Do figures of speech enhance a play or story? In small groups, learners locate and describe figures of speech they find while reading a reader's theater play. After making predictions, they describe how the figures of speech make the...

Second graders study theatre by designing a play, studying actors, and work in partners to create a story to perform. In this theatre study lesson, 2nd graders discuss theatre as live theatre, television, film, and radio. Students act...

How can we create a more fair world? Chances are, class members have some ideas! After reading a text about fairness, individuals create skits around the ideas of fairness. Extend the learning and make their presentations a...

Pupils 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.

Reader's Theater is a great way to build fluency, intonation, and dramatic flare. The class reads the theater piece, "The New Friends" paying attention to how they express emotion and feeling as they read. They discuss the use of plot,...

Take writing prompts to another level in this activity, which allows pupils to create scenes of dialogue based on the 1903 silent film, The Great Train Robbery. Useful for a language arts/history cross-curricular activity, the lesson...

Lights, Camera, Action! Pupils read Little Women and create, act, and direct a melodrama that Jo March and her sisters would enjoy. The lesson plan comes complete with resources for the educator on melodrama as well as examples...

Students investigate the Middle Ages and it's relation to the theater.  In this acting lesson, students read Arthurian stories form the Middle Ages and practice using vocabulary words from the Medieval Times.  Students write a...

Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...

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...

Start a writing lesson by examining a news video that explains writing clearly, concisely, and correctly. Learners consider the importance of writing news properly to avoid breaking the law, then write their own weekend news stories.

Young scholars discover logical deduction by participating in a play.  In this reasoning lesson, students act as characters from a play who's words must be analyzed to see if they are true or not.  Young scholars perform parts...

Read then role-play the characters from story of If You Give A Pig a Pancake. Young actors use improvisation and characterization to create the characters from the story. They will also write and role play original version of the...

Comparing the more modern film Ten Things I Hate About You to The Taming of the Shrew leads to an understanding of how Shakespearean plots can be applied to modern-day situations and characters. As a culminating activity, groups select a...

Conduct a Reader's Theater. Third, fourth, and fifth graders rewrite books with a baseball theme to a Reader's Theater format. They form groups of four or five, practice reading the script, and then perform it for an audience.

Students read and discuss the literary elements of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. They explore the elements of dramatic performance and create a TV news program based on life in Narnia. They videotape their...

Students build connections between census information and community decision-making by reading a reader's theater script. In this reader's theater lesson, students practice reading fluently and learn about the government. The reader's...

Students edit scenes from Shakespeare's The Tempest in documentary fashion and perform their edited scripts. In this play analysis activity, students read through Act 2 and 3 and discuss how and why to cut lines in a play. Students...

Students write original plays based on supernatural explanations of existence. For this cultural creation myths lesson, students listen to five different stories about supernatural creation. Students record similarities and differences...

Students improve their reading and speaking skills. They experiment with language, tone of voice, body language as they write a play. They write a script to a play. They act out roles of the play.

Create a commercial for a favorite book and broadcast this pitch on the Sly Book Channel! Learners practice retelling, summarizing, comparing/contrasting, and evaluation skills as they prepare their scripts. The approved scripts are then...

Students encounter the format of a podcast and plan what content they will include. They work in small groups or with the whole class to develop an outline. Students practice reading their scripts to other students.

Students explore characteristics of the myth genre.  In this myth lesson, students become familiar with various myths and the cultures they were derived from. Students compare in a graphic organizer. Students write...

Students create podcasts of Measure for Measure. In this Measure for Measure lesson, students decide which lines are the most important and edit scenes to create a shorter version of the play that includes the important...