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Grade Band:
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Arts Subject:
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Other Subject:
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Theater
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| A Character Lifebox
Students create a "life box" for a character in the play Shakespeare Stealer, based on the book (and Kennedy Center play) of the same name.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| A Question of Style
Students will explore a variety of stylistic approaches for staging comedy, then informally stage the opening scenes in Shakespeare's As You Like It.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| A Suitable Job for a Woman
Students identify the model for the character, Amelia Martin, by
discovering information about four women: Abbie Burgess, Louisa May Alcott, Ida Lewis, and Clara Barton.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| A Variety of Unwise Characters
Students interpret folktale characters by reading a Puerto Rican tale and comparing it to other tales and the characters found in them.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| A Way with Words or Say What?
Students use drawing and pantomime to analyze words and phrases invented by Shakespeare.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Acting Up, A Melodrama
In this lesson, students practice melodramatic movement.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Adapting a Musical
This lesson explores the implications of developing a musical from a literary text or an historical event.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| All Around the Baseball Field
Explore baseball by constructing a mock baseball field using an assortment of materials including pattern blocks, tiles and a variety of geometric shapes.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Math, Physical Education |
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| American Puritanism: The Nature of Guilt
This unit examines the consequences of personal conscience in conflict with rigid societal perceptions of what is "right" in human behavior. Using Puritanism as a focus, this conflict is articulated in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and selected plays of Tennessee Williams.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Analyzing the Structure of Williams' Cat
This lesson is an exploration of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, with emphasis on Williams' use of characteraization and dramatic structure, and his techniques for engaging the audience.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Animal Habitats
Early primary students will learn about animal habitats through song, movement, and creative dramatization.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Math, Science |
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| Art Show with the Masters!
Through research and understanding of a selected famous artist and examples of their work, students will create an artistic interpretation, exhibit their work, and act in an impersonation of the artist.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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Arthur Miller and The Crucible
This lesson examines the consequences of personal conscience in conflict with rigid societal perceptions of what is "right" in human behavior, as articulated in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Arts of the Gilded Age
Students will explore the varied art forms of the Gilded Age, then develop a creative piece to perform, present, and/or exhibit as a studio project.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Broken Worlds
Students engage in a series of activities comparing Eugene O'Neill's The Hairy Ape and Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, and conduct a comparative analysis of the two plays.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Can You Measure Up?
Primary students will learn measuring skills as they explore cooking, movement, and creative dramatization.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Math, Science |
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| Characterization in Literature
In this lesson, students explore various methods authors use to create effective characters.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Cheerful Hearts and Willing Feet
This lesson encourages students to explore the methods Louisa May Alcott uses to develop characterization in Little Women.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Children of War
Based on the Scholastic Book The Journal Of Ben Uchida: Citizen 13559, students explore the realities and effects of war by examining children's diaries, journals, and letters.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Chivalry and Courtly Love
Through exploration of the Arthurian codes of chivalry and courtly love as portrayed in various media formats, students will examine the way in which these ideals have influenced modern concepts of love, friendship, and honorable behavior.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Cinderella Trilogy
Students will compare and contrast different versions of the Cinderella story.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Math, Social Studies |
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| Comparing O'Neill and Williams
Students engage in a series of activities comparing Eugene O'Neill's The Hairy Ape and Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Comparing Tales through Performance
Students identify similarities and differences between contemporary and traditional versions of The Three Little Pigs.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Counting Crows
Fusing math and art, students analyze Aesop's fable, "The Crow and the Pitcher" through puppetry and experimentation.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Math |
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| Creative Voices of Harlem
In this lesson, students learn about the artists of the Harlem Renaissance.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Cultural Creation Myths
Students explore the creation mythologies of three different cultures and present a play on one of them.
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Theater |
Math |
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| Culture and Society of the Gilded Age
Students will research everyday life and culture during the Gilded Age, then create a short theatrical piece, based on their research, with historically-accurate characters, setting, costume, and props.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Discovering Peace
Students explore peace through vocabulary, discussion, pantomime, illustration, and group construction of a "Peace Quilt."
