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The Sacred Scarab Lesson – Review & Assess

The Sacred Scarab Lesson: Review & Assess 

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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 out a story with human characters, using movement techniques introduced in the previous lesson, demonstrating how to use the body to create settings, following the planning and practicing procedures, and collaborating with a team.  We designed this review around the story The Sacred Scarab Root  (download from our story library). This is a culminating lesson and if the students do well, you are now ready to move into the grade level curricular areas. Most of the lesson is review and/or assessment.  If you are not assessing and the class appears ready to advance, you might also use this lesson to introduce or review story elements. This is the final part of our Introductory Lessons that serve to prepare students or groups for integrated drama work.  When your class has completed all of our introductory lessons, move to the appropriate grade level drama curriculum.

The Hare and Tortoise Lesson: Playing Animal Characters

The Hare and Tortoise Lesson: Playing Animal Characters

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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 on their own.  The Tortoise and the Hare is familiar, short, and includes animal characters that even teens will play, adding their own sense of humor.  Student are introduced to locomotor and non-locomotor movement which will allow you to choose from a wider selection of stories in the future. For older students there are some alternative stories you might consider:  How the Earth was Formed on Turtle's Back or The Legend of Big Skunk.  Both are challenging to upper grade students. This is part of our Introductory Lessons that serve to prepare students or groups for integrated drama work.  When your class has completed our introductory lessons, move to the appropriate grade level drama curriculum.

The Circus Lesson: Introducing the Three P’s

The Circus Lesson: Introducing the Three P’s

The Circus Lesson: Introducing the Three P’s

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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 doesn’t go so well because something is missing.  This lesson introduces your class or group to the three P's: Planning, Practicing, Presenting (or Performing) as part of the process for creating a drama.  Once the three P’s are uncovered and applied, the circus is saved and there is a joyous conclusion.  This lesson requires no additional materials but circus music and a top hat would be a nice addition.  This is part of our Introductory Lessons that serve to prepare students or groups for integrated drama work.  When you are ready, you can move to the appropriate grade level drama curriculum.

The Circus 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.

Body Objects – a FREE drama lesson

free drama lesson

Body Objects Lesson: Creating Settings with Details

Overview: 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 with a team of other actors for the story B.J.’s Journey.   Students work alone, with a partner, and then with a team to use a variety of collaborative and planning strategies to complete the story.  The students focus on C.I.T.I. (concentration, imagination, transformation, imitation) competence and work with the actor’s tools (mind, body, voice) to prepare them for integrated work.  Download B.J.'s Journey from our story library to complete the materials.  When teams are ready to decide who on their team will play B.J., remind them about the Ask, Don’t Tell rule from our Introductory Lessons as the beginning negotiation strategy to use when making a decision. 

This FREE drama lesson can be used with one of these additional stories to create a drama: The Dreamer, The Sacred Scarab Root or The Mountain.  

Use this lesson in your program with our compliments.

Other uses of this lesson are shown in our Get Started guide integrating for Language Arts or Science.

You can find this lesson as a part of our Introductory Lessons guide [requires subscription] for those just getting started with drama integration.  There are 7 lessons in the guide to lay the foundation to enable students to move into deeper and more integrated work.

onestopdramashop and creative directions logoAre  YOU  interested in finding new drama integrated lesson plans?  JOIN TODAY to visit exclusive member-only pages where you will find a classroom-tested curriculum with clear and simple implementation strategies.  Our materials align with National Core Arts Standards.  We offer a straightforward way to integrate drama into your teaching.

Concentration and Partner Work Lesson

Concentration and Partner Work Lesson: Statue Maker

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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 hold still for a partner, letting their partner mold them into a frozen work of art?  This lesson focuses on concentration and imagination work; it sets up management of space, movement, and noise.  Students request this activity again and again as it is an exciting challenge for young actors.  Students learn to collaborate with a partner, creating statues to and sharing ideas through still image.  To improve cooperation, this lesson will guide the students through the "Ask, Don't Tell" principle.  This is an important skill for problem solving and negotiation with a partner. The lesson references and uses the story The Ice Wizard for younger students.  For older students these additional stories include statue maker elements and can be used with this lesson: "The Old Statue Maker,” “The Stubborn Clay,” and “Alfredo and the Sea.”  You can also use a related sculpture activity such as Class Sculpture or Human Jigsaw Sculpture as well. This is part of our Introductory Lessons that serve to prepare students or groups for integrated drama work. When your class has completed our introductory lessons, move to the appropriate grade level drama curriculum.

Concentration and Partner Work 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.

Book, Stick, Chair, Person Lesson: The Three Drama Words

Book, Stick, Chair, Person: The Three Drama Words 

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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.
Is there a book in your classroom?  Take that book and pass it around letting students transform it, in their imagination, into something else…that accomplished, move on to passing a stick (ruler), adding a chair and culminate with adding another actor into a finished scene or image.  Student work as playwrights as they create a scene.  They work as a director when they give instructions to another actor to transform into an object.  They work as actors, imitating how they might use the object if it were the thing they have imagined.  Students delight in this lesson and it will give you insights into your classroom dynamics as you lay a foundation for harder dramatic work to come.  This is part of our Introductory Lessons that serve to prepare students or groups for integrated drama work.  When your class has completed our introductory lessons, move to the appropriate grade level drama curriculum.

Book, Stick, Chair, Person 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.

Introducing the Five Senses Lesson

Introducing the Five Senses Lesson

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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 they are only addressed in kindergarten and then forgotten.  But sense memory is a powerful tool for navigating life and understanding stories.  In this lesson students participate in many activities having to do with sense memory.  A delightful story, The Queen Bee's Dilemma, can be used as a culminating story combining all of the senses.  This is part of our Introductory Lessons that serve to prepare students or groups for integrated drama work.  When your class has completed our introductory lessons, move to the appropriate grade level drama curriculum.