100+ drama lessons in topics ranging from foundational drama skills to social/emotional learning to drama integration with every core curricular subject.
We designed these drama lessons by pulling together selected drama activities and stories to teach drama objectives, matched with National Standards. These complete ready-to-go lessons save you planning time — simply search your targeted skill or concept to find the perfect lesson. Each lesson includes a list of prerequisites, a step-by-step activity guide, assessment suggestions and an extensive list of supplemental teaching strategies.
These drama lessons are customizable and adaptable. We know every classroom is different, so think of them more as a guide. Alter them, add to them, rearrange them, and personalize them as you see fit, and if you ever have questions on how to implement them, we’re always here to help!
We have combined these drama lessons to create a complete integrated drama curriculum. We organized this curriculum by grade level focusing on age-appropriate objectives, matched with the National Standards.
Use the search function below to filter by grade, drama skill and integration topic.
Working with Vocabulary and the Drama Tools: Words in Motion Lesson
Working with Vocabulary and the Drama Tools: Words in Motion Lesson Writers and actors of all ages need to love words. This simple, quick, and fun circle drama activity brings words alive through the use of imagination and physical movement. With an emphasis on shape, level, gesture, and facial expression, ...
Why Frog and Snake Don’t Play Together Anymore Lesson
Why Frog and Snake Don’t Play Together Anymore Lesson This lesson provides rich opportunities for students to practice their collaboration and animal character skills, while learning an important message about prejudice and the power of friendship. Featuring an adaptation of the African folktale “Why Frog and Snake Don’t Play Together ...
Valentine’s Day Lesson
Valentine's Day Lesson Help students work on story sequencing and imitation skills in this fun, Valentine’s Day-themed lesson! Suitable for students in grades 3-12, this lesson asks students to connect different activities to create a cohesive narrative, using setting, character, and transitions. You can integrate Language Arts by challenging students ...
The Magic Closet Lesson
The Magic Closet Lesson Imagination and writing with descriptive detail are the focus of this magical adventure. Students enter a closet owned by someone they create in their imagination, but soon find the closet holds secrets even more astounding. Students work with a partner to act, describe, and then write ...
Sequencing a Story: The Kid Who Loved Cookies Lesson
Sequencing a Story: The Kid Who Loved Cookies Lesson Here is an easy way to introduce sequencing in both drama and language arts to young students. In this lesson students color and sequence a series of pictures depicting a series of tasks. Next, they enact those tasks found in the ...
Questioning Characters in Fiction and Non-Fiction Lesson
Questioning Characters in Fiction and Non-Fiction Lesson Get your actors of all ages interacting with text by becoming the characters, objects, or animals they are reading about. Actors work with a partner to create interviews and learn to ask important questions. Character building and questioning skills are the focus of ...
My Day at the Park Lesson
My Day at the Park Lesson Writing paragraphs with details turns from a laborious task into a labor of love as students first enact a sequence of events that happened at the park and then gloriously add colorful details to paint a picture (show not tell) about their day at ...
Introducing Transformation and Predicting: The Gingerbread Man Lesson
Introducing Transformation and Predicting: The Gingerbread Man Lesson Using the beloved story of The Gingerbread Man students not only learn to transform into characters and imitate the actions of those characters, they also have many opportunities to predict and revise as they enact the story with you and their classmates ...
Flossie and the Fox Lesson
Flossie and the Fox Lesson Help students hone their storytelling skills with this clever and delightful tale! With this lesson, students in grades 3-4 can practice using their primary drama tools – mind, body and voice- while learning how to use additional support tools such as props, lighting or sound ...
Community Helpers Lesson
Community Helpers Lesson How can group juggling teach students the importance of community? This lesson provides a fun and effective way to teach students in grades 1-2 about how every individual plays a crucial role in their community. Starting with a game of “Team Juggling,” this lesson will also guide ...
Brave Irene Lesson
Brave Irene Lesson This exciting tale of bravery, a snowstorm and a lost dress provides a thrilling way for students to practice their storytelling skills. Based on the book “Brave Irene” by William Steig, this lesson is a great way for students grades 2-5 to practice collaboration, cooperation and using ...
Blackout: Creating Atmosphere Lesson
Blackout: Creating Atmosphere Lesson Centered around the Caldecott Honor Book “Blackout” by John Rocco, this lesson provides rich opportunities for actors to practice using their voices and bodies to create atmosphere. Students in grades 4-6 may work together in pairs or small groups, practicing negotiation and collaboration skills as they ...
Adverbs in Motion Lesson
Adverbs in Motion Lesson Learning parts of speech does not need to be boring. In this Level I lesson, students explore action verbs, adverbs, and even direct objects as they also learn the relationship between audience and actor and how and why actors must improve their acting skills to communicate ...
Writing Story, Transformation, Imitation: Humpty Dumpty Lesson
Writing Story, Transformation, Imitation: Humpty Dumpty Lesson Building off the classic tale of “Humpty Dumpty,” this lesson allows students in grades K-2 to use their imaginations to put their own spin on the story. Starting out with warm-up activity to help students practice transformation and imitation skills, this lesson culminates in ...
Before I Couldn’t, But Now I Can – With Story Lesson
Before I Couldn’t, But Now I Can – With Story Lesson Immerse your students in imitation with this simple but crucial lesson! “Before I Couldn’t, But Now I Can” breaks down one of the most important drama skills. Students in grades K-3 have the chance to hone their concentration and ...
Baking a Cake Lesson
Baking a Cake Lesson What’s more fun than baking a cake? You can skip the mess and use this lesson instead! By acting out the steps it takes to bake a cake, students can practice creating complex physical settings with one another. Students may practice collaboration, imitation, creating body objects ...
Animals and Their Homes Lesson
Animals and Their Homes Lesson What are the parallels between the ways we work together in drama and how parts of a habitat work together to sustain animal life? In this lesson, students in grades 3-5 can work together to create animal statues, and eventually create full habitats with only ...
American Pioneers Lesson
American Pioneers Lesson Teaching all the complexities of westward expansion to students in grades 4-6 may seem overwhelming at first. However, in this lesson, students have the chance to apply what they have learned in social studies into creating a drama that explores the economic and geographic factors that affected ...
Thanksgiving Lesson
Thanksgiving Lesson If you enjoyed our Halloween lesson, this is another great way to bring a seasonal theme into the classroom! Designed for students in grades 3-12, this lesson guides students through devising their own Thanksgiving-related story while working on collaboration, imitation and planning and practicing skills. You can also ...
Blending Tableau with Social Studies: Three Scenes from History
Blending Tableau with Social Studies: Three Scenes from History Help students deepen their analysis of a historical text by adapting it into scenes! In this lesson, students in grades 3-12 expand their understanding of levels, shapes, and illusion of action by creating tableaux based on a nonfiction or historical fiction ...
Halloween Lesson
Halloween Lesson It’s always fun to bring a seasonal theme into the classroom – especially one as playful and imaginative as Halloween! Designed for students in grades 3-12, this lesson guides students through devise their own Halloween themed story while working on collaboration, imitation and planning and practicing skills. You ...
Revolutionary War: The Printing Press
Revolutionary War: The Printing Press Connecting historical events to movement and narrative can be a great way to help students in grades 5-7 memorize dates and facts. In this lesson, students read a story about a parent and child who are on different sides of the American Revolution. While using ...
Connecting Drama and Science – Body Objects: With Setting, Environments and Details
Connecting Drama and Science - Body Objects: With Setting, Environments, and Details Discover the striking parallels between establishing setting in drama and studying environments from a scientific standpoint. This lesson, designed for grades 3-8, goes in-depth on both topics, challenging students to be detail-oriented and collaborative in their thinking. Students ...
