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 the story elements of character, … Read more
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 objectives). Drama relies on controlled … Read more
The Legend of Big Skunk story This Native American folktale can be adapted to many subjects. This story can be enacted as a two character partner story or used as an alternate story with the Hare & Tortoise Lesson.
John “Appleseed” Chapman story This familiar story is customized to integrate teaching tall tales. This story can also be used with the Body Objects Lesson.
Baby Tar Rabbit story This story is for small groups of 3-4 and is adapted from Joel Chandler Harris’s Uncle Remus. Participants can enact both animal characters and body objects. If you tell the story in a slight dialect, the students might be interested in using that dialect in their drama, but it is not … Read more
The First Woodpecker story This story can be done in partners or groups of various sizes. Larger groups should be comfortable with body objects and/ or using a narrator. Use a warm-up discussing ways a fantasy character might cast a spell. Or, you can use a warm-up focusing on physically transforming from one character to … Read more
The Tortoise and the Hare story This has been adapted from Aesop’s Fable for use in a drama class. This story works with the concepts and skills for Collaboration, Cultural/Multicultural, Imagination, Imitation, Movement, Personification, Problem Solving, Space Control/Design, and Transformation: Animals. It can also be used in the Hare and Tortoise Lesson from the introductory lessons if you … Read more
The Dreamer story This original story was adapted by Karen Erickson from the The Tales of the Arabian nights. The adaptation highlights words that can be used to create body objects and is possible for students to work individually or in groups. It can also be used in the Body Objects Lesson if you are just getting … Read more
The Origin Of Stories: A Sufi Tale A story about the origin of all stories with a drama focus perfect for group adaptation. This story uses the concepts and skills of Collaboration, Cultural/Multicultural, Imagination, Movement, Problem Solving, and Space Control.