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.
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"Mambo" from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein
Students encounter and study "Mambo" from "West Side Story," by Leonard Bernstein. They practice utilizing musical elements (instrumentation, tempo, and dynamics) to create a certain mood for a scene with music. Each student interprets...
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The Art and History of Japanese Calligraphy
Chinese and Japanese calligraphy is beautiful and significant in both culture and tradition. Engage your class in this expressive fine art form through a lesson on using, holding, and creating brush strokes common to Japanese writing...
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"West Side Story"
In this music history learning exercise, students discover the musical "West Side Story" by first reading a summary of the plot. Students answer 5 questions about the story line. Students then read and analyze the lyrics to "America" and...
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Noh Theater
Students compare Noh drama to western drama and trace the influence of Japanese theater on modern western drama. In this Noh drama lesson, students read the play Black Tomb (Kurozuko) defining the elements and conventions of Noh drama...
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Noh Theater
Young scholars explore the roles in Noh drama and the significance of Noh masks while creating their own version of a Noh play in this High School lesson adaptable for either the Language Arts or Theater classroom.
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Checkmate: The Play's The Thing
Students investigate the Middle Ages and it's relation to the theater. For this acting lesson, students read Arthurian stories form the Middle Ages and practice using vocabulary words from the Medieval Times. Students write a play set...
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Mirror Exercise
Kids get up and act! To promote inventiveness, timing, and clowning, they pair up and act as though they are looking in a mirror. Child A does a move while child B attempts to mimic it as closely as possible. This is a fun activity that...
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Graphs of the Heart
Students study Greek literature. In this Greek tragedies activity, students explore the dance-dramas of Martha Graham. Students study the choreography that brings ancient Greek literature to life.
Orlando Shakes
It’s a Wonderful Life: Study Guide
George Bailey learns that it truly is a wonderful life when he discovered how many lives he has touched—not to mention how many new generations of lives the story touches every year. A study guide on It's a Wonderful Life introduces...
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DANCE
Pupils create and perform a dance or series of movements one to two minutes in length. Their dance supports and enhances the expressive qualities of the theater production and accompany the music students selected to perform.
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Storytellers: Dave Matthews Band
Students decide what the term "art" means to them. They identify artistic elements displayed by the Dave Matthews Band. They understand the relationship between music and other means of artistic expression.
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Bessie Smith
In this jazz history activity, students respond to 7 essay and short answer questions about the life and accomplishments of Bessie Smith.
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Movies That Rock
Students watch the opera "La Boheme" and the movie "Moulin Rouge" to explore the similarities and differences between them.
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Vienna in 1900
Vienna in the 1900's was a place alive with new ideas, music, and innovative art.
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The Collaborative Works of Rodgers and Hammerstein: Show Business
Students study the work of Rodgers and Hammerstein in an historical context of the development of American musical theatre as an art form. Students explore "roots" of the genre as it evolves in last half of the 19th and first two decades...
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The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance inspired a group of writers, musicians, and artists whose influence is still seen today.
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Baga Drum
Students examine a Baga Drum in order to explore the history of the Baga people of West Africa. In this art history lesson, students recognize figures used in Baga Drum design that represent aspects of Baga culture. They also design and...
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Artistic Influence - Lesson 3
High schoolers discuss how musicians' messages can influence society. They think of examples of artistic expression in music, the visual arts, dance, and theater that can lead to a society's self-examination.
Orlando Shakes
Shakespeare in Love: Study Guide
What word has two syllables and means a ray of moonlight? If young readers guessed moonbeam, they are correct! With the Shakespeare in Love study guide, participants test their guessing skills in an exciting game of Shakespeare Taboo...
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Letters from the Japanese American Internment
Students examine letters of Japanese-American children during internment in World War II. They discover what it was like in the camps and how they were treated once they were released. They also view photographs of the camps.
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Inspired by Muses, Graces and Fates
Students examine how artists express the Muses through the arts. In this art and history lesson, students work cooperatively to identify the Greek Muses, Graces and the Fates. Students will identify the attributes of each, participate in...
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What Really Happened?
Sixth graders recreate scenes from the theories about the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. In this history and theatre lesson, 6th graders review the story of Earhart using a flip chart. Students work on one act plays to depict one of...
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"War of the Worlds": A Broadcast Re-Creation
Why did Orson Welles' 1938 Broadcast of a adaptation of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds cause such a panic? To answer this question, class members listen to the original broadcast and research the panic that resulted. They then engage...