SCROLL DOWN THE PAGE FOR GRADES K-5

KINDERGARTEN LESSON PLAN IDEAS

• Use pantomime to communicate movement elements, including: size, weight, and rate of movement.
  Do a “space walk” with students in which they begin walking around in an open space.  As they walk around the space, call out various signals for them to stop and start.  Each time the students start walking again, they must walk according to the prompts you give them, such as:  barefoot on hot pavement, on slippery ice, in mud up to your knees, in 60-mile-per-hour wind, in rain, as if you are in a hurry, on marbles, on a rocky trail, in a strange fantasy world, in the desert, barefoot on broken glass, and in snow.  Evaluate the students based on their ability to communicate elements of the different environments.
• Use verbal activities to demonstrate vocal variety.
  Have students will repeat a simple phrase such as, “The duck at my cookie” using their voice in a different way each time.  The teacher will guide them through variations such as happy, sad, angry, scared, silly, etc. Evaluate the students based on their ability to use three different vocal varieties.
• Understand how writing is used to relate the main idea of stories.
  Read a story such as Tacky the Penguin and ask students to illustrate the main idea of the story. Guide students through writing a main idea sentence to accompany their illustration. Evaluate students by how well their sentence relates the main ideas of the story.
• Use dramatic play to improvise stories and situations.
  Set up centers such as: a kitchen, store, or classroom and have students participate in dramatic play selecting roles to play in each center. Evaluate students on their ability to share, react to other characters, and keep the improvised story going.
• Use dramatic play to re-enact stories from text read aloud.
  Choose a previously read story and assign roles of the characters in the story to various students. Read the story aloud and have the selected students act out the story. Evaluate students in terms of their ability to re-enact the story as it is read.
• Identify the basic parts of a story such as characters, setting, and events.
  Select a story such as The Three Little Pigs, read the story, and ask students to identify the basic parts of the story. Evaluate students based on their ability to recall the characters, setting, and events.
• Analyze events in formal and informal productions based on a set of given criteria.
  After viewing a formal or informal production ask students to identify the major plot events that occurred in the production.
• Compare an audience space to a presentation space.
  Guide students in creating a puppet show and distinguishing between the presentation space and the audience space. Evaluate the students' ability to understand the difference between the two areas.
• Use costumes in dramatic play.
  Set up costume centers with various costumes in each center. Allow students to participate in dramatic play in the various centers. Evaluate their ability to use costume pieces to enhance their dramatic play.
• Understand how theatre arts are used to celebrate holidays and traditions of diverse cultures.
  Guide students through acting out a holiday story from another culture. Evaluate students by their understanding of the holiday associated with the story.
• Describe the impact of media, such as theatre, film, internet, television, etc. in one’s family life.
  Ask students to describe one of their family's favorite movies or television shows. Evaluate students by their ability to explain why they enjoy the movie or show as a family.
• Understand how to give attention when others are sharing.
  Lead students through taking turns acting out a story. Evaluate the students based on their ability to give the actors attention when it is not their turn.
• Understand the role of the director or acting coach.
  Explain the role of director, and lead the students an action story, such as “The Bear Hunt” or one adapted from a familiar folk tale, such as “The Three Billy Goats Gruff.” Evaluate the students based on their abilities to follow the directions of the teacher/director.

