After reading the 11th chapter in Matilda, class members take on the role of Bruce Bogtrotter and re-enact the cake eating scene. Here's the catch: they must come-up with an impromptu re-enactment of the scene from the story, and...

Five segements from Ken Burns' documentary series Prohibition, easily accessed on the PBS website, are at the center of a terrific short unit on the roots of America's ambivalent relationship with alcohol. Engage your secondary...

Students re-enact The Mitten by Jan Brett.  In this acting lesson, students select a part and perform the story as it is being read.  

Students explore U.S. government by participating in a role playing activity. In this House of Representatives lesson, students discuss the first day of congress and the role the House plays in running the United States. Students define...

Young scholars complete close reading and character analysis for Shakespeare's King Lear. In this play analysis lesson, students reenact scene 1, Act 1 and pick only the lines that demonstrate action. Young scholars act out the scene so...

Students investigate architecture by exploring Native American culture. In this cultural awareness lesson, students identify the Native Americans and the homes they created to survive the weather. Students participate in a role-playing...

Action! Delve into character development in the play Fences by August Wilson, setting the stage for learners to analyze character nuances. Thespians choose a scene from the script, responding with a written account of the...

First graders explore economics by participating in a group activity. In this commerce lesson, 1st graders conduct a role-playing activity in which they utilize goods and services to re-enact a general store's daily business. Students...

Students create a puppet show for a play. They choose the puppet characters they wish to enact the play and develop scenarios.

Investigate life along the Old Spanish Trail! They visit websites and identify the history and environment. They create journals, dramatic enactments, and maps to discover the role individuals played in society. They also explore the...

High schoolers read a scene of "The Merchant of Venice" and write remarks by Antonio and Shylock that indicate traits of their personalities. They enact both characters and discuss the treatment of anti-Semitism, bigotry, persecution and...

Second graders investigate self- and teacher-selected literature (e.g., picture books, nursery rhymes, fairy tales, poems, legends) from a variety of cultures. They re-enact and retell stories, songs, poems, plays, and other literary...

Students act out lines from King Lear to show a character's folly.  In this English literature instructional activity, students identify the 'folly' of a given character by choosing a passage from King Lear to demonstrate a...

Students explore Chinese culture by reading a story with their class. In this Chinese economics lesson, students read a chapter from the story The Fastest Pig in the West and define the chopstick tax that was enacted in China. Students...

Students are introduced to and practice high-frequency patterns of language that will help them perform in real life situations. They enact in a role play situation with the teacher and then with partners.

Students discover the "dumb show," a scene that enacts a story silently while focusing on an example from Hamlet. Divided into groups, they act out the silent scene from the play. Again, in groups, they create a "dumb show" from Julius...

Students complete a full retelling of a play they have read in class. After reading each act of the play, students retell and summarize the major plot points of the play in small groups. Groups complete their review until they have...

Students examine the Brown v. Board of Education case that ended segregation. They role play to re-enact the case and discuss why it was important. They discover its impact on public education.

Need topics that are sure to engage your debaters? This list of public policy questions includes such topics as school mascots, regulation of major league baseball, physician-assisted suicide, and violence in video games. A great...

Kids love to be the experts! With four themes from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, small groups work together to answer specific questions addressing each theme. They then stand in front of the class and field...

Students explore Shakespeare's use of poetic conventions, examine the first meeting between Romeo and Juliet and gain experience in close readng and the interpretation of verse structure and imagery.

High schoolers explore Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In this analysis instructional activity, students recognize the use of poetic conventions as a principle of dramatic structure after analyzing the sonnetShakespeare created for the...

Students complete a variety of activities related to the book "Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King." They identify Martin Luther King's goals, discuss and write about things they hope will happen in the world for a class book, explore...

Learners analyze imagery in Shakespeare's, Romeo and Juliet, and act out the passage to see how the author includes stage directions with his poetry.