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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 collaboration, imitation, and character transformation to act out the story, students can also learn about the factors that shaped the Revolutionary War and the different perspectives of Loyalists and Patriots. 

NOTE: Revolutionary War: The Printing Press is part of our unique library of integrated lessons. 
These specialized lessons simultaneously teach concepts and skills related to drama and the other subject(s) targeted in the lesson. In addition, these lessons are designed to meet National Standards for Drama and for the integrated subject(s), so you can reach learning goals across multiple disciplines.

Revolutionary War: The Printing Press Rubric

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 students to think about point of view and sectionalism, deepening their understanding of the events and forces that led to the Civil War.

NOTE: Civil War Drama is part of our unique library of integrated lessons. These specialized lessons simultaneously teach concepts and skills related to drama and the other subject(s) targeted in the lesson. In addition, these lessons are designed to meet National Standards for Drama and for the integrated subject(s), so you can reach learning goals across multiple disciplines.

Plot Boosters

Plot Boosters

Use this list of plot boosters to develop original stories for your drama work! These ideas can support the plot by moving the story along, giving the reader/viewer new information, showing character changes, foreshadowing, providing irony, creating cause and effect, and supporting the message and/or theme of the story. 

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 also choose to integrate Language Arts and Social Studies skills into the lesson, by encouraging students to analyze the use of figurative language in the poem and investigate what this artist’s work tells us about this era in US history.

Bound No'th Blues Journal (Grades 6-8)

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

“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.

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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 an arduous journey westward. They will also compare and contrast these risks to ones taken by actors and in real life (part of the fourth grade objectives). This lesson is part of our recommended sequence in the Fourth Grade Curriculum.

Fourth Grade Drama Journal: "Westward Ho!" (Part 3)

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

“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.

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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 family group, they must cooperatively decide how to overcome these obstacles and continue (part of the fourth grade objectives). Students work through an improvisational process where there is no pre-written story or pre-determined outcome. They apply the practice of "no denial of creation" by saying “yes” to what others create as a way to support the drama and honor the imaginations of their peers. This lesson is part of our recommended sequence in the Fourth Grade Curriculum.

Fourth Grade Drama Journal: "Westward Ho!" (Part 2)

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

“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.

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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 work through an improvisational process where there is no pre-written story or pre-determined outcome. They apply the practice of "no denial of creation" by saying “yes” to what others create as a way to support the drama and honor the imaginations of their peers. You will be playing in role in this drama. Students will immerse themselves in the contrast of life in the past to modern times (part of the fourth grade objectives). This lesson is part of our recommended sequence in the Fourth Grade Curriculum.

Fourth Grade Drama Journal: "Westward Ho!" (Part 1)

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

The Fire Lesson

The Fire Lesson 

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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 personification (part of the third grade objectives). The lesson culminates in an enacted story about fire combining fire fighters, fire, and people escaping fire as characters. Students also continue their study of the different styles of narrator voice from the previous lesson (The Three Sillies). We broke this lesson into two parts (over 2 days) to cover all the objectives (both parts included in one PDF document). This lesson is part of our recommended sequence in the Third Grade Curriculum.

Third Grade Drama Journal: The Fire

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

The Three Sillies Lesson

The Three Sillies Lesson: Using Narration 

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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 the dramatic impact (part of the third grade objectives). Students also have the option of writing their own “silly.” The lesson uses the included story "The Three Sillies" as retold by Karen Erickson. This lesson is part of our recommended sequence in the Third Grade Curriculum.

Third Grade Drama Journal: The Three Sillies

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

Drama in Other Places Lesson

Drama in Other Places Lesson

Drama in Other Places Lesson

Lesson Worksheet for Teachers & Students

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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 on a stage. In small groups, students plan and present a staging of the selected event (part of the second grade objectives). We also created a worksheet to help guide the initial discussion and present ideas on the elements of drama. Download and print out the worksheet for each student group in the class. There is a “cue sheet” included for you as well. This lesson is part of our recommended sequence in the Second Grade Curriculum.

Second Grade Drama Journal: Drama in Other Places

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