Brigham Young University
Introducing the Text and Learning the Process of Script Analysis
Where do directors and set designers get their ideas so that the set they build creates the mood and atmosphere the director wants for a production? From the script! Introduce theater high schoolers to the script analysis techniques used...
Curated OER
Creating Plays from Children's Stories
Students 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.
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 6
How can a screenplay create meaning and drama in ways that other forms of writing cannot? That is the question class members must answer as they compare the cantina scene of the screenplay for George Lucas's Star Wars: A New Hope with...
Brigham Young University
Creating a Design Concept
Putting together information gained from their script analysis, their readings, and their research, groups create a conceptual design statement for their assigned scene. The statement explains how their scenic design creates the mood and...
Honors College at Scholar Commons
From Start to Strike: A Lesson Plan for the Whole Theatre Experience
Introduce young thespians to all aspects of the theater. A syllabus for a one-semester drama course provides lessons that take learners from the history of drama to the many facets of play production.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum
Pearl Harbor Activity #1: Newspaper or Radio Account
After listening to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech, young historians research information about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, possible motives for the attack, and the consequences of the attack. Scholars...
Curated OER
Everyone's a Critic: Analyzing Sitcoms as Cultural Texts
Start by defining the word sitcom with the goal of launching a discussion. What exactly is a sitcom? How is a sitcom different from sketch comedy, drama, and reality television? Class members give examples, remember storylines they've...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Unit 2: The Tempest by William Shakespeare Teacher Guide
Massive storms, shipwrecks, survivors stranded on an island ruled by an aging magician, and strange creatures—Shakespeare's The Tempest appeals to today's middle schoolers. For this unit, seventh graders read selections from an adapted...
Curated OER
Conspiracy after the Storm: Editing Dual Murder Plots in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'
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...
Curated OER
Performing Sonnets
Students use Shakespearean sonnets as part of a poetry analysis lesson. In this sonnet lesson, students perform a sonnet by Shakespeare but treat it as a script to be acted out. Students work in pairs to create motions for two lines from...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Raisin in the Sun: Whose "American Dream"?
How does Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun factor into a discussion of the American dream? High schoolers define the American dream and recognize the historical setting of the play. Additionally, they identify forms of...
University of California
Energy and Biomass Pyramids
Young scientists play tag as they act out the food pyramid in the ocean ecosystem. Energy circles pass from the smaller prey to the predators and at the end of the activity, a data chart and analysis questions allow pupils to apply their...
Mississippi Bar
The 2018 Mock Trial Case
All rise! Scholars put their skills to the test in a mock trial. Using evidence, photographs, and testimony, they role play the trial in the classroom. Rules of law—and the court room—come to life as the class becomes a place of law!
Curated OER
"The Golden Ball"-Drama Lesson
Students read "The Golden Ball" and discuss plot and story elements. In this drama lesson, students review script vs. story writing and presentation. Students take turns reading parts of the play and discuss, make paper crowns and...
Curated OER
Their Names Are Pricked
Students discuss areas of ambiguity in Julius Caesar and analyze the language as a tool to illustrate complex desires. In this Shakespeare lesson plan, students define subtext and use a neutral scene to act out subtext. Students create...
Micron Technology Foundation
Electricity
Conduct four electrifying electricity experiments that challenge young scientists to explore positive and negative charges and magnetic fields without the shock.
Curated OER
Indians at Arras
Students research the role played by Britsih Empire troops in the First World War. They analyze the natrue, origin and purpose of propaganda. Students watch the "Newsreel", they are asked to write down everything that they can infer...
Curated OER
Interpreting Statistics: A Case of Muddying the Waters
Is river pollution affecting the number of visitors to Riverside Center, and is the factory built upstream the cause of the pollution? Let your class be the judge, literally, as they weigh the statistical evidence offered by the factory...
Curated OER
Having Fun: Leisure and Entertainment at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
Students explore how the innovations in culture and technology influenced the development of a leisure industry in America at the turn of the twentieth century.