1^st GRADE LESSON PLAN IDEAS

• Use pantomime to communicate movement elements, including: size, weight, and rate of movement.
  Write the names of everyday activities such as raking leaves, washing dishes, and combing hair on 3” x 5” file cards. Have each student draw a card and pantomime the activity written on the card. Evaluate the pantomime in terms of the communication of size, weight, and rate of movement.
• Use creative drama techniques such as storytelling or puppetry to demonstrate vocal variety.
  Select a simple story, such as Where the Wild Things Are, and Millions of Cats. Create paper bag or plate puppets for the characters. Have each student use the puppet to create a voice of a character from the selected story. Evaluate students by their audibility and vocal variety.
• Understand how to write stories that have a beginning, middle, and end.
  Divide students into pairs and give each of them the beginning sentences of a story. Have students write the middle and end to the story. The teacher will read each story aloud to the class while the writing pair acts it out for the class. Evaluate the story for a beginning, middle, and an end.
• Use improvisation to communicate a variety of situations.
  Play an improvisation game such as “What are you doing?” in which each student works with a partner and asks one another “What are you doing?” Each student answers with a physical activity such as: brushing my teeth, eating breakfast, riding my bike, etc. The student who asks then performs the task of the responder and vice versa. The game should go back and forth with little down time. Evaluate students on their ability to communicate 3-5 situations.
• Use dramatic play to perform stories from narrated text.
  Select a story that requires continuous action but involves only one character, such as Cowboy Small, Harold and the Purple Crayon, and The Snowy Day. Read the story while the students perform the role(s) of the character(s). Students can evaluate themselves by answering the teacher’s questions such as: “What is one thing you did that you liked the best?” and “What do you think you might do differently the next time we act out this story?”
• Examine the characters, setting, and events in the text.
  Select a story with a strong, conventional plot structure. Read the story and make sure students are familiar with the events of the story. Ask the students to identify the basic parts of the story such as characters, setting, and events. Evaluate students based on their ability to identify the characters, setting, and events to the story.
• Analyze characters and events in formal and informal productions based on a set of given criteria
  After viewing a formal or informal production ask students to discuss the characters and major events that occurred in the production. Evaluate students based on their ability to analyze the qualities of the characters and the sequence of events
• Understand how to prepare spaces for presentations.
  Select a story such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears and allow students to rearrange furniture to create the setting for the story. Evaluate students by their ability to define the space as appropriate to the story.
• Use costumes and props to enhance dramatic play.
  Set up centers with various costumes and props. Allow students to participate in dramatic play in the various centers. Evaluate their ability to use costume pieces and props to enhance their dramatic play.
• Recognize how theatre arts are used in customs, values, beliefs, holidays and traditions of diverse cultures.
  Ask students to describe a custom or tradition their family. Have them work with a group to role play the tradition. Evaluate students by their ability to recall theatrical elements of the tradition (scripted songs, phrases, rituals, costumes, props, etc.)
• Compare the impact of media, such as theatre, film, internet, television, etc. in one’s family life.
  Ask students to describe their family's rules and traditions as it pertains to television, movies, and internet. Compare your family's rules to other students in your class. Evaluate students by their ability to recognize how media impacts their family's daily use of time/schedule.
• Understand sharing focus with others.
  Give student groups a simple script in which every member of the group has one line. Evaluate the students on their ability to share the focus while presenting the script.
• Summarize the role of the director or acting coach.
  Facilitate dramatic play in which the acting coach or teacher must give essential directions. Explain why you must listen to the acting coach in order to be successful as a team. Evaluate students by their ability to summarize the role of the director or acting coach.