Statue Sentences Lesson
Statue Sentences Lesson Learning how to write clear, complete sentences can be one of the most challenging concepts for students to learn. This comprehensive integrated lesson combines drama and language arts to help students gain mastery over their writing. Utilizing movement, partner work, and concentration skills, this lesson helps students ...
Rooster’s Off to Save the World Lesson
Rooster's Off to Save the World Lesson At first glance, math and drama skills may seem like an unlikely pairing. However, in this playful lesson for grades K-2, students can practice addition and subtraction while honing their movement and animal transformation skills. Based on the beloved book by Eric Carle, ...
Poetry Through Vocal Expression
Poetry Through Vocal Expression Lesson How can we use our voices to express meaning and tell stories? This lesson delves into the wonders of poetry, and eases students from individual work to partner work to whole class performance. Designed for grades 3-12, this lesson is a fantastic way to help ...
Becoming the Body Lesson
Becoming the Body Lesson Collaboration is a crucial skill for students to cultivate across all academic subjects. To that end, we have written a lesson that integrates the drama skills of collaboration and transformation with the scientific skills of identifying and explaining the function of different body parts. This lesson ...
Building Vocabulary Through Drama: Vocabulary Statues Lesson
Building Vocabulary Through Drama: Vocabulary Statues Lesson Memorizing vocabulary words can be one of the most tedious tasks for students to do – so how could it possibly lend itself to drama? Using the drama concepts of tableaux, collaboration and planning, this exciting lesson for grades K-12 will break up ...
Studying Bones: The Scientist’s Dilemma
Studying Bones: The Scientist's Dilemma Teach students about character transformation, the function of bones in the human body and improvisation all in one exciting, integrated lesson. Designed for students in grades 3-8, this lesson helps you teach in role, guiding students through a process drama centered around identifying and explaining ...
Henry’s Magic Hat – FREE Version
Henry's Magic Hat What are the essential building blocks of every story? In this lesson, you will have the chance to lead students through a simple yet engaging tale about a child and his mysterious magic hat. This story is a wonderful way to teach students in grades K-2 about ...
Crossing the Road
Crossing the Road This lesson for 6th grade students uses drama to demonstrate the different types of conflict. You can download our poster with the 5 different types of conflict to post in your classroom. This also focuses on contrasting story elements (who, what, why, when, where, and conflict/resolution) to literary ...
“What do Words Mean?” with Story & Dialogue Lesson
"What do Words Mean?" with Story & Dialogue Lesson How can we take students from learning a list of new words to feeling true mastery over a new vocabulary? This lesson helps students deepen their understanding of new words by challenging them to create a story inspired by an assigned ...
The Nutcracker 3: Original Pantomime to Nutcracker Music Lesson
The Nutcracker 3: Original Pantomime to Nutcracker Music Lesson How can we use music to inspire our storytelling? In this lesson, students in grades 3-6 will listen to a selection from The Nutcracker, and work in groups to come up with their own original dramas inspired by the music. Perfect ...
The Nutcracker 2: Mouse and Toy Soldier Fight Lesson
The Nutcracker 2: Mouse and Toy Soldier Fight Lesson Capture students’ imaginations with this climactic battle scene! Designed for grades 3-6, this lesson provides an engaging way for students to learn about physical choices, collaboration, and conflict through creating a pantomime of the battle from The Nutcracker. You can also ...
The Nutcracker 1: Brother and Sister Quarrel Lesson
The Nutcracker 1: Brother and Sister Quarrel Lesson Any student with siblings will have plenty of experience to draw on for this lesson! Based on the imaginative story of the Nutcracker, this lesson asks students to work in partners, creating a silent drama about a sibling quarrel. Emphasizing the drama ...
Revolutionary War Through Drama: Life in the Colonies Lesson
Revolutionary War Through Drama: Life in the Colonies Lesson Immerse your students in colonial life by having them create dramas about day to day living in the pre-Revolutionary War colonies. This lesson is an excellent way to integrate Social Studies learning with drama by discussing the impacts of British control ...
Revolutionary War: Tax Freeze Lesson
Revolutionary War: Tax Freeze Lesson Help students understand the unfairness of taxation without representation by placing them inside an activity that simulates it! Ideal for grades 4-8, this lesson asks students to consider how unfair treatment makes them feel, then challenges them to identify unfairness in a historical context. This ...
Personification and Characters Lesson
Personification and Characters Lesson How do actors bring object characters to life? Designed for students in fourth grade, this lesson helps students move from body object imitation into acting out full dramas with object characters. This challenging lesson helps students practice concentration, transformation and full use of their body and ...
Mime with The Ever-Evolving Green Man Lesson
Mime with The Ever-Evolving Green Man Lesson Mime is one of the most challenging and most important skills for young actors to learn. Inspired by Gail E. Haley’s The Green Man, this lesson challenges actors to create group mimes based on scenes from the book. This lesson comes with variations ...
Making the Thundercake Lesson
Making the Thundercake Lesson A roll of thunder. A pitter pat of rain. A creaky old door. What connects all these things? They are sound effects that evoke a mysterious, scary mood! Based on the book Thundercake by Patricia Polacco, this lesson is designed to teach students in grades 3-5 ...
Habitats, Needs of Living Things, and Body Details Lesson
Habitats, Needs of Living Things, and Body Details Lesson How can we keep students fully engaged through complex subject matter? Ask them to engage their bodies as well as their minds! This exciting lesson integrates Drama with Language Arts and Science by asking students to create habitats and settings using ...
Explorers, Risk Taking, and Tableau Lesson
Explorers, Risk Taking, and Tableau Lesson What do explorers and theatre artists have in common? A willingness to take risks and work as a team! In this lesson for grades 4-8, students will work in groups, applying what they know about explorers to create dynamic tableaus and still picture stories ...
Donkey Tale 2: Adding Dialogue Lesson
Donkey Tale 2: Adding Dialogue Lesson Challenge your students to take their story dramas to the next level by adding dialogue. Building off our first Donkey Tale Lesson, this extended lesson asks students to plan and practice their own versions of the story, this time adding a moment of dialogue ...
Donkey Tale 1: Movement & Imitative Action Lesson
Donkey Tale 1: Movement & Imitative Action lesson There’s no better way to get students moving and imitating than with stories, particularly stories about animals. This lively tale about a thirsty traveler and a stubborn donkey provides a great opportunity for students to practice collaboration and negotiation skills through partner ...
Civil War Drama Lesson
Civil War Drama Lesson Drama is a great way to engage students with historical events by encouraging them to think deeply about point of view. In this lesson, designed for grades 4-8, students will practice concentration, collaboration, and transformation while using Body Objects to communicate different settings. This lesson encourages ...
Sixth Grade Lessons
Recommended Lesson Sequence for Sixth Grade No Prior Drama Recommended Lesson Sequence for Sixth Grade With Prior Drama Purchase Lesson Sequence Outline only
Purchase or download individual lessons below These year-long planning guides map a year of drama teaching. We put these lessons in a recommended delivery order below, but ...
Purchase or download individual lessons below These year-long planning guides map a year of drama teaching. We put these lessons in a recommended delivery order below, but ...
Two Character Dialogue Lesson
Two Character Dialogue Lesson Are your students ready to create their own scenes? Building upon our One Person Monologue Lesson, this lesson guides students through collaborating with their peers to create their own original dialogues. Students can continue to work on playwriting, directing and performance skills, while learning how to ...
One Person Monologue Lesson
One Person Monologue Lesson Give students the opportunity to write, act and direct, all in one lesson! Ideal for sixth through eighth graders with prior drama experience, this lesson guides students through creating, directing, and performing an original monologue in groups of three. Students can hone their collaboration skills, drama ...
The Chase Lesson
The Chase Lesson Looking for an exciting way to teach students about personal space and self-esteem? This lesson is a great way to help students practice self-control, imitation, and concentration skills, while keeping them active! Progressing from independent movement work to full group collaboration, the Chase provides a thorough yet ...
