Curated OER
Eugene O'Neill on Page and Stage
Students investigate the life and works of Eugene O'Neill. For this American theater lesson, students read biographical information about O'Neill and review Long Day's Journey into Night. Students then analyze the play in order to...
Curated OER
Every Puppet Tells a Story
Students make homemade puppet characters that have faces that tell it all. In this early childhood dramatic play activity, students create stick puppet characters that encourage language and story development, creative-thinking and...
Curated OER
Reader's Theater: Presenting Asian Folktales
Learners create and perform folktale plays. In this reader's theater and Asian literature lesson, students work in groups to rewrite Asian folktales into scripts and perform the folktales for their class in a Reader's Theater. Lesson...
Curated OER
The Federal Theatre Project
Students research the Federal Theatre Project and assess its accomplishments. Working in groups, they identify both successes and failure of the project and record their findings on a chart. Students explain the credibility of the...
Ford's Theatre
How Perspective Shapes Understanding of History
The Boston Massacre may be an iconic event in American history, but perhaps the British soldiers had another point of view. Using primary sources, including reports from Boston newspapers and secondary sources from the British...
ReadWriteThink
Beyond the Story: A Dickens of a Party
It's time to party like it's 1899! Incorporate a research-based celebration of the Victorian Era into your unit on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. After learners read the novella or view a production of the play, they craft a...
Brigham Young University
Understanding Design, Composition, and Color
The set for a play combines design elements (style, line, shape, mass, measure, position, color, and texture) and principles of composition (unity, harmony, contrast, variation, balance, proportion, and emphasis) to create a particular...
Orlando Shakes
The Best of Enemies
History comes to life with the play The Best of Enemie. Scholars learn literary elements as well explore racial issues in American history. The play is based on a true story and addresses the universal truth that people are capable of...
Curated OER
Theatres of War Wordsearch
For this battlegrounds worksheet, students analyze the names of 20 theatres of war. Students find these names in a word search puzzle.
Curated OER
Paws in Jobland: Lesson Plan 2 - Role Play
Students discuss and role play various careers in order to become familiar with the curriculum of the book "Paws in Jobland". In this introductory lesson, students pretend they do a certain job, and answer written questions about what...
Curated OER
Lesson 13- Lucille Ball: What's So Funny
Students study who were important in Hollywood cinema in the 1940's, 1950's and today. They participate in a comedy improv exercise.
Curated OER
Costume And Make-Up Shakespeare Style
Students create original costumes and make-up for a puppet presentation of a scene from Shakespeare in this week long creative project. Performances of the Shakespeare scenes end this instructional activity geared towards state and...
Curated OER
Dance: Personal Soundtracks
Students create a musical autobiography. In this fine arts lesson, students explore the emotions that music can express by listening to and discussing a variety of music. Students construct a personal timeline and a collection of music...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Hamlet Meets Chushingura: Traditions of the Revenge Tragedy
Students read texts, view film and video and conduct research in an analysis and comparison of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and the Kabuki piece "Chushingura". They focus their analysis on the theme of revenge.
Hot Docs
Docs for School: Viewing and Teaching Guide
Teaching documentary in your class? Inform your instruction with a guide meant to support teachers as they begin with documentary. The resource includes information on what a documentary is as well as documentary modes, elements, and...
Curated OER
Theatre- The Critic's Review
Students construct a critical review of a performance. In this theatrical lesson, students learn why critical reviews are important and create their own critical review. Students discuss their review.
Curated OER
Tracking the Monster: Ashley Judd and Indie.Arie Confront AIDS in Africa - Lesson 3
Students see how music and theatre deals with contemporary problems and issues. The sight-read new music and examine the musical, 'RENT.'
Curated OER
Creating Nonviolence: A Theatre of the Oppressed Approach to Things Fall Apart
Eleventh graders analyze Ahimsa and complete activities for nonviolence. In this nonviolence lesson plan, 11th graders define violence and relate it to their lives. Students adapt prose into a dialogue to act out and analyze the violence...
Curated OER
Happy April Fool's Day!
Grab students' attention with these lesson and activity ideas on April Fool's Day.
Curated OER
Ready . . . Set . . . Read! Teaching Reading Fluency
There are many activities and lesson ideas that teachers can use to reinforce reading fluency skills. This article brings a variety of strategies to light, including how to incorporate fluency instruction within novel units and...
Curated OER
Personal Poetry: An Introduction to Narrative Poetry
Here are some simple and easy to manage lesson ideas to introduce narrative poetry in your classroom.
US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – End of the War
You are Winston Churchill, and on May 9th, 1945, you receive millions of grateful cards and telegrams. How do you respond? High schoolers put themselves in the Prime Minister's chair with an activity that prompts them to respond to a...
Curated OER
Improvisational Setting - "Where are You?"
Second graders explore setting through improvisations. In this theatre lesson, 2nd graders perform a variety of improvisations in different settings and chart how they established the setting in the different environments.
Curated OER
Enter an Enchanged Wood with Shakespeare
Students research William Shakespeare and his literary works. They study a variety of literary terms and different elements of his plays. They also research the Globe Theatre and different elements of the theatre in general.