2^nd GRADE LESSON PLAN IDEAS

• Use pantomime to communicate elements of characterization, including: age and physicality.
  Have the students go on an “age journey” moving in an open space. Give them prompts such as: you are a newborn, you are a toddler, you are five years old, you are fifteen, you are thirty, you are fifty, you are ninety-nine. Evaluate the students based on their ability to change their physicality with each age progression.
• Use verbal activities to create vocal variety in characters.
  Retell a folktale such as “Who's in Rabbit's House?” Have each student play a different animal character. Demonstrate and encourage use vocal animation to depict each character’s voice. Evaluate the students based on their ability to create a distinct character voice for a character.
• Understand how to write dialogue that communicates a story.
  Take a traditional nursery rhyme such as “Jack and Jill” and have groups of students write dialogue for the nursery rhyme. Evaluate dialogue by how well it communicates the story.
• Use improvisation to communicate conflicts or other situations.
  Write the names of conflicts or other situations, such as “you are late for school and missed the bus” or “you are camping with your family and you see a ferocious bear,” on 3” x 5” file cards. Have each student draw a card and improvise the activity written on the card. Evaluate the improvisation in terms of their ability to communicate the conflict, and use of energy, imagination, clarity, and spontaneity.
• Interpret stories from text read aloud by acting them out.
  Select a story such as Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and read the story to the students. Have students work in small groups, select a scene from the book, and act out the scene. Evaluate the scene based the details recalled from the book.
• Summarize the setting, characters, sequence of events, main idea, problem, and solution for a variety of stories.
  Read a story and ask students to retell the story using their own words. Evaluate students based on their ability to recall the setting, characters, sequence of events, main idea, problem, and solution in each story.
• Analyze events, characters, and setting in formal or informal productions based on a set of given criteria.
• Let students view a formal or informal production. Evaluate students by their description of the characters, setting, and plot (events).
• Explain how space affects performances.
  Describe a performance space and explain the need for a separation between the audience and the performer. Have students choose which space might be best suited for a ballet, symphony, or play. Evaluate student understanding of how space affects a performances.
• Use costumes, props, and masks to enhance dramatic play.
  Set up costume, mask, and prop centers with various costumes, masks, and props in each center. Allow students to participate in dramatic play in the various centers. Evaluate their ability to use costume pieces , masks, and props to enhance their dramatic play.
• Exemplify theatrical works representing the cultural heritage and customs of various ethnic/regional groups across the world.
  Read and act out a fairy tale from another country. Evaluate students by their ability to explain the cultural heritage and customs of various ethnic/regional groups represented.
• Analyze the impact of media, such as theatre, film, internet, television, etc. in one’s family life.
  Describe your family's rules and traditions as it pertains to television, movies, and internet. Evaluate students by their ability to explain why these rules or traditions exist.
• Understand how to behave appropriately as an audience member.
  Guide students in creating a scene to share with the class. Evaluate students on their ability to use appropriate audience manners while watching the scenes.
• Use appropriate responses to the director and peers after making artistic choices.
  Lead students in a feedback session with peers based on a presentation. Evaluate students on their ability to use appropriate responses.

3^rd GRADE LESSON PLAN IDEAS

• Use pantomime to communicate elements of characterization, including age and physicality.
  Give students a scenario note card. Each scenario should describe characters of different ages helping one another with a task. Students should rehearse with a partner and share their pantomime with the class. Presentations will be evaluated on how well they convey characterization, including age and physicality.
• Apply appropriate volume, and variation in pitch, rate, and tone to express character.
  Give students a children's book with multiple characters in the story. Ask students to act out the book for a group of younger students. Evaluate students based on volume, and variation in pitch, rate, and tone to express character.
• Understand how to transform stories into written dialogue.
  Have students choose an existing story or other work of literature and write an adaptation. Evaluate students based on their transformation of the story into written dialogue.
• Use improvisation to present a variety of simple stories or situations.
  Prepare 3” x 5” index cards with a variety of situations. Have each student select a card and improvise the situation. Require a minimum time for each improvisation. Evaluate students on their spontaneity, their creativity, and their ability to present a variety of simple stories or situations.
• Interpret stories from given texts by acting them out.
  Select a play in script form and cast students in the various roles. Let students interpret the story by acting it out. Evaluate the presentations based on the appropriateness of their gestures, movements, and vocal delivery of their characters.
• Analyze texts in terms of setting, characters, sequence of events, main idea, problem, and solution.
  Give students two newspaper articles. Evaluate their ability to compare and contrast the settings, characters, main ideas, problems, and solutions.
• Explain the impact of performance on emotions and thoughts.
  Let students view a formal or informal production and assess students by their description of the emotions they experienced or thoughts they had about the production.
• Organize spaces to reflect the settings of stories. Ask students to suggest a simple story with multiple settings. Arrange a space that suggests the setting of a story. Evaluate the settings based on how well they reflect the story.
  
• Use costumes, props, masks, and set pieces to support dramatic presentations.
  Have students suggest or sketch costumes for a variety of characters from class projects. Evaluate students on how appropriately their costume ideas support the in-class dramatic presentations.
  