Body Objects: Acting The Dreamer Story
Body Objects: Acting The Dreamer Story How do we get students excited about the details and setting in a story? Dive into the vivid world of The Dreamer, adapted from One Thousand and One Nights by Karen L. Erickson. In this lesson, students in grades 4-12 can practice collaboration, cooperation, ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
Paper Bag Charades
Paper Bag Charades Lesson Improv can be intimidating at first, so it’s important to give students support tools and structure as they’re learning it! In this lesson, challenge students to use three mystery props as they work together to create an exciting group drama. This is a wonderful opportunity for ...
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 ...
Animal Shapes Story Lesson
Animal Shapes Story Lesson There’s no better way to get students engaged and in their bodies than animal work! In this lesson, students can practice imitating and transforming into a variety of animal characters. You may choose to have your students move on to crafting Animal Stories, giving them the ...
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 ...
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 ...
Three Scenes from a Book
Three Scenes from a Book Lesson Creating a drama is one of the best ways to identify the most essential events in a story! In this lesson for students in grades 3-12, students can practice collaboration, imagination, and identifying story elements as they plan a drama of the three most ...
Henry’s Magic Hat Lesson
Henry's Magic Hat Lesson What are the essential building blocks of every story? In this lesson, you will have the chance to lead students through a simple yet engaging tale about a boy and his mysterious magic hat. This story is a wonderful way to teach students in grades K-2 ...
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 ...
Transforming Three Objects – Into Story (Lesson)
Transforming Three Objects - Into Story (Lesson) Transformation is one of the key building blocks of storytelling. In this lesson, students in grades 6-8 can hone their transformation skills by utilizing support tools to tell a dynamic story. By transforming two and then three objects at a time, students can ...
Open Scenes Lesson
Open Scenes Lesson Challenge students to read between the lines and play distinctive characters in these open-ended scenes. With dialogue that purposefully leaves details up to the imagination, this lesson can be used with students to work on collaboration, imitation, transformation, and planning and practicing skills. You may also integrate ...
How the World Was Formed on Turtle’s Back Lesson
How the World Was Formed on Turtle’s Back Lesson “How the World 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 ...
Elevator Lesson
Elevator Lesson How do actors create realistic characters? How do we create believable, specific dramas? In this lesson, students in grades 6-8 can practice imitation, character transformation and collaboration by developing distinct and detailed characters and character relationships within a small group. The twist? Their scenes must take place in ...
Bound No’th Blues Lesson
Bound No'th Blues Lesson Bound No'th Blues Assessment Checklist The beauty and clarity of Langston Hughes’ words makes his work ideal for introducing students to the joys of studying poetry. By adapting Hughes’ poem Bound No’th Blues into a drama, students can practice collaboration, imitation, and concentration skills. You may ...
Liars Club Lesson
Liars Club Lesson How do actors bring truth to every performance they do, even if it’s outside their own experience? In this lesson, students in grades 6-8 will have the chance to practice telling each other true stories that happened in their lives, and then telling each other’s stories to ...
I Was Courageous Lesson
I Was Courageous Lesson Our “I Was Courageous” lesson is the perfect way to celebrate different kinds of courage among your students, whether it be personal, physical, emotional, or intellectual courage. In this lesson, students can practice collaboration, planning, and using physicality to create a character as they act out ...
Inferencing and Questioning in “The Daydreamer” Lesson
Inferencing and Questioning in "The Daydreamer" Lesson Inferencing and Questioning in "The Daydreamer" Rubric Want a way to get students to make inferences and ask questions about a text while addressing bullying issues? This lesson for fourth through eighth graders is the first in a series that makes up a ...
Building Vocabulary Through Drama Lesson
Building Vocabulary Through Drama Lesson Building Vocabulary Through Drama Rubric This lesson gets participants of all ages loving words and thinking of them as colorful ways to communicate their ideas. So put those worksheets and spelling tests down for time to have students build a relationship with words in a ...
Adding Details and Emotional Color to Writing Lesson
Adding Details and Emotional Color to Writing Lesson Adding Details and Emotional Color to Writing Rubric Beginning writers often leave out details that add color, emotion, and sensory elements to stories, poems, and nonfiction text. Likewise, beginning actors often create characters with little detail of gesture, facial expression, and movement ...
5th Grade Lessons
Recommended Lesson Sequence for Fifth Grade The lessons suggested for our Fifth Grade Curriculum are put in a recommended delivery order below, but you may revise, rearrange, and adapt as you see fit. This year-long planning guide maps a year of drama teaching based on the lessons in this ...
Statue Redesign Lesson
Statue Redesign Lesson Objective: Learning to use collaboration in creating drama. This Language Arts-based lesson focuses mainly on collaboration among students in creating (acting as) statues. Some negotiation among students may occur to determine a course of action, depending on how the setup occurs, so it may be helpful to ...
Fluency Through Poetry Lesson
Fluency Through Poetry Lesson Objective: Learning to use the voice to communicate ideas. This Language Arts-based lesson combines one of the drama tools (voice) with the art form of poetry to assist in communicating ideas and add meaning. Students will practice collaboration with others and learn how vocal choices change ...
Journey to Another Culture Lesson
Journey to Another Culture Lesson Objective: Students analyze the relationships between actors, directors, and stories. In this 6-day unit, students take a deep dive into studying one specific culture or place. After an introduction into the concept of culture, students research a chosen culture and plan a trip to visit ...
Good News, Bad News Lesson
Good News, Bad News Lesson Objective: Students collaborate to plan and practice an improvised drama. Failure is often the best way to learn. In this lesson, students have the chance to experience both a fiasco and a success that show them the importance of planning and practicing in drama. While ...
Pantomime with a Prop Lesson
Pantomime with a Prop Objective: Students analyze how movement choices and support tools can help to tell a story. In this lesson, students have fun while stretching their imaginations and improving their drama skills. Starting with an introduction to pantomime using imaginary objects, the lesson builds to fully pantomimed scenes ...
Emotion Emotion Lesson
Emotion Emotion Lesson Objective: Students analyze artistic choices used to communicate emotion. In this lesson, students learn about communicating emotions by studying and imitating works of art (ideas & examples provided). Particular attention is paid to the way posture, gesture, and facial expressions can reveal how characters feel. Working in ...
This Morning I Felt Lesson
This Morning I Felt Lesson Objective: Students communicate character emotions in a story. Happy, scared, and excited…GO! Using a set of three given emotions, students in this lesson create scenes that tell the story of an eventful day. Building off of their previous drama experience, students must use both their ...
Art Prints Lesson
Art Prints Lesson Objective: Students connect drama to other art forms. The museum is facing a problem and the students must solve it! This lesson gives students the chance to take on the role of an art curator in a museum. Teachers prepare a wide array of printed pictures of famous ...
Landforms Lesson
Landforms Lesson Objective: Students demonstrate the roles of cause and effect and force in stories. In this action-packed three-day unit, students will explore the connections between drama, science, and language arts. First, students read and enact “The Little Hole at the Bottom of the Sea.” Then, using the main story ...
Painting Stories Lesson
Painting Stories Lesson Objective: Students communicate emotion and mood through story element choices. This lesson begins by giving students visual images as an inspiration for creating a drama. After identifying the emotional content in a piece of artwork, students use teamwork working in groups to develop a story based on ...
Jabberwocky Lesson
Jabberwocky Lesson Objective: Students demonstrate the creative process using basic drama skills. Lewis Carroll’s poem “Jabberwocky” provides the inspiration for this fun and challenging lesson. After the introduction of the poem, students work in teams to enact the various characters and events. They use their basic drama skills (concentration, imagination, ...
And That’s a Blue Day Lesson
And That’s a Blue Day Lesson Objective: Students analyze how emotions can be portrayed in drama. How do different colors make you feel? That’s the starting point for this hour-long lesson that explores the ways colors are connected to emotions. From there, students also have the opportunity to create their ...