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Dressing Up
Students research the clothing of the 1860's and pantomime getting dressed up.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Elements of Fables
Students will be introduced to fables and learn to identify the major elements of the genre
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Elements of Folktales
Students discuss the differences between literary and media versions of folktales.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Elements of Myths
After reading myths that explain natural phenomena, students identify elements of the literary form and create their own science-based myth.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Science |
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| Eugene O'Neill on Page and Stage
Students study the text of Long Day's Journey into Night and explore the impact of reading the play silently versus acting out and staging parts of the play.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Examining Tone in Parody and Tragedy
Students will analyze Romeo and Juliet and determine if the death of Juliet could be considered to be a parody.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Exploring A Streetcar Named Desire
Students study setting, plot, character development in Tennessee Williams' play, A Streetcar Named Desire and discuss its impact on American theatre, then participate in group reading and analysis of the play.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Exploring American Tall Tales
Students study the elements of tall tales, write responses to these tales, and perform them as monologues.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Exploring Pioneer America
This unit focuses on post-colonial westward expansion of United States territory, and introduces an explanation of westward exploration and expansion.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Exploring the Expository Scenes in Macbeth
Students will examine the function of exposition, and develop multiple interpretations and visual and aural production choices for Shakespearean scenes. Students will then read, rehearse, and perform scenes from Act I of Macbeth.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Fables
This unit introduces students to traditional fables. Students learn about the qualities that make a tale a fable and read representative selections. Students also engage in storytelling activities and dramatic presentations of traditional and original fables.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Fairy Tale Tunes
Students create music for a mini-musical of their stories from the book they created in the Fairy Tale Variations lesson.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Fairy Tale Variations
Students create the book for a mini-musical based on The Frog Prince and The Frog Prince Continued.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Fancy Fencing
This lesson introduces students to the art of stage fighting.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Physical Education |
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| Fiction Writing
This unit introduces students to the elements of fiction and writing techniques used in fiction writing.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Fiction, Creating Characters
Students explore characterization as an element of fiction.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Fiction, Plotting the Story
Students explore plot as an element of fiction.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Folktale Theatre
This lesson engages students in basic techniques for creating a character through movement and voice.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Fractured Families in American Drama
Using comparative analysis techniques, students explore A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and Long Days Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill, centered on tensions and tragedies in two American families.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Giving Voice to History
Students learn about the detention of Japanese Americans during World War II.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Graphs of the Heart
Students will examine four of Martha Graham's key dance-dramas, and learn about the symbolic and mythological sources, and the relationship of set design and collaboration to the choreography and narrative of Graham's work.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Greek Theater
Students will discover the origins of our own modern theater in the ancient Greek Theater by learning historical facts, studying the evolution of theater, and presenting a choral reading of Greek playwrights.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Harlem
This unit introduces students to Harlem, starting with black migration from Africa and from the American South to the North, to the Harlem Renaissance (including jazz musicians, visual artists, writers, and poets), and on to aspects of daily Harlem life.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Physical Education, Social Studies |
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| Harlem Renaissance: A Living Museum
Students learn about the people and places that figured prominently in the Harlem Renaissance.
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Theater |
Social Studies |
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| Hats Off To Color
Early primary students will learn about primary and secondary colors.
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Theater |
Math |
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| Historical Figure: A Monologue
Students choose a famous person from their state and research his or her contributions to history.
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Theater |
Social Studies |
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| Historical Timeline
Students create a historical timeline and an important personal event timeline based on the historical fiction book and play, A Light in the Storm.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Illusion and Reality in American Drama
This unit examines the divergent themes and innovative forms of three of America's most celebrated playwrights: Eugene O'Neill, Arthur Miller, and Tennessee Williams.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Immigrant Contributions to America
Students will recognize the various contributions of immigrants to the United States.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Science, Social Studies |
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| Immigrating to America
Students perform dramatizations depicting what it was like for new immigrants to come through Ellis Island at the turn of the century.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Inspired by Muses, Graces, and Fates
The Muses of ancient Greece inspired poets, playwrights, dancers, actors, musicians, and scientists. In this lesson, students identify the character traits of each Muse, Grace, or Fate, and study written and artistic renderings of them. They then create a line or two of literature, as well as dance, music, and choral speaking performance based on a specific Muse, Grace, or Fate.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Into the Woods, Jr.
This unit uses the Grimm Brothers' Book of Tales and Stephen Sondheims musical Into the Woods to help