• Compare the changes in theatre arts in different regions and places over time.
  Show images of Punch and Judy, Jim Henson's puppets, and Bunraku and Wyang Kulit puppets. Compare and contrast puppetry in the United States and other countries. Assess students on their ability to compare the styles from these different regions.
• Explain how theatre, film, and television impact our society. Ask questions about how theatre, film, and television influence fashion and shopping. Evaluate students by having them write one paragraph explaining this media impacts our society.
  
• Understand how to behave appropriately as an audience member during performances.
• Have students participate in presentations about "a theatre experience" for one another. Evaluate students on their ability to demonstrate appropriate audience manners during these presentations.
• Understand the role of the actor in relation to performance responsibilities such as memorization, blocking and characterization.
  Write a job description for an actor as a group. Evaluate students by having them imagine that they are an actor writing a letter to a famous director and describing their abilities in relation to performance responsibilities such as memorization, blocking and characterization.

4^th GRADE LESSON PLAN IDEAS

• Use a variety of postures, gaits, and mannerisms to express character in the presentation of a story.
  Give each student a “character profile” card with a physical description of a character. Have each student create a scene that details the character's morning routine (ex. Get out of bed, brush teeth, shower, dress, eat breakfast, etc...) and present the scene to the class. Ask the class to describe the character each student presented. Evaluate the variety of postures, gaits, and mannerisms used to express character in the presentation of the scene.
• Apply appropriate vocal elements of volume, pitch, rate, tone, and articulation and vocal expression to various types of literature and storytelling.
  Have students select an appropriate literary selection. Have them read and become very familiar with the story. After rehearsing the telling of their stories on their own, have them retell their stories using vocal animation. Evaluate their presentations based on their application of appropriate vocal elements.
• Create adapted scripts using such sources as literature texts, poetry, and speeches.
  Use a poem such as Robert Frost's “The Road Not Taken” and write a scene of dialogue for the poem. Have students create characters, setting, and dialogue to bring the poem to life Evaluate the adaptation by comparing the original to the new work for consistency.
• Use improvisation to tell stories and express ideas.
  Brainstorm a variety of different characters with the students. Allow them to work in small groups and ask each student to select one of the characters on the list. Have each group create a story in which the characters meet. Evaluate each improvised story based on story structure (beginning, middle, and end) and successful expression of ideas.
• Interpret multiple characters in given texts.
• Select a story such as “The Princess and the Bowling Ball” from The Stinky Cheese Man and have students work in pairs to act out the story. Each student must play multiple roles as well as share the narration. Evaluate students on their ability to interpret multiple characters using their body and voice within the story.
  
• Analyze texts or scripts in terms of specific character traits.
  Create a character profile for one of the main characters in a given script. The profile should include a physical description of the character as well personality traits. Evaluate the accuracy of these specific character traits.
• Critique artistic choices made about characters, setting, and events as seen or portrayed in formal and informal productions.Have students watch a formal or informal production and write a critique describing the main characters, setting, and events, and justifying whether or not the artistic choices made were strong choices for the production. Evaluate student critiques for legitimate reasoning and/or personal aesthetic preferences.
  
• Describe technical options that could be used to enhance a performance space.
  Ask students to create a commercial that advertises how a technical component of theatre such as costumes, sets, props, makeup, lighting, and sound could be used to enhance a performance space. Assess the commercials on the accuracy of their description of how each technical option could be used to enhance a performance space.
• Use costumes, props, masks, set pieces, and lighting to support dramatic presentations.
  Have students select and costumes, props, masks, set pieces, and lighting to enhance the quality of a dramatic presentation. Evaluate students by having them defend how each element supported the dramatic presentations.
• Explain the impact of theatre arts on the culture, beliefs, and history of Your home state, and vice versa.
  Divide students into groups of 3-5 and have them research an outdoor drama in Your home state. Evaluate students by having them summarize the plot line and explain the impact of the production on the history of Your home state.
• Create theatrical works that exemplify some of the culture, beliefs, and history of Your home state.
  Divide students into groups of 3-5 and have them determine a "culture" or a historical moment within Your home state. Evaluate students by how well their theatrical work exemplifies a culture or historical moment related to Your home state.
• Use critiques to improve performances.
  Have students work in groups on a given scene. Ask students to present and allow others in the class to give feedback. Give each group an opportunity to rehearse using the given feedback, and allow each group to present for a second time. Evaluate presentations based on their ability to use the critiques to improve their performances.
• Understand the role of the playwright in relation to script construction techniques such as dialogue, protagonist, and antagonist.
  As a class, write a formula for good playwright. Evaluate students afterwards by having them recall the role of the playwright in relation to script construction techniques such as dialogue, protagonist, and antagonist.

