Curated OER
Introduction to Drama
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...
Curated OER
Lights, Camera, Action...Crossing the Delaware in 9 Scenes
How does reading a drama differ from reading a novel? Middle schoolers become playwrights and explore these differences. After viewing the A&E movie,"The Crossing," groups create stage directions, write dialogue, and design sets and...
Curated OER
Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone
Students read a chapter in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and define new words for their dictionaries. In this vocabulary lesson students choose two or three assignment from a list of projects and complete it using the text in the...
Curated OER
Analyzing Literary Devices
Eighth graders identify figurative language and poetry in this literary analysis lesson. Using Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll and a YouTube video for "The Walrus and the Carpenter," young readers complete a literary device...
Ken Taylor
The Stones: Guilty or Not Guilty?
Young drama pupils will perform a number of expressive speaking exercises as they consider the themes of responsibility, consequences, and justice in the very modern Australian play The Stones. With a lot of role playing and...
Curated OER
Poetry Project
Choosing a poet or a theme, eighth graders conduct research in the world of poetry. They conduct Internet research and select five poems that fit their poet or theme, and create a seven slide PowerPoint presentation on their selected...
Curated OER
Thornton Wilder's Our Town: The Reader as Writer
Students read a play and create their own play using Thornton Wilder's Our Townas a resource. In this play lesson, students analyze how theatrical elements contribute to a play's meanings and effects. Students recognize differences...
Curated OER
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
A viewing of Disney’s 1993 film of The Adventures of Huck Finn launches an examination of the events in and themes of Mark Twain’s story. Viewers respond to prompts on a film story worksheet, engage in full-class discussions, and select...
Curated OER
W.W. Jacob's "The Monkey's Paw" Theme
Students identify the theme of "The Monkey's Paw" and relate it to prior knowledge. In this "The Monkey's Paw" instructional activity, students discuss fate and coincidence and debate which one controls destiny. A test is chosen as the...
Curated OER
Focus on Figurative Language in Prose and Poetry
Students place emphasis on the use of figurative language when analyzing prose and poetry. In this figurative language lesson, students explore the tone of a story and its imagery. Students read and discuss how the author uses imagery in...
Curated OER
Programs for Shakespeare's Plays
Pupils design theater programs which show their understanding of William Shakespeare's plays. They design original art to include in the programs.
Curated OER
"War of the Worlds": A Broadcast Re-Creation
Why did Orson Welles' 1938 Broadcast of a adaptation of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds cause such a panic? To answer this question, class members listen to the original broadcast and research the panic that resulted. They then engage...