Fifth graders explore sequential dramatization through children's literature. In this drama lesson, 5th graders act out and record scenes using digital and video cameras.  Students create a digital poster using pictures from their...

Introduce your class to the Greek tragedy with a study of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. Learners examine the features of a Greek tragedy, Sophocles’ achievements and contributions, and the universal themes that make the drama an...

Twelfth graders examine all the descriptions of costumes, props, movement, lighting and music in the stage directions of A Streetcar Named Desire. They begin to imagine this drama as a production, not simply a script. Students perform...

Aladdin, Disney's Broadway musical comedy, is a magic carpet ride. Prepare your class for a field trip to the show with a study guide that is a treasure trove of activities, cultural connections, and background information.

Young scholars are challenged to write a realistic analysis of Tennessee Williams' nonrealistic memory play, The Glass Menagerie. Writers use the evidence gathered on their worksheets to craft an effective thesis and concluding statement...

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.

Seventh graders explore the various elements found in the advertisement of a dramatic experience. Playbills are created that reflect the plot without revealing the climax of the play. Costumes, set construction, and character description...

Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...

Bring the drama of Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea to class with a fun role-playing activity. Given a list of survival items, readers decide which items would be the most necessary for an adventure like...

For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...

Learners watch various interpretations of Shakespeare's Macbeth in film. In groups, they examine the setting, characters, music and sequence. They compare and contrast the various films and discuss the differences. They write an essay on...

Students listen to stories about and research the life of an Uighur child from China. They investigate their own cultural heritage and design a mural.

What is the initiating event? What is the protagonist's goal? What attempts are made to achieve this goal? What is the outcome? Model for your class how to map out the structure of any narrative. Readers then search for answers as the...

Students investigate the dramatic elements of a Streetcar Named Desire. In this drama lesson plan, students explore the theme of the Tennessee Williams play as they read the play and watch performances of some of the acts. Students then...

First graders design a Powerpoint presentation to reflect information about their community.  In this community lesson, 1st graders create slides to explain the weather, geography and other information about the city.

Students demonstrate how an actor might engage sensate reaction using 3 sets of stage props. They imagine and use as many sense reactions as they can to make the props become endowed with a reality. They use one table and chair to...

The students listen to the story "The Cinder-Eyed Cats." The students then chose individual parts to play in a theater like production. The students move like their character, be it a fish, an octopus, a lobster, a cat, etc. Water music...

Focus on plot and the impact-specific events in The Cay. Class members use their double-entry journals, created in a previous lesson in this series, to record their thinking about the guiding question as they read chapters 15 through 17....

Learners read a variety of literature from India, including folktales and fables. They then select a scene or story to script, work together to design and craft shadow puppets of characters and scenery, narrate a story, manipulate the...

Students design colored Easter eggs in this simple Art lesson for the elementary classroom. The dye is created using almost boiling water and should be done by the teacher. This lesson is ideal for the spring-time months and includes...

Learners create "stand-up bunnies" for classroom display in this early-elementary Art lesson ideal for the spring months. A bunny template and design ideas are included to aid in the teaching process of this fun and quick lesson.

Learners revise their Algebra plays. They collaborate in small groups to work on different aspects of the play and report to the class. They make modifications to their plans and review the Musical Rubric to incorporate the concepts...

Students interpret how to communicate information and ideas in ways that are appropriate to the purpose and audience through spoken, written, and graphic means of expression. They use information-gathering techniques, analyze and...

Young scholars examine the role of the individual in society as a whole. Individually, they design and create their own calling card as used in the past. They put together an art kit in which they are able to use outdoors. To end the...