Tableau Stories Lesson
Tableau Stories Lesson Objectives: Students use movement choices to tell stories without words. Students demonstrate supportive audience behavior. This lesson builds on the skills students learned in “Creating Tableaux” by introducing how tableaux can tell stories. After an individual warm up, students create frozen pictures in small groups and present ...
Three Scenes from a Book Lesson
Three Scenes from a Book Lesson Objective: Students interpret characters, settings, and main ideas of a text through drama. This lesson is a great way for students to actively engage with any piece of literature or a historical event. The focus is on looking deeply at the main ideas of ...
Statue Maker with Nursery Rhymes Lesson
Statue Maker with Nursery Rhymes Lesson Objectives: Students demonstrate collaborative skills and use the body to communicate ideas. Letting students think creatively and abstractly as they work with a partner is at the heart of this lesson. Students mold partners into ideas that complete a reimagining of famous nursery rhymes ...
Creating Tableaux & Pictures in a Gallery Lesson
Creating Tableaux & Pictures in a Gallery Lesson Objective: Students apply aesthetic principles to create stage pictures. Students create frozen images with a team to demonstrate understanding of aesthetic principles integral to work in drama—such as level, shape, line, and illusion of action. Students discover how their own aesthetic tastes ...
Crazy Shapes & Transform the Chair Lesson
Crazy Shapes & Transform the Chair Lesson Objective: Students analyze physical choices used to communicate character. Students twist their bodies into creative images and adjust their physical expression according to changes in location and situation. They have fun learning how simple prompts about a setting impact character posture. They explore ...
Pre-K Lessons
Recommended Lesson Sequence for Pre-Kindergarten This year-long planning guide maps a year of drama teaching for Pre-Kindergarten students. This is adjusted and shortened from the longer schedule for older students in Kindergarten. We put these lessons in a recommended delivery order below, but you may revise, rearrange, and adapt ...
The Empty Pot Lesson
The Empty Pot Lesson Objective: students learn about problem solving and comparing drama to real life This is the 3rd and final lesson in the plant series for kindergarten-age children (see The Carrot Seed and The Tiny Seed). With plants again as the theme, this lesson uses real life situations ...
The Tiny Seed Lesson
The Tiny Seed Lesson Objective: students learn about problem solving – what do plants need to grow? Building off the previous Carrot Seed lesson, this one continues the theme working with real life plants and gardens. This lesson uses the book “The Tiny Seed” by Eric Carle: find a copy ...
The Carrot Seed Lesson
The Carrot Seed Lesson Objective: students will compare actions in a drama to people in real life situations. Continuing and reinforcing the previous Prop Box Lesson, growing plants provide the real life inspiration for this lesson. This lesson is based on the book “The Carrot Seed” by Ruth Krauss: find ...
Prop Box Lesson
Prop Box Lesson Objective: students will compare actions in a drama to people in real life situations. This lesson takes place over two consecutive days and requires props related to a topic that you choose. We provide ideas for topics, or you can choose them complementing your other lessons. With ...
King Bidgood Lesson
King Bidgood Lesson Objective: students will learn how to identify and solve dramatic problems. All children take a bath and, at some point, they refuse to get out of the water as they have so much fun. Many can identify with this lesson’s book by Audrey Wood of “King Bidgood’s ...
Caps for Sale Lesson
Caps for Sale Lesson Objective: students will learn how to identify and solve dramatic problems. Building on the previous lessons, the students will enjoy acting out the included story of Caps for Sale. They will interactively learn how to solve problems by wit and not by anger (part of the ...
Henny Penny Lesson
Henny Penny Lesson Objective: students will learn how to identify and solve dramatic problems. Using the familiar children’s fable of Henny Penny, students will take on different animal roles and interactively discuss the conflicts in the story. Interactively, they will suggest solutions and then act out alternate versions (part of ...
Charlie Lesson
Charlie Lesson Objective: students will imitate the actions of a character with movement and practice adding and resolving simple problems in a drama. Using the original story ”Charlie” written for this lesson, students interactively provide suggestions and act out characters. The students will enjoy adding descriptions, dialogue, characters, and simple ...
Three Billy Goats Gruff Lesson
Three Billy Goats Gruff Lesson Objective: students will learn to identify and imitate the four basic emotions: happy, sad, mad, and scared. Continuing the work from the previous Emotions Lesson in the Kindergarten series, the Three Billy Goats Gruff uses a familiar fairy tale to give the students further practice ...
Emotions Lesson
Emotions Lesson Objective: students imitate the actions and emotions of a character through movement. Building on the previous Morning Lesson, students continue practicing using the three tools (body, mind, voice) in drama. For this lesson, they will practice expression of the basic emotions happy, sad, mad, and scared and imitate ...
I Woke Up This Morning Lesson
I Woke Up This Morning Lesson Objective: students imitate the actions and emotions of a character through movement. Students will practice imitation using the actions of a most familiar character—themselves! They will use different types of movement to communicate their morning routines. The actors will also express the four common ...
Pictures in Air / Imaginary Land / Jack & Jill Lesson
Pictures in Air / Imaginary Land / Jack & Jill Lesson Objective: students use the three tools (body, mind, voice) in drama. Following the Snowman lesson, use this collection of simple activities and familiar nursery rhyme to continue building skills in the Kindergarten Curriculum. The group will also model positive ...
The Snowman Lesson
The Snowman Lesson Objective: students use the three tools (body, mind, voice) in drama. This lesson dovetails in nicely with typical winter theme and related classroom activities. Students will hear the Snowman story (included) and act out the snowman’s quest using the drama tools (part of the kindergarten objectives). They ...
The Humpty Dumpty Lesson
The Humpty Dumpty Lesson Objective: students identify the three tools (body, mind, voice) in drama. Many children know the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty. We employ it here for students to practice skills with the body, mind and voice – also known as the actor’s tools (part of the kindergarten objectives). ...
The Caveman Lesson
The Caveman Lesson Objective: students practice concentration while working with other actors using positive non-distracting behaviors. Building on the previous Mirror lesson, students continue working with partners and practicing audience behaviors (part of the kindergarten objectives). Students gain experience in practicing a drama as the traditional Mirror exercise morphs into ...
Mirror Lesson
Mirror Lesson Objective: students practice concentration and observation while working with other actors using positive non-distracting behaviors. Students have fun following the movements of a partner in this very traditional exercise called "The Mirror" [basic instruction included as part of the lesson]. This lesson can be repeated many times and ...
The Dragon Hunt Lesson
The Dragon Hunt Lesson Objective: students add concentration to their use of imagination with the five senses. What child doesn’t dream of searching for dragons? Building on the previous Magic Carpet lesson, you will guide the children in their hunt as they use their imagination and the five senses in ...
The Magic Carpet Lesson
The Magic Carpet Lesson Objective: students use their imagination and experiment with the five senses to take a magic carpet ride. Young children revel in using their senses to explore the world around them. This lesson gives them the opportunity to use their imagination and the five senses to create ...
Intro to the Five Senses Lesson
Intro to the Five Senses Lesson Objective: students demonstrate imagination and experiment with the five senses. Sometimes actors need to convey certain sensory elements (seeing, tasting, hearing, etc). This lesson gives students practice in using and expressing their five senses while imagining typical experience in everyday life (part of the ...
The Elves & the Shoemaker Lesson
The Elves & the Shoemaker Lesson Objective: students demonstrate concentration, listening, and imitation skills. Building on the previous lessons in the Kindergarten series, students begin working with listening and imitation skills (part of the kindergarten objectives). We adapted this lesson from the Grimm’s fairytale and you can use your own ...
Seeds Grow & The Greedy Little Fish Lesson
Seeds Grow & The Greedy Little Fish Lesson Objective: students solve acting problems before acting out a story. Sometimes actors face problems in deciding how they will act out a certain part of a story. Getting the students to think like artists and problem solve before playing a story is ...
