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Señor Coyote Acts as a Judge

Señor Coyote Acts as a Judge

What better way to teach action-reaction than a story packed with mischievous animal characters, including a clever coyote, a sneaky snake, and a righteous rabbit? In this lesson, students in grades 3-8 can practice collaboration, imitation, transformation, and action-reaction skills. By presenting their dramas, students can get hands-on experience with defining action-reaction and analyze its importance in creating a good story. You can also integrate Language Arts learning by having students connect action-reaction with cause and effect.

Sixth Grade Journal: Señor Coyote Acts as a Judge

To maximize student achievement, download this drama journal for students to use as reflection or formative assessment.  A drama journal allows participants to reflect on their learning and artistic growth (metacognition). It also allows you, the teacher, to see how students are using the drama vocabulary, thinking about big ideas, and perceiving their own strengths and weaknesses.

Creating Mood

Creating Mood Lesson

Creating mood effectively is one of the most important lessons young actors can learn. In this lesson, students can practice using their imagination and concentration skills to create mood for a variety of different scenarios. This lesson gives students a chance to hone their ability to imagine their given circumstances, while using their voice, body, and mind to communicate what they are imagining.

Sixth Grade Drama Journal: Creating Mood

To maximize student achievement, download this drama journal for students to use as reflection or formative assessment.  A drama journal allows participants to reflect on their learning and artistic growth (metacognition). It also allows you, the teacher, to see how students are using the drama vocabulary, thinking about big ideas, and perceiving their own strengths and weaknesses.

How the World Was Formed on Turtle’s Back

How the World Was Formed on Turtle's Back Lesson

“How the Earth Was Formed on Turtle’s Back,” is an Onondaga creation story that features a team of vibrant animal characters, who work together to save a young woman’s life and create the world as we know it. This lesson provides numerous opportunities for students to use their bodies and voices to create characters and practice transformation. You may also integrate Language Arts by discussing the importance of personification and character traits in the story.

Park Bench

Park Bench Lesson

Middle school can be a really hard time for students to feel connected to their bodies, but embodying physical choices is a key part of being an actor! We devised this lesson to give students in grades 6-8 a fun opportunity to practice using their bodies to portray emotions, reactions and create character. Given the prompt of being strangers on a park bench, students work together to create a three-person improvised drama.

Planning and Practicing: The School Crisis

Planning and Practicing: The School Crisis Lesson

How can we get students hungry for more planning and practicing? Let them see what it’s like when they can’t plan or practice at all! In this lesson for grades 5-8, students can practice collaboration, cooperation, and Conflict/Resolution skills by improvising and then devising a drama of what might happen in a school crisis.

Sixth Grade Journal: The School Crisis

To maximize student achievement, download this drama journal for students to use as reflection or formative assessment.  A drama journal allows participants to reflect on their learning and artistic growth (metacognition). It also allows you, the teacher, to see how students are using the drama vocabulary, thinking about big ideas, and perceiving their own strengths and weaknesses.

 

Planning and Practicing: The Tightrope

Planning and Practicing: The Tightrope Lesson

Are your students planning and practicing pros yet? This lesson is a great way to encourage students in grades 6-8 to be more thorough in their planning and practicing process and hone their collaboration and cooperation skills.  This builds upon other planning and practicing lessons by including a special challenge for students: devise an original story about a group of tightrope walkers encountering an obstacle during their act!

Sixth Grade Journal: The Tightrope

To maximize student achievement, download this drama journal for students to use as reflection or formative assessment.  A drama journal allows participants to reflect on their learning and artistic growth (metacognition). It also allows you, the teacher, to see how students are using the drama vocabulary, thinking about big ideas, and perceiving their own strengths and weaknesses.

 

Reader’s Theater

Reader's Theater Lesson

Whether or not you are new to Reader’s Theater, this lesson will provide you with innovative ways to bring it into your classroom.  Providing a bridge from drama to theatre as well as an excellent opportunity for vocal work, Reader’s Theater is a versatile learning tool and tons of fun for all! Adaptable for all age groups, you can even extend this lesson to introduce public speaking to older students. There is also a rubric available which can be used to teach up to 7 different skills of your choosing. Inflection, tone, pitch, rate, and projection are all skills introduced through this lesson.

Reader's Theater Rubric 

Sixth Grade Journal: Reader's Theater

To maximize student achievement, download this drama journal for students to use as reflection or formative assessment.  A drama journal allows participants to reflect on their learning and artistic growth (metacognition). It also allows you, the teacher, to see how students are using the drama vocabulary, thinking about big ideas, and perceiving their own strengths and weaknesses.

The Old House Poem

The Old House Poem

This haunted house contains a surprise that no one could ever guess… In this poem, two kids visit a spooky old house where there may or may not be a ghost. Students in grades 3-7 will have so much fun with this poem! Opportunities for skill building include: adding details, using sound effects, and creating body objects. We have also included some recommended step-by-step delivery ideas to help you turn the poem into a full lesson.

The Old House Journal: Grades 3-5

The Old House Journal: Grades 6-7

To maximize student achievement, download this drama journal for students to use as reflection or formative assessment. For each poem, we have created a corresponding journal page for your students. A drama journal allows participants to reflect on their learning and artistic growth (metacognition). It also allows you, the teacher, to see how students are using the drama vocabulary, thinking about big ideas, and perceiving their own strengths and weaknesses. 

The Sleeping Lion Lesson

The Sleeping Lion Lesson

Objective: students will learn what sound adds to a drama.

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In this fun lesson for fourth grade students, participants use their voices to create the sounds of jungle creatures (part of the fourth grade objectives). We suggest starting with a vocal warm-up activity: you can use your own or pick one of ours from our activity library. We designed this lesson around the story of the same name -- download The Sleeping Lion from our story library to complete the lesson. This lesson is part of our recommended sequence in the Fourth Grade Curriculum.

Fourth Grade Drama Journal: The Sleeping Lion

To maximize student achievement, download this drama journal for students to use as reflection or formative assessment. For each lesson in the curriculum, we have created a corresponding journal page for your students. A drama journal allows participants to reflect on their learning and artistic growth (metacognition). It also allows you, the teacher, to see how students are using the drama vocabulary, thinking about big ideas, and perceiving their own strengths and weaknesses. If you use the journal for assessment and would like more assessment tools, visit our Fourth Grade Curriculum. 

 

Making Machines Lesson

Making Machines Lesson

Objective: students learn how actors and directors work together.

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In this lesson, fourth grade students will practice building collaborative machines while taking turns as an actor and director (part of the fourth grade objectives). Students will gain a better understanding of the roles of actors and directors through practical experience. This lesson also emphasizes vocal and non vocal sounds, and we suggest a warm up activity that focuses on these skills (such as Vocal Environment or Vocal Symphony). This lesson is part of our recommended sequence in the Fourth Grade Curriculum.

Fourth Grade Drama Journal: Making Machines

To maximize student achievement, download this drama journal for students to use as reflection or formative assessment. For each lesson in the curriculum, we have created a corresponding journal page for your students. A drama journal allows participants to reflect on their learning and artistic growth (metacognition). It also allows you, the teacher, to see how students are using the drama vocabulary, thinking about big ideas, and perceiving their own strengths and weaknesses. If you use the journal for assessment and would like more assessment tools, visit our Fourth Grade Curriculum.