the role of performers, composers and conductors. They repeat the lesson whenever there is another performance at their school.

Young scholars present a poem. In this performance lesson, students read a poem as a class, learn about speech marks and practice reading their lines. Young scholars are divided into groups where each student picks a character from the poem and the group presents the poem to the class.

Students investigate soliloquies. In this performing arts lesson, students discuss figurative language within soliloquies and then perform a soliloquy to the rest of the class.

Students take a closer look at performance sports. In this personal health lesson, students discuss how participating in team sports affects them and then create their own team sport games using only the materials provided. Once students have tried the game out, they respond to discussion questions. 

Learners evaluate in class performance of music previously prepared by the ensemble. The rubric and assessment criteria are adaptable to any orchestra setting which allows the teacher to choose music to be assessed. Critical thinking skills are developed through performance standards.