9th GRADE

• Assign students a project to perform a solo pantomime that depicts an everyday activity. Evaluate the project based on the students use of pantomime to express human emotion.

• Ask students to create vocal characters in a children’s story. Evaluate the project based on the students use of volume, pitch, rate, tone, and articulation and vocal expression.

• Let students write an original monologue. Evaluate the project based on the students use of conflict, plot, and character.

• Facilitate various improvisational activities for the class. Evaluate students use of observation, concentration, and characterization.

• Ask students to select and perform a dramatic scene for the class. Evaluate students by having them explain their interpretation.

• Discuss plot structure and the thematic, technical, and dramaturgical elements. As a class, read a scene from the play "Noises Off." Evaluate students using a fill-in-the-blank worksheet about the scene's plot structure and the thematic, technical, and dramaturgical elements.

• Take students to a local production. As a class, analyze informal or formal theatre productions in terms of the emotions or thoughts they evoke, characters, settings, and events. Evaluate student ability to analyze by having them write a one-page critique.

• Let students view a video clip of the song "Be our Guest" from the musical "Beauty and the Beast." Identify the major technical elements such as sound, lights, set, and costumes. Evaluate students by having them describe the interrelationship of the technical elements and how they support the production number.

• Let students operate the lights, sound, or serve as set crew for an in-class scene. Evaluate the project based on the students ability to execute the major technical element.

• Introduce Augusto Boal's "Theatre of the Oppressed" and lead the class in a few simple related exercises. Evaluate students by their ability to analyze this specific aspect of government and theatre.

• Facilitate use of Augusto Boal's "Image Theatre" to create a wax museum that exemplifies cultures from a global perspective. Evaluate the project based on the students ability to recognize and represent global perspectives.

• Discuss theatre etiquette from the perspectives of the audience, performer, and technician. Evaluate students by having them make a list of appropriate etiquette from these three perspectives and their ability to display these manners.

• Ask students to perform a previous scene again for the class and to apply acting conventions. Evaluate the project based on the students use of acting conventions such as stage presence, subtext, style, and ensemble work.

10th GRADE

• Have students use pantomime to express character emotions non-verbally. Evaluate the project based on the students effective expression of needs.

• Assign students a project in which they perform a monologue using a distinct vocal character. Evaluate the project based on the students use of vocal elements of volume, pitch, rate, tone, and articulation and vocal expression.

• Guide students through writing an original scripted scene based on a journal, poem, short story, etc. Evaluate the project based on the students development of a script that is aligned with the source text.

• Have students in small groups create believable character relationships using improvisation. Evaluate the project based on the students use of improvisation and acting skills to demonstrate given situations.

• Have students research, rehearse, and perform two contrasting monologues. Evaluate the project based on the students ability to interpret each monologue as appropriate to the character and to the world of the play.

• As a class, read a recently published play that might be appropriate to perform for the school. Analyze the plot structure and the thematic, technical, and dramaturgical elements together. Evaluate the students on their participation in the discussion.

• Ask students to record their strengths, weaknesses, and suggestions for improvement as a theatre artist in a journal. Evaluate the journals based on addressing these three areas rather than specific content.

• Brainstorm fun titles of children's books with the class such as "My Dog Ate the Moon." Have students formulate a design for a traveling production of one of these titles. Evaluate the project based on the students oral presentation of their design.

• Let students operate lights, sound, or crew for a performance. Evaluate the students on their ability to execute the major technical element.

• Present information on the economic impact of the arts. Have students analyze how a successful live theatre company might change the local economy. Evaluate the project based on the students use of the research to project local outcomes.

• Read and perform a reader's theatre version of "The Lottery." Evaluate the project based on the audience responses about concepts of civics and economics.

• Ask students to create a chart comparing theatre etiquette for street theatre, dinner theatre, interactive theatre, and formal theatre. Evaluate students on their ability to compare and contrast appropriate theatre etiquette for these genres.

• Cast students in roles for a scripted non-realistic scene from "Happy Days" by Samuel Beckett. Give directions and side-coach students as they rehearse. Evaluate the project based on the students ability to perform roles as coached by the director or as indicated by the playwright.

11th GRADE

• Assign students a project in which they must express character age non-verbally. Evaluate the project based on the students use of pantomime to communicate characterization.