5^th GRADE LESSON PLAN IDEAS

• Use a variety of postures, gaits, and mannerisms to express a variety of characters in the presentations of stories.
  Have students work in small groups to pantomime a fairy tale. Each group should present their tale to the class. The class should be able to guess the fairy tale that was presented and the character(s) that each student portrayed. Evaluate students on how effectively they express a variety of characters in the presentations of these stories.
• Apply appropriate vocal elements of volume, pitch, rate, tone, and articulation and vocal expression in various types of formal and informal presentations.
  Have students select a or monologue poem to present. Evaluate each presentation on vocal variety, expression, pitch, rate, articulation, and volume.
• Create original scripts.
  Give students a prompt to improvise a scene. Have them use the dialogue and concepts from the improvisation to write a 2-page script. Evaluate students on their ability to complete the original script.
• Use improvisation to create characters or solve problems.
  Give students a “problem strip” such as: you have broken something, you must escape, you need something, you have been put under a spell, etc. Allow them to work in small groups to improvise the characters, setting, and solution to the problem story. Evaluate each scene based on their ability to reasonably solve the problem.
• Interpret various characters from different genres of given texts.
  Assign students a variety of jokes, epitaphs, and short poems. Have them share the text as a character who might actually read or write those exact words. Evaluate students on their ability to align a character with a genre.
• Analyze texts or scripts in terms of specific character traits and relationships among them.
  Have each student create a chart linking the character relationships in a given story. Each link should describe the nature of the relationship such as: close, separated, friendly, enemies, etc. Evaluate the charts based on their accuracy.
• Evaluate the intended meanings conveyed through formal and informal productions.
  Ask students to describe the meanings intended in a formal or informal production. Justify whether or not the meanings were communicated in an effective way. Evaluate students on their ability to denote a meaning in a production.
• Choose appropriate technical materials such as set, props, colors, and effects that support performances.
  Read a short story as a class. Take inventory of technical materials and props as you read. Ask students to circle the most important element in each category. After reading the play, asses students by comparing completed charts.
  
• Use costumes, props, masks, set pieces, lighting, and sound to support dramatic presentations.
  Select costumes, props, sound and lighting effects that are appropriate for dramatic presentations. Evaluate student use of these technical elements by how appropriately they do or do not support the performance.
• Explain the impact of theatre arts on the culture, beliefs, and history of the United States, and vice versa.
  Have students work in groups to research different periods of United States history as it relates to theatre. Have each group share their findings with the class. Evaluate student groups by having them create a poster that reflects their research.
• Create theatrical works that exemplify some of the cultures of the United States.
  Facilitate students as they create theatrical works that exemplify some of the cultures of the United States. Assess these works based on whether or not they are culture-specific to the United States.
  
• Create strategies to critique self and others in a respectful and constructive manner.
  Have students trade original works and read them. Assign a one-page bulled-point critique of the other student's work. Include 3 "good things," and 3 "things to change." Assess students on their ability to respectfully and constructively give positive and negative criticism.
• Understand the role of the director in relation to staging techniques such as cheating out, blocking and levels.
  Define the playing space and call out stage directions. Have the students move to the assigned areas of the stage and/or theatre, such as downstage right, stage right, the house, the apron, etc. Then apply basic staging techniques such as cheating out, blocking and levels. Then, let the students take turns calling out the techniques and stage areas. Assess students by their ability to portray the role of the director as modeled by the teacher.

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