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Reader's Theater, King Lear, and the Language of Gesture
Learners perform a Reader's Theater of a small section of the play, King Lear. They examine the text, read a handout for Reader's Theater techniques, cut and reorder lines in small groups, and add choreography to perform their scene.
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And. . . Freeze!
Students read a short section of a scene very closely and develop a tableaux as a start to the performance process. They write a paragraph in the voice of a character. They present their beginning, middle and end tableaux to the class.
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Shakespeare in Parts
Students examine primary source manuscript fragments, discuss differences in performing a play without the entire script, and perform a scene from Twelfth Night with no preparation.
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Exploring Rhythm in Richard III
Students analyze how the rhythm of how the words are presented affect meaning and tone in scenes from Richard III. In this meaning and tone lesson plan, students analyze dialogue between Lady Anne and Richard and how the rhythm and sound...
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Mexican Version of The Night Before Christmas (Middle, Language)
Students read a poem aloud called the "Mexican Version of the Night Before Christmas. They enact the scenes of the poem. They discuss variations of this poem both in English and Spanish.
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Images of Black Women in Drama
Students examine different portrayals of African American women in poems and plays. Individually, they identify the character they want to play and reject the others. After acting out the scene, they hopefully realize that their...
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Soldier Emily
Students explore the role of women as soldiers during the Civil War period.
They read about a young Brooklyn woman who concealed her identity to
join the army and imagine how her family or fellow soldiers responded. They role play a...
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The Box
Students react to a planned dramatic scenario in which someone is caught red-handed and then they improvise a similar scene based on wither guilt or innocence.
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False Starts
Students perform and discuss three scenes from the play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. They discuss the similarities and differences, identify the order of the scenes, and read the first twenty lines of the play.
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A Series of Tragical Mirth
Students read and perform various scenes from the play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. They perform each scene as both a tragedy and a comedy, then discuss the difference in the way the scenes were presented.
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An Introduction To Status
Students explore the concept of status and its use in theater. Using a scene from Shakespeare's play King Richard II, students work in pairs to perform the scene. After the performance, the pairs discuss their use of physical status in...
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Measure for Measure: Are You Talkin' to Me?
Students rehearse and perform an exchange from act three, scene two of the play, Measure for Measure, in pairs. They read the lines from the point of view of a different character in the play, and perform for the class.
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Shakers and Movers
Students examine the efforts of Marion Stoddart to form the Nashua River Clean-Up Committee. They participate in a role-play of people involved in the formation of the committee and townspeople affected by the river, and act out the...
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Lesson 9: Would the Real Portia Please Stand Up?
Students explore the subtext of the two scenes in which Portia appears. They compare the language she uses with her husband Brutus in 2.1 with the language she uses with her boy servant Lucius in 2.4. Students use their analysis of...
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Houghton Mifflin Social Studies/Chapter 11, Lesson 3: New Ways of Living (pp. 260-263)
Fourth graders write one fact that pertains to the growth in California suburbs after World War II and another fact that pertains to the changes in the cities. Invite students to share their facts. The class can guess whether the fact...
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Speak What We Feel, Not What We Ought to Say
High schoolers examine and create their own interpretation of a particular character from the play, King Lear. They read the speeches, write a paragraph about their character, and present a short performance of their scene.
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That Quaffing and Drinking Will Undo You
Students do a close character study of the characters in scenes 1.3 and 2.3 from Twelfth Night. They read a primary source about the effects of drunkenness and examine its role in the characters of Sir Toby and Sir Andrew. Students...
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Weapons of Mass Destruction
Students share their prior knowledge of WMD, discuss how the U.S. has responded to this threat and what changes, if any, the US should take for the future. They role-play as national secruty advisor while participating in a fictional WMD...
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Til Death Do Us Part
Ninth graders read Romeo and Juliet. They complete a character analysis on one of the major players and present it in an informative and entertaining way. They rewrite and perform one scene from another character's point of view.
Intel
Forensics: Get a Clue
Although the methods are all scientific, forensic science was started by police officers rather than scientists, who relied on observation and common sense. Young detectives use many tools to solve crimes around the school in a...
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DNA Detectives
In order to understand DNA fingerprinting, advanced biology aces divise a crime scenario and analyze three different samples of lambda DNA. This creative lesson plan provides practice with micropipettes, electrophoresis boxes, and other...
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To Strike or Not to Strike in 1830s Lowell: A Role Play
Role play as a person living in the 1830s working in a Lowell factory. The class will take on the role of factory owner, girl on strike, talk show host, and girl not wanting to strike. Each group will analyze and research their character...
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Friendship in Julius Caesar
High schoolers examine the vocabulary used to show friendship in Shakespeare's, Julius Caesar. For this Julius Caesar lesson, students discuss their idea of friendship and what it means to them. They work in pairs to determine how same...
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Cardiac Arrest! Using Forensics to Investigate Cardiovascular Anatomy and Function
Students identify the different parts and functions of the cardiovascular system. In this forensics lesson, students collect and analyze evidence on a fictional crime. They describe different causes of cardiac arrest.