Working with Space Lesson
Working with Space: Self-management skills Objective: students demonstrate concentration, following directions, maintaining personal space and using positive non-distracting behaviors. Through this series of activities, students will demonstrate cooperation with you and their peers, follow directions, and manage their personal space (part of the kindergarten objectives). They will have fun working ...
Finding Myself in Drama Lesson
Finding Myself in Drama: Introducing the Five Senses Objective: students demonstrate self-control and relate to other fine arts. Self-management skills are central to this first lesson as children work with imaginary objects, imitating and transforming them through play (part of the kindergarten objectives). This introductory lesson is fun for you ...
Kindergarten Lessons
Recommended Lesson Sequence for Kindergarten Purchase Lesson Sequence Outline only
Purchase or download individual lessons below This year-long planning guide maps a year of drama teaching. We put these lessons in a recommended delivery order below, but you may revise, rearrange, and adapt as you see fit. This sequence is ...
Purchase or download individual lessons below This year-long planning guide maps a year of drama teaching. We put these lessons in a recommended delivery order below, but you may revise, rearrange, and adapt as you see fit. This sequence is ...
Body Systems Lesson (Part 2)
Body Systems Lesson (Part 2): Working with Science Objective: students will use drama to replicate living systems. This continues from Part 1 with students transforming their bodies to simulate organs or other body systems (part of the fourth grade objectives). Systems (actors and organs) must work in tandem and create ...
Body Systems Lesson (Part 1)
Body Systems Lesson (Part 1): Working with Science Objective: students will use drama to replicate living systems. Students working in small groups will transform their bodies to simulate organs or other body systems (part of the fourth grade objectives). Systems (actors and organs) must work in tandem. The actions of ...
Miss Nancy Lesson
Miss Nancy Lesson: Working with Literature Objective: students use drama to reflect on situations from real life. This Life Drama uses written memoirs as inspiration for creating a drama that reflects situations in real life (part of the fourth grade objectives). The lesson uses the poem “Alone in the Grange” by ...
Piasa Bird Lesson (Part 2)
Piasa Bird Lesson (Part 2): Adding Narration Objective: students will explore using narration to enhance a drama. This builds on Part 1 of the Piasa Bird Lesson as students add narration to their interpretations for the bird. Students will use different narration styles (see our guide for more details) in groups of ...
Piasa Bird Lesson (Part 1)
Piasa Bird Lesson (Part 1): Exploring Visual Elements Objective: students will explore how to use visual elements to enhance a drama. Students will explore adding visual elements to a drama through the Native American legend of the Piasa bird. They will identify the visual elements of shape, line, form, and texture ...
“Westward Ho!” Lesson (Part 3)
“Westward Ho!” Lesson (Part 3): Taking Risks Objective: students will explore the contrasts of life in the past to modern times. This lesson (3rd of 3) continues the previous lesson with a focus on risks. The students will discuss and then enact the risks the pioneers took while traveling on ...
“Westward Ho!” Lesson (Part 2)
“Westward Ho!” Lesson (Part 2): Dealing with Conflicts Objective: students will explore the contrasts of life in the past to modern times. This Life Drama (2nd of 3) continues the previous lesson with a focus on conflict. The pioneers (students) traveling on an arduous journey westward encounter challenges. As a ...
“Westward Ho!” Lesson (Part 1)
“Westward Ho!” Lesson (Part 1): A Life Drama Objective: students will explore the contrasts of life in the past to modern times. This Life Drama begins a series of three lessons with a common theme. The students create a fictional group of pioneers preparing for an arduous journey westward. Students ...
My Room Lesson
My Room Lesson: Creating Setting Objective: students use their imagination to create a setting for drama. Students will have the chance to describe their bedroom, messy or neat, in partners. Remind them about the Ask, Don’t Tell rule from our Introductory Lessons as the negotiation strategy to use when making ...
The Sleeping Lion Lesson
The Sleeping Lion Lesson Objective: students will learn what sound adds to a drama. 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 ...
Trouble with Machines Lesson
Trouble with Machines Lesson: Man vs. Technology Objective: students learn how to make a story from simple activities. This lesson for fourth grade students continues work with conflict along with story and literary elements (part of the fourth grade objectives). Students work in teams to choose a problem and then ...
Crossing the Road Lesson
Crossing the Road Lesson: Conflicts Objective: students learn about different types of conflict through drama. This lesson uses drama to demonstrate the different types of conflict (part of the fourth grade objectives). You can download our poster with the five different types of conflict to post in your classroom. This lesson ...
Making Machines Lesson
Making Machines Lesson Objective: students learn how actors and directors work together. 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 ...
Objects Walk & Talk Lesson
Objects Walk & Talk Lesson: Personification Objective: students will learn how observation and sound create characters. This lesson focuses students on transformation with observation to create a drama (part of the fourth grade objectives). Students will observe physical items (list included) and personify them using body objects. If students haven’t learned ...
Little Wolf’s Ginger Root Lesson
Little Wolf’s Ginger Root Lesson: Exploring the Past through Drama Objective: students will learn about exploring the past through drama. This lesson for fourth grade focuses on students’ use of improvisation with dialogue in a drama. Students will model situations from historical events both with and without background information and ...
Emotions & History Lesson
Emotions & History Objective: students will learn how emotion can influence choices of action. Building on the prior two emotions lessons in our fourth grade series, this lesson examines emotions in characters from historical events. Students work together in small groups to present a short scene where they react to ...
Emotions Lesson (Part 2)
Emotions Lesson (Part 2): Emotion Stories Objective: Students communicate emotions through physical movement, facial expression, and posture. This lesson continues from Part 1 by building students' skills at playing emotions in character. Students work together in pairs (or groups up to four) and are given a very short scene where ...
Emotions Lesson (Part 1)
Emotions Lesson (Part 1): Communicating Emotions Objective: Students communicate emotions through physical movement, facial expression, and posture. Playing emotions is at the heart of becoming a character and this lesson assists in building that skill. Students first imitate simple actions to communicate emotions as others try to identify which emotion ...
Rabbit, Elephant, Whale Lesson
Rabbit, Elephant, Whale Lesson: Observation & Personification Objective: students will learn how actors use the drama tools to create a character. Students have fun personifying animal characters to create a story of their own design. The students then use the actor’s tools (mind, body, voice) to create a drama using ...
Using Drama in Careers Lesson
Using Drama in Careers Lesson Objective: students identify how drama is used in careers. What a wonderful lesson for career day or as you near the end of the school year. Students reflect on all of the skills and tools they have learned in drama and imagine how they might ...
Ferdinand Lesson
Ferdinand Lesson: Fantasy & Real Life Objective: students compare characters and situations in drama to situations and people in real life. Bullying and being misunderstood are topics explored through the story “Ferdinand” by Munro Leaf. This lesson in our third grade sequence continues the comparison of people and situations in drama ...
The First Woodpecker Lesson (Part 2)
The First Woodpecker Lesson (Part 2): Transformation Objective: Students compare characters and situations in drama to situations and people in real life. Students combine the primary drama tools to create character and setting. Students demonstrate transformation in a drama. Transformation is key to the message of the story and understanding ...
The First Woodpecker Lesson (Part 1)
The First Woodpecker Lesson (Part 1): A Life Drama Objective: Students compare characters and situations in drama to situations and people in real life. Students combine the primary drama tools to create character and setting. Mythic stories appeal to all ages. This story of "The First Woodpecker," based on Native American ...
Little Breeze – Great Storm Lesson
Little Breeze – Great Storm Lesson: Building Schema Objective: Students use personification in a drama. Students compare characters and situations in a drama to situations and people in real life. Where does the wind come from? How are great storms made? This is a wonderful science lesson but also could ...
The Fire Lesson
The Fire Lesson Objective: students demonstrate sensory (touch, taste, smell, sight, sound) recall in a drama. Students identify similarities among art forms. Students become fire, fight fire, and practice fire prevention all through the safety of drama. This lesson introduces students to sensory (touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound) recall and ...
The Three Sillies Lesson
The Three Sillies Lesson: Using Narration Objective: students demonstrate narrative storytelling skills. Jack is on a quest to find three very silly people. This famous and quite funny folk tale delights students of all ages. The lesson introduces three different styles of narrator voice and how the choice of style affects ...
Scarf Tale Lesson
Scarf Tale Lesson: Story Elements Objective: students adapt and or revise story details. Students combine the primary tools (body, mind, voice) and a secondary tool (a prop) to create a drama. Students have fun with a scarf, passing it and transforming it. They participate in a story about a crying baby ...
Adaptation of Living Things Lesson
Adaptation of Living Things Lesson Objective: students adapt and/or revise story details. Animal characters make up the focus for "Greysum Opossum’s Way" (included). Students adapt the story by putting in their own ideas as they work in a team (part of the third grade objectives). This lesson integrates well with teaching ...
The Long Ago Community Lesson
The Long Ago Community Lesson: Remembering & Celebrating Important Events Objective: students demonstrate improvisation to show how drama is used to celebrate and remember important events. This Life Drama takes place over several days and has the students creating a fictional tribe of people facing calamity, surviving, and then celebrating ...
Do Not Open (Part 2) Lesson
Do Not Open (Part 2) Lesson: Transformation and Prediction Objective: students discuss how transformation reveals the message of a story while applying C.I.T.I to play out the story elements. Miss Moody has a cat that is afraid of storms--but why isn’t she? What is she afraid of when she finds ...
Do Not Open (Part 1) Lesson
Do Not Open (Part 1) Lesson: Putting Action Verbs in Acting Objective: students demonstrate character actions, C.I.T.I.(concentration, imagination, transformation, imitation), and identify story elements. Miss Moody has a cat that is afraid of storms--but why isn’t she? What is she afraid of when she finds a mysterious bottle on the ...
Yo! Yes? Lesson
Yo! Yes? Lesson: Communicating Ideas Objective: students identify and communicate author’s message. Looking at the book Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka, students gather context clues about the story of two strangers who meet from different backgrounds. Students draw inferences from the illustrations and the text to determine what the author is ...
Drama in Other Places Lesson
Drama in Other Places Lesson Lesson Worksheet for Teachers & Students Objective: students identify elements of drama used in celebrations or events that are not formal plays. Students choose an event where they might see elements of drama being used, even if it is not a formal play by actors ...
The Dance Contest Lesson
The Dance Contest Lesson: Drama & Dance Objective: students identify commonalities between drama and dance. Who doesn’t like to dance? At this age, students love to move and make up their own dances to music. If there is a dance teacher or dance artist in your school, ask them to assist ...
The Apple Lesson
The Apple Lesson: Learning to be an Audience Objective: students compare the impact supportive and unsupportive audience behaviors have on a drama. Students are unaware of the impact their audience behaviors have on classmates who are performing. This lesson focuses on the audience's role in a drama. It is based ...
Lon Po Po Lesson
Lon Po Po Lesson: Conflict Objective: students identify conflict, problem and resolution in a story while problem solving. Lon Po Po by Ed Young is a Little Red Riding Hood story from another culture and is beloved by children who play this as a full class drama. The words Lon ...
Animal Treasure Lesson
Animal Treasure Lesson: Emotions Objective: students imitate simple emotions through physical movement, facial expression, and posture. Students practice imitating emotions using their bodies while playing animal characters (part of the 2nd grade objectives). First read the included story "Animal Treasure or Everybody Gets Tricked" to students and then let them choose ...
Emotion Story Lesson
Emotion Story Lesson Objective: students communicate emotions through physical movement, facial expression, and posture. Playing emotions is at the heart of becoming a character and this lesson assists in building that skill. Students first imitate simple actions to communicate emotions as others try to identify which emotion they have chosen ...
Haunted House Lesson
Haunted House Lesson: Audience Impact Objective: Students will learn how an audience impacts performance. This lesson for fourth grade students focuses on the impact of audience responses on performances. The lesson is designed around the story of the same name - download it before you begin. The fourth grade objective addressed in this ...
Tornado Lesson
Tornado Lesson: Creating Objects & Characters Objective: students will learn how to use their bodies to create detailed objects and characters. This lesson for fourth grade students focuses on using acting skills to to create human, animal, and personified objects/characters. This lesson uses still images and videos of tornadoes (not provided). It ...
Prop Story Lesson
Prop Story Lesson Objective: Students will learn how props support drama work. This lesson for fourth grade students focuses on using props in a drama. For materials, you will need some simple props (described in the lesson) as well as selected stories from Aesop's fables. This lesson makes use of the Pass ...
The Chase Lesson
The Chase Lesson: Using Space Objective: Students will learn how space affects drama. This lesson for fourth grade students focuses on the actor's skills to transform space using locomotor and non locomotor movements. You can use this lesson to integrate with dance or visual art elements. The lesson makes use of the ...
How to Analyze Drama Lesson
How to Analyze Drama Lesson Objective: Students will learn how analyzing other dramas improves their own. We suggest this lesson as the school year start for students in fourth grade with prior drama experience. With this lesson, students will analyze how actors (self or others) use concentration, imitation, imagination, and transformation. We ...
4th Grade Lessons
Recommended Lesson Sequence for Fourth Grade The lessons suggested for our Fourth Grade Curriculum are put in a recommended delivery order below, but you may revise, rearrange, and adapt as you see fit. This year-long planning guide maps a year of drama teaching based on the lessons in this guide. This sequence ...
Emotion Stories Lesson
Emotion Stories Lesson Objective: students interpret emotions and actions of a character in a story. Students discuss emotions in small groups and tell stories about when they felt a certain way (part of the third grade objectives). Then, students enact one or two of the stories from their team. This ...
Communities Lesson
Communities Lesson Objective: students demonstrate collaboration and cooperation. The story (included) for this lesson is “The Bad Joke That Ended Well.” This short story brings much merriment and laughter to the telling and playing but also provides an opportunity for students to experience community in a deeper sense. Students begin ...
Team Machines Lesson
Team Machines Lesson: Collaborating with a Prop Objective: students combine the primary tools (body, mind, voice) with a support tool (prop) and with the skills of collaboration, concentration, transformation, audience behaviors, to create a drama. Drama and machines have much in common. Students collaborate to complete a task of building an interactive ...
The Museum Lesson
The Museum Lesson: Working with Setting Objective: students combine the primary tools of the actor (body, mind, voice) and a simple support tool (prop, fabric, etc.) to create character and setting. Like the Vision Quest, students enact a story with some members of the team playing characters and some transforming into ...
Vision Quest Lesson
Vision Quest Lesson: Body Objects Review Objective: students demonstrate concentration, imagination, imitation, transformation and collaboration as they plan and practice a drama. Students transform the body into objects and then combine objects to create settings for a dramatic story. Students then enact the one character journey story in small groups with one ...
Rodeo Stars Lesson
Rodeo Stars Lesson: The Three P's Objective: students demonstrate the planning process needed to create a drama. Students create a rodeo (e.g. bull roping, pig catching, clowning, elegant horse riders) with no practicing time as a team; the rodeo is a struggle. As they reflect on the process, they discover the ...
Pirate’s Treasure Lesson
Pirate's Treasure Lesson: Practicing Basic Skills Objective: students demonstrate listening, concentration, movement, and imagination. Students try their best to steal treasure from a pirate. Shoes, erasers, pencils, or other objects become the treasure that the pirate must protect. Concentration is the key to solving the best way to get to the ...
