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.
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 …
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 boy 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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, …
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 …
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 …
“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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …