High schoolers discover the group dynamics necessary to produce an American musical in this six day lesson. Themes and characterization techniques are explored during collaborative small group research projects.

Students explore videos, software and print resources to investigate the concept of community. Students write poems about their town and illustrate them for a collaborative literacy project.

Young scholars read The Crucible in order to investigate the McCarthy era and the Hollywood Blacklist. Students watch video clips of the McCarthy witch hunts and investigate the time period through online research. Young scholars...

Students research the Legend of King Arthur. In this King Arthur lesson, students explore him as he is presented in stories, poems, and art. Students compare and contrast the real life of King Arthur versus the man in...

Fourth graders demonstrate and evaluate the six traits of writing. They read and identify good writing and bad writing, utilize a rubric to self-evaluate their own writing, participate in a Reader's Theater, and publish a class book.

First graders listen to the story "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" by Judi Barrett. They discuss weather forecasting and create an art project to go with the saying about March weather: "In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb".

Satires may be designed to expose a bias to ridicule but if misunderstood can they reinforce that bias? Langston Hughes poem, “Minstrel Man” opens a discussion of racist stereotypes, the minstrel tradition, and the musical, “The...

Young readers bring characters to life by working in small groups to script and perform stories that contain a community concept. Detailed questions and activities are outlined for the class. Consider having your groups create...

Students are introduced to the Absurd Theatre movement. They practice using the same techniques as performers in the theater. At the end of the instructional activity, they perform for their classmates.

Act out the African folktale Abiyoyo. Kindergartners listen to the tale and discuss the characters, dressing as their favorite characters in order to retell and perform Abiyoyo using props. They will gain an understanding of...

Students explore dramatization. In this literacy fluency and drama lesson, students listen to the story Mop Top by Don Freeman and add related sounds at the appropriate times. Students role play, pantomime, and add sounds to  create...

Students view clips of Anna Deavere Smith's work. They interview people on video or audiotape to learn their lines, dialect, and syntax to assist them in theater. They create a play which emulates the people in which they interviewed.

Students watch the film, "Rauschenber, The Other ROCI," and record information they need as they consider the themes. They create an art project that uses several different techniques to make a unified work.

Learners engage in a school project help unite the feelings and make each student feel a very special part of their school. This project would be a great beginning of the school "opener" for students and their teachers.

Fifth graders study the Civil War, discuss the life and policy decisions of Abraham Lincoln and the concepts/issues that developed to create North vs. South. This instructional activity is meant to be used before visiting Ford's Theatre.

Launch a discussion of the creative process with a short video that features the daily ritual of Slobodan Dan Paich, a San Francisco artist. Slobodan models his approach to tea painting and shares his reflections on the...

Looking for ways to implement the words and works of William Shakespeare into your curriculum? This list of activity ideas is a great starting point, as it covers a wide range of grade levels and a wealth of online references to explore.

In this comma rules instructional activity, students read 30 sentences and add commas where needed. Detailed rules for the use of commas are on the page to help.

Students create a multimedia project using PowerPoint. They retell factual information and create a report using PowerPoint. Afterward, they invite parents and other classes in for a PowerPoint theater.

Students explore the art of Chinese shadow puppetry. They create puppets, develop and rehearse scripts and perform a show in front of the class.

Third graders investigate the three zones of the ocean and the plants and animals that live in each zone. Projects produced are shared with classmates in a share circle where the unique features of the animal and zone selected are...

Students emulate a key practice of Renaissance theater: doubling. The goal of this lesson is for students to experience-to see, hear, and feel-the differences between characters. Each group presents scenes to the rest of the class.

Students examine spiders. In these spider lessons, students will view spider images and live spiders to determine physical characteristics, habits, and habitats. Students will examine fantasy and folklore about spiders to create and...

Learners create masks from the Italian Renaisance theatre and use them in one-act plays they write. they analyze the role and development of theatre in world cultures.