Stick, Chair, Person Lesson
Stick, Chair, Person Lesson: Three Drama Skill Words Objective: students demonstrate the tools (body, mind, voice) and skills of imagination, imitation, and transformation needed to create a drama. An energetic and delightful starter lesson for the beginning of a school year and a great classroom community activity! Students start by passing ...
3rd Grade Lessons
Recommended Lesson Sequence for First Grade Purchase Lesson Sequence Outline only or Purchase or download individual lessons below The lessons suggested for our Third Grade Curriculum are put in a recommended delivery order below, but you may revise, rearrange, and adapt as you see fit. This year-long planning guide maps ...
Paper Bag Princess Lesson
Paper Bag Princess Lesson: Story Elements Objective: students identify the story elements in a variety of dramatic stories. Who doesn’t love stories about princesses and princes with a dragon thrown in too? This is an old story with a new twist: the princess saves the day! This lesson focuses on ...
Turtle who Lived by the Pond Lesson
Turtle who Lived by the Pond Lesson: Fantasy and Reality Objective: students use transformation and delineate reality from fantasy in a drama. Which part is fantasy and which is reality in the story of the turtle who wants to be something he is not? Turtle learns a very important lesson ...
Sydney & Jojo Lesson
Sydney & Jojo Lesson: Speaking Text Objective: students speak dialogue, use imitation and observation skills to act out a story from beginning to end. Students enjoy exploring family relationships. Sydney and Jojo are siblings who have trouble getting along. This lesson asks students to engage the voice and employ observation ...
Zookeeper Solves a Problem Lesson
Zookeeper Solves a Problem Lesson: Using Voice Objective: students use vocal and non-vocal sounds to create a drama. Students revel in making sounds with their voice, body, and other objects. This lesson gives them the opportunity to experiment with sound and the five senses to create a drama (part of the ...
Planning and Practicing: Why Frog and Snake Don’t Play Together Anymore
Frog & Snake Lesson: Reviewing the Three Tools & Three P’s Objective: students combine the tools of drama (body, mind, voice) with the processes of planning and practicing to create a drama. Students play animal characters and speak dialogue in this tale of friendship and prejudice. Students develop more experience ...
Hare & the Tortoise Lesson
Hare & the Tortoise Lesson: Animal Characters & Movement Choices Objective: students use movement to create characters and the illusion of traveling through space while standing in one spot. This lesson demonstrates the difference between locomotor and nonlocomotor movement and how they are used in drama (part of the second grade ...
The Greatest Show on Ice Lesson
The Greatest Show on Ice Lesson: Planning & Practicing Objective: students apply collaborative and planning processes to create a drama. Students hate to plan and revise their work. This lesson helps students see the impact that planning and practicing have on a finished drama product. In addition, the lesson further ...
B.J.’s Journey Lesson
B.J.’s Journey Lesson: Body Objects Transformation Objective: students collaborate with a partner using negotiation strategies and applying concentration, imagination, imitation, and transformation skills. Students transform their bodies into objects and then into settings with a team of other actors for the story B.J.’s Journey. Students work alone, with a partner, ...
The Mirror Lesson
The Mirror Lesson: Building Concentration Objective: students practice concentration and observation while work together with other actors. Students have fun following the movements of a partner in this very traditional exercise called The Mirror. With this lesson, they move deeper into the use of C.I.T.I. (concentration, imagination, transformation, and imitation) ...
Three Drama Skill Words Lesson
Three Drama Skill Words Lesson Objective: students define drama and practice skills (concentration, imagination, transformation, imitation – C.I.T.I.) needed for a drama. Students have fun with concentration and imagination exercises, both of which are important for integrated drama work. This is a great beginning of the year lesson for second grade ...
2nd Grade Lessons
Recommended Lesson Sequence for Second Grade Purchase Lesson Sequence Outline only
Purchase or download individual lessons below The lessons suggested for our Second Grade Curriculum are put in a recommended delivery order below, but you may revise, rearrange, and adapt as you see fit. This year-long planning guide maps a ...
Purchase or download individual lessons below The lessons suggested for our Second Grade Curriculum are put in a recommended delivery order below, but you may revise, rearrange, and adapt as you see fit. This year-long planning guide maps a ...
Acting Out Life Cycles Lesson
Acting Out Life Cycles Lesson: Reviewing the Tools & Skills Objective: students use the tools and skills to transform into human, animal, and object characters. This science-integrated lesson serves as a year-end culmination for students in first grade. Students play characters going through a transformation. Each story presents an opportunity ...
The Vegetable Garden Lesson
The Vegetable Garden Lesson: Creating Characters Objective: students compare actions of characters to real life behaviors and demonstrate how the body and voice are used to create character. A vegetable garden and a vineyard vie for attention in this story of a farmer who forgets the produce that has supported ...
The River Lesson
The River Lesson: Mirroring Life through Cooperation Objective: students discuss how drama is similar to real life. This is a Life drama lesson for students in first grade. It focuses on environmental, urban and immigration issues as part of the story. This lesson incorporates the book A River Ran Wild by Lynn Cherry ...
Mindless Woman Lesson
Mindless Woman Lesson: Communicating with the Body Objective: students demonstrate how the drama tools are used to create a story. Based on an old Chinese folk tale, this lesson has groups working to create settings for a very humorous story (part of the first grade objectives). This is a full class ...
Early American Life Lesson
Early American Life Lesson: Creating Action Objective: students use the body to imitate character actions and create objects in a setting; they also identify problems and solutions in a story. Students reenact the lives of early American settlers, a great connection to Social Studies (early American life). This lesson also ...
Hermit Monster Lesson
Hermit Monster Lesson: Playing Emotions Objective: students identify how emotions are used to tell a story. Hermit Monster is small and frightened and becomes large and angry. Other characters in the story go through emotions as well. Friendship saves the day rather than anger or fear. The students identify simple ...
Emotions Lesson
Emotions Lesson Objective: students identify and imitate simple emotions. Students identify and imitate simple emotions in beginning simple exercises. Next, they create a scene, using the body, to communicate an emotion through imitative action (part of the first grade objectives). Before working with the children, review our side coaching tips to ...
Hungry Caterpillar Lesson
Hungry Caterpillar Lesson: Sequencing with the Body Objective: students use the body to tell a story. Based on the book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle, this lesson has students working in partners and triads to create the objects and the caterpillar who systematically eats through each item. Students ...
The Puddle Lesson
The Puddle Lesson: More Story Elements Objective: students discuss the elements needed to make a story. Students work with physical shapes as they play a puddle who wants to be round like the sun. The students are asked to identify the character, plot, conflict, setting and message of the story ...
Cubby Finds a Home Lesson
Cubby Finds a Home Lesson: Communicating with Voice Objective: students use the voice to communicate a story. This winter story has a surprise ending. Students infer, make guesses, and put clues together to figure out who Cubby is and where he needs to live for the winter. Students add sound effects ...
Randolph Lesson: Story Elements
Randolph Lesson: Story Elements Objective: students explain elements that create a story. Randolph is a bear who is not ready to hibernate, so he goes on a journey through his environment. This lesson takes students deeper into discussion about story elements as well as needs of living things – a ...
The Dreamer Lesson
The Dreamer Lesson: Body Objects Objective: students use the body and mind to create settings for a story. Students transform their bodies into objects, first alone, then with a partner, and finally with a group creating settings for the story The Dreamer which is the culmination of the lesson. Students ...
Ghost Who Couldn’t Scare Lesson
Ghost Who Couldn't Scare Lesson: Audience Behaviors Objective: students analyze how audiences or viewers make drama better. This story about a ghost who wants to learn to scare people focuses on friendship and the unpleasantness of being a bully. Students discuss audience behaviors that support live presentations and how respectfully ...
The Pilgrims Lesson
The Pilgrims Lesson: A Life Drama for Advanced Students Objective: students analyze how characters in a story can be similar and different from us. Students live the life of the Pilgrims, a perfect lesson for November. Students are introduced to the No Denial of Creation rule used in improvisational work ...
