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 for enhancing students’ use of … Read more
Creating Mood Lesson Creating mood effectively is one of the most important lessons young actors can learn. In this lesson, students can practice using their imagination and concentration skills to create mood for a variety of different scenarios. This lesson gives students a chance to hone their ability to imagine their given circumstances, while using … Read more
Who’s Got My Song? Activity When you need to put your students in pairs, try this fun and musical activity! Using voice, concentration, and listening, students will mingle to find their partner.
Rhythm of My Name Walk Activity Participants create walks to match the rhythms in their names. This activity can be integrated with lessons on music or poetry.
Nature Rhythm Walk Activity Are you looking for an activity that gets students moving? In this exercise, participants move around the room based on an object from nature. Integration possibilities include units on biology or literature. Access to natural objects from the outdoors is required.
Music Mime II Activity Following on the Music Mime I Activity, participants now work in small groups to create scenes based on a given piece of music and an assigned environment. This is an opportunity to strengthen teamwork skills while exploring the connections between music and drama. You will need a speaker to play the … Read more
Music Mime I Activity Music can be a powerful way to tell stories. In this activity, students will connect music and drama by creating short scenes based on what they hear. The lesson offers variations for different age and ability levels. You will need a speaker to play music for your class. Consider pairing this … Read more
Listen to the Beat Activity For those working on concentration and moving into more imagination building – you might try this activity which adds movement about and through the space similar to the Freeze Activity. This also reinforces the signaling device if you haven’t used it in a while.
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 a story. The actions of … Read more
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 your own or pick one … Read more