• Assign students a project in which they must perform a scene or script using distinct vocal character. Evaluate the project based on the students use of appropriate vocal elements of volume, pitch, rate, tone, and articulation and vocal expression

• Assign students a project in which they must use journal entries, observations, and/or other sources to write an original scene. Evaluate the project based on the students use of the sources.

• Assign students a project in which they must create scenes or sketches based on improvisational exercises. Evaluate the project based on the students use of improvisation and acting skills.

• Assign students a project in which they must perform a group interpretation typically demonstrated in such venues as chamber theatre, oral poetry, and storytelling. Evaluate the project based on the students interpretation of the text and ensemble work.

• Assign students a project in which they must read "My Fair Lady" and watch the video. Have students analyze the play using a short-answer worksheet. Evaluate the project based on the worksheet responses about plot structure, pacing, given circumstances, and character development.

• Assign students a project in which they must read a script and then watch a live production of the script. Evaluate the project based on the students ability to compare the written text to the live performance.

• Assign students a project in which they must analyze a video clip of "Cirque du Soleil" for aesthetic impact. Evaluate the project based on the students ability to analyze aesthetic impact.

• Assign students a project in which they must design lights, sound, set, or costumes for a performance. Evaluate the project based on the students use of working knowledge to solve problems in the major technical elements.

• Share the script, audio recording, or video segments of the production "Ragtime" by Terrence McNally with the class. Assign students a project in which they must analyze how this production explores U.S. History and focusing on the relationships among social, historical, and cultural contexts. Evaluate students based on their participation in the discussion.

• Assign students a project in which they must dramatize the debate about the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the US Constitution. Evaluate the project based on the students use of historically accurate facts about these topics.

• Assign students a project in which they must compare the expectations of the audience from formal Greek theatre to modern-day theatre. Evaluate the project based on the students understanding of how the rules of audience etiquette originated, how they have evolved, and for what purpose.

• Assign students a project in which they must create a flow-chart depicting all roles within the theatre. Evaluate the project based on the students graphic representation the interrelationships of theatre roles.

12th GRADE

• Assign students a project in which they must express multiple characters and motivations non-verbally in a 5-minute pantomime set to music. Evaluate the project based on the students use of differentiation between multiple characters.

• Assign students a project in which they must perform a monologue or a scene using a dialect. Record the work and evaluate the project based on the students consistent use of the dialect.

• Assign students a project in which they must contribute a themed monologue to create a larger formal production. Give feedback to the students. Have students rewrite and apply criticism to their work. Evaluate the student's ability to apply constructive criticism by comparing the previous drafts to the final product.

• Assign students a project in which they must perform improvisational exercises for a formal or informal audience. Record the performance and watch it as students self-evaluate for improvement. Evaluate the project based on improvisation and acting skills, and use of audience prompts.

• Assign students a project in which they must choose a one-act play and interpret it through a presentation for the class. Evaluate the project based on the students ability to produce the work, and consistency between multiple ensemble member interpretations.

• Assign students a project in which they must present/demonstrate/teach a genre to the class and provide a one-page summary of the genre. Evaluate the project based on the students presentation of the genre characteristics such as the plot structure, and sample plays.

• Discuss what makes theatre effective to an audience. Assign students a project in which they must view a performance and write a 3-page critique Evaluate the critiques based on the set of determined criteria.

• Assign students a project in which they must choose a product and design a window display incorporating technical elements. Have students present their idea to the class using visuals and a narrative description. Compare the student's intended impact with reactions from the class. Evaluate the project based on the students effective use of technical elements for aesthetic impact.

• Assign students a project in which they must lead a group of students in executing and operating lights, sound, or crew for a performance. Evaluate the project based on group feedback about the students effectiveness leadership in the technical role.

• Assign students a project in which they must describe and analyze the elements of theatre from two cultures other than their own. Evaluate the project based on the students effective communication about the other cultures.

• Assign students a project in which they must create a variety show like "Hee Haw" or "The Carol Burnette Show" with a theme, and include at least three forms of theatre. Evaluate the project based on the students successful use of multiple forms and incorporation of a theme.

• Assign students a project in which they must observe a live audience and track/record instances of inappropriate audience etiquette. Have students design strategies to encourage more appropriate audience etiquette. Put the strategy into practice and record the results. Evaluate the project based on the recorded results.

• Assign students a project in which they must create a performance piece and record it. Have students narrate the directing, acting, design, and technical conventions they have used to create the work. Evaluate the project based on the students ability to fluidly discuss and explain the conventions they've used.