The Stubborn Clay Lesson
The Stubborn Clay Lesson: Cooperation Objective: students practice collaboration and cooperation skills. Students become clay and their partner molds them into images that answer a question like, “What is something good to eat?” The students uncover collaboration skills that begin with asking rather than telling their partner what they are ...
Scareman Lesson
Scareman Lesson: Learning to Problem Solve Objective: students solve acting problems before acting out a story. Sometimes actors face problems in deciding how they will act out a certain part of a story. Getting the students to think like artists and problem solve before playing a story is the goal of ...
Mom Figures It Out Lesson
Mom Figures It Out Lesson: Communicating with Movement Objective: students demonstrate locomotor and non-locomotor movement, and discuss how the five senses assist in making inferences. With a new red ball, Jules can’t wait to go out and play. How does mom figure out that it rained and Jules got caught in ...
Magic Carpet Lesson
Magic Carpet Lesson: Reviewing C.I.T.I. Objective: students demonstrate transformation in a drama activity. Students ride on magic carpets and transform into the creatures and things they find on the way. While learning to use the space of the classroom for story enactment, students take a journey looking for a lost item ...
Peanut Butter & Jelly Lesson
Peanut Butter & Jelly Lesson: Transformation and Imitation Objective: students demonstrate transformation and imitation skills to communicate ideas. Working with vocabulary words, students learn to express multiple meanings and images of words through the use of physical transformation and imitation (part of the first grade objectives). In addition, students have to ...
The Ice Wizard Lesson
The Ice Wizard Lesson: Concentration Objective: students demonstrate concentration, following directions, maintaining personal space and using positive non-distracting behaviors. Students love the freeze activity where they can demonstrate the skill of concentration; they often beg to repeat it over and over. This lesson ends with the story of a mean ...
Pass the Imaginary Object Lesson
Pass the Imaginary Object Lesson: The Drama Skills Objective: students demonstrate the skills needed to act out stories. The skills of imagination and concentration are central to this first lesson as students work with imaginary objects, imitating and transforming them through play (part of the first grade objectives). This introductory lesson ...
First Grade Lessons
Recommended Lesson Sequence for First Grade Purchase Lesson Sequence Outline only
Purchase or download individual lessons below This year-long planning guide maps a year of drama teaching. We put these lessons in a recommended delivery order below, but you may revise, rearrange, and adapt as you see fit. This sequence ...
Purchase or download individual lessons below This year-long planning guide maps a year of drama teaching. We put these lessons in a recommended delivery order below, but you may revise, rearrange, and adapt as you see fit. This sequence ...
The Emotion Closet
The Emotion Closet Lesson Overview: the goal of this lesson is to understand how actions and emotions are related. A person's actions are tied to their emotions and this lesson is designed to explore that relationship. The students act out basic emotions to different situations using the actor tools of ...
The Oranges
The Oranges Lesson Overview: the students learn about what makes any person special or interesting. This third lesson in our peaceful problem solving series works with a familiar object (oranges) and personification to demonstrate the message. Students use their senses to explore these oranges (or other objects that are similar but physically distinct) ...
Character and Movement – Runaway Bunny
Character and Movement - Runaway Bunny lesson Overview: students learn what story elements (character or setting) or words give us clues in a drama. In this lesson plan, we address determining story elements, identifying text clues, and demonstrating different types of movement. In the book Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown, a bunny asks ...
Imitation and Physical Work: Defining Words
Imitation and Physical Work: Defining Words Lesson Objective: students experience how to communicate ideas. A Language Arts integrated lesson for students using gesture, facial expression, movement and sound to communicate vocabulary words. Handouts for students are included. Just supply your own vocabulary words. The Language Arts objective is to build vocabulary ...
Emotion Stories
Emotion Stories Lesson Overview: your students will learn what makes people feel the way they do. We provide a list of emotions (or create your own) and the students learn how movement in drama can be used to communicate emotion. This lesson is the second in our character education and ...
It’s Okay to Feel Lesson
It’s Okay to Feel lesson Overview: this lesson works with emotions and how they affect us as individuals. This lesson is a good introduction to our character education and peaceful problem solving series. This has been adapted from the anti-bullying workshops produced on behalf of the Kennedy Center. This lesson includes the ...
Science Integrated Drama Lesson
Drama Lesson Integrated with ScienceOverview: this drama lesson demonstrates tailoring the Body Objects activity for science.This FREE lesson steps you through an acting story with a focus on science. The emphasis is on the question: "How can we use our bodies to show what we know about story and habitats?" ...
Language Arts Integrated Drama Lesson
Drama Lesson Integrated with Language ArtsOverview: this drama lesson demonstrates tailoring the Body Objects activity for language arts learning.This FREE lesson steps you through an acting story with a focus on language arts. The emphasis is on the question: "What impact do details have on creating and communicating ideas?" This ...
Acting Story Lesson
Acting Story Lesson using Body Objects activityOverview: this lesson combines drama skills with a story to form a drama.This FREE lesson couples an acting story (included) with body objects work to create a Drama. Using a story turns the Body Object activity into a Drama. The goal for participants is ...
Drama Skills and Vocabulary Lesson
Drama Skills and Vocabulary Lesson using Body Objects activity Overview: this lesson starts building drama skills in groups new to integration work. Use this FREE skill-building lesson with students to introduce concentration, imagination, and teamwork through group activities. Their goal is to increase their drama skills by learning to create ...
The Sacred Scarab Lesson – Review & Assess
The Sacred Scarab Lesson: Review & Assess Overview: the students review how all the tools and skills they learned fit together to create a drama. Objectives: students demonstrate memorization skills; demonstrate interpersonal and collaborative skills; define story elements. Reviewing skills previously learned are at the heart of this summative lesson: acting ...
The Hare and Tortoise Lesson: Playing Animal Characters
The Hare and Tortoise Lesson: Playing Animal Characters Overview: the students will learn how to play non-human characters. Objectives: students define and practice collaborative strategies; define the drama tools; define story elements. Fables are a great way to combine all the drama skills into the first story they will play ...
The Circus Lesson: Introducing the Three P’s
The Circus Lesson: Introducing the Three P’s Overview: students demonstrate the skills necessary to create a good drama. Objectives: students identify the importance of planning and practicing; discuss good audience behaviors; demonstrate use of the drama tools (mind, body, voice). Students create a variety of circus acts. At first it ...
Body Objects – a FREE drama lesson
Body Objects Lesson: Creating Settings with DetailsOverview: students collaborate with a partner using negotiation strategies and applying concentration, imagination, imitation, and transformation skills.Objectives: students collaborate with a partner using negotiation strategies; apply concentration, imagination, imitation, and transformation skills; identify story elements.Students transform their bodies into objects and then into settings ...
Concentration and Partner Work Lesson
Concentration and Partner Work Lesson: Statue Maker Overview: students explore the role of the mind in drama. Objectives: students evaluate self and praise others; define the 5 key vocabulary words (imagination, imitation, transformation, concentration, and collaboration); practice self-management; demonstrate collaborative strategies Freeze! How long can students stay frozen? Can they ...
Book, Stick, Chair, Person Lesson: The Three Drama Words
Book, Stick, Chair, Person: The Three Drama Words Overview: the students will learn what transformation, imitation, and imagination have to do with drama. Objectives: students name the four fine arts; evaluate self and praise others; define the 5 key vocabulary words (concentration, imitation, imagination, transformation, collaboration); speak and listen in character. ...
Introducing the Five Senses Lesson
Introducing the Five Senses Lesson Overview: the students will learn why actors need to know and use all 5 senses. Objectives: students name the four fine arts; demonstrate the five senses; evaluate self and praise others. The five senses are key to acting, visualizing literature, and understanding the world. Often ...