The house lights dim, the curtain parts, lights slowly come up, revealing the stage. Before the actors appear, before a word is spoken, the audience is drawn in by the lighting, by the colors, by lines of the set, by the props, and...

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.

Middle schoolers create and perform a scene for play using a common fairy tale for the story line. They view and discuss a video on careers in stage and radio to identify the roles and responsibilities for each of their group members.

Groups create a set for a play or story they select, build a model, and share their stage with the class. The team explains the rationale for their choices and the mood they feel their staging creates.

As part of their study of set design, theater arts students put together what they have learned so far and create a thumbnail sketch of a set that they feel captures the style and mood they want to project. 

Immerse yourself in the beautiful, twisted world of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. A detailed lesson plan provides important details about the writing, stagecraft, music, and literary elements of the famous musical,...

A great actor has the ability to make or break a play. A series of lesson plans related to William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar looks closely at the choices actors make during a production of the play to help provide insight into the...

How important are sound effects in films? In stage plays? In radio programs? To gain an understanding of the impact of these special effects, class members watch a short video spoof of the sound in a scene from Star...

Charlie Brown may not feel the Christmas spirit this year, but your elementary students can use the season to practice important cross-curricular skills! A set of worksheets and activities based on A Charlie Brown Christmas guide...

Considering a unit study of American Musical Theatre? What better way to start than at the very beginning. Eight pairs of cards provide class members with background information about the genre from 1893 through 2004. The cards are...

Bully, bullied, or bystander? Paul Langan's The Bully is the anchor text in a unit that examines bullying and violence. After a close reading of the text, readers imagine themselves as the characters and consider how they would react in...

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...

Students investigate the characteristics of wind. In this weather lesson, students use poetry and van Gogh's paintings to discuss the movement of wind. Students are introduced to the Beaufort Scale and use the tool to measure the wind...

Even those experienced teachers of Hamlet can find much to like in a guide that offers many fresh ideas for activities. Class members may take on the role of FBI profilers that investigate Claudius and Hamlet as murderers, or...

Planning on using Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol this year? Then give yourself a gift and download this colorful guide thats packed with goodies. Kids, as well as the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future are sure to...

Students participate in an alternative reading assessment using a video camera and script. In this alternative reading lesson, students work as a group to perform their reading story. students memorize their lines and film their play.

Students analyze the art of theatrical costumes and modern art designs. In this art analysis lesson, students compare two different designs for theatrical costumes by artists Oskar Schlemmer and El Lissitzky. Students complete image...

Students review Jerusalem's long and vital history. They view the video Jerusalem: History of the Holy Land. Students are explained that to portray Jerusalem's compelling history as a site of crucial importance to Jews, Christians, and...