Introduce young actors to the key elements of performance with this handout that defines key staging terms and activities.

Dive into animation creation using Dreamworks® animated films. Compare and contrast characters, wonder and ponder why the plot is so important, and think of background and themes as your creativity unrolls onto paper.

Through this exercise, high schoolers identify character traits present in Romeo and Juliet. They listen to an excerpt from "The Office of Christian Parents: Showing How Children Are to be Governed" and participate in a Socratic...

Readers practice character analysis by reviewing Gary Soto's short story "La Bamba" with the whole class (anything you've read together will work). They design t-shirts that feature traits and story elements to reveal the nature of a...

Review The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet with this quick quiz. Operating as an overview of the play, use this quiz to prepare readers for a test perhaps. The questions cover various elements from character foils to the plot sequence.

Grow an understanding of short story with a well-sequenced plan built around an Academy Award-winning short film. Class members explore the elements of an effective short story, and practice writing their own. They also watch the short...

Pupils 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.

Students examine plot and setting of Cinderella, and how it changes as it is translated into different cultures, discuss universal literary elements of the Cinderella story, and write narratives with original settings and plots...

Learners respond to works of art. In this art interpretation lesson, students examine images of art while using concepts they learned as they read literary pieces. They detail the setting, characters, and the mood and theme of the works...

Negative effects of bullying come to light through listening to the book Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco. Class members identify philanthropic acts portrayed in the story and make illustrations to connect them to their own...

A tea party in Wonderland? An East Egg brunch with Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, and Nick? Breakfast with Miss Havisham, Lady Macbeth, and Abigail Williams? Or dinner with Andre, Hamlet, and Randle Patrick McMurphy? Class members select a favorite...

Students use songs to analyze their sense of identity and self-worth. In groups, they discuss and explore their own character development and discover how far they have come in recent years. They also identify the positive and negative...

Use drama to study and practice dialogue. Creative minds discuss what dialogue tells about a character, and how it can be used to advance the plot. They read a play, think about what they gleaned from dialogue, and record their...

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...

West Side Story, the modern retelling of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, won ten Academy Awards for its rousing depiction of the tale of star-crossed lovers. But how closely does the plot align to its source material? Compare and...

Introduce your class to drama! You cast each pupil as a different character from a story you have read. They are given a general outline of the scene, act out the scene multiple times, then discuss the weak and strong aspects of each...

Engage learners in setting and character with this story and craft activity set. To begin the activity, learners read the short story "The Too Small House." They then cut out and color a picture of the house and paper figures of the...

If your ESL pupils love talking about movies, here is an activity ideal for providing practice with both informational reading and elements of a story. Given fictional movie posters, they decipher the information and put it into a...

Pupils practice differentiating between categories of art and entertainment. They also practice telling the difference between character themes and universal themes. They find a text to relate to themselves and write about it.

The tale of "Lon Po Po" is a Chinese story, very similar to the European tale of "Little Red Riding Hood." Learners make cross cultural comparisons between the two tales, focusing on themes common to both. They review story elements such...

Help your class listen and respond to a fictional story by creating a story structure mobile illustrating the main characters, setting, plot, problem, story events, and solution. Using a coat hanger, they will create an artistic element...

The world may indeed be a stage, and players certainly need to know drama vocabulary. This list of 16 terms (and their definitions) often found in scripts will prompt actors to perform their role.

Fifth graders view the play, The Ant and the Grasshopper. They define Aristotle's six elements of a play. At the end of the lesson, 5th graders be asked to participate in the play by acting like busy ants. This lesson would tie in nicely...

High schoolers examine the Edgar Allan Poe story "The Cask of Amontillado." In this character lesson, students discuss and analyze the characters in the story. High schoolers make personal connections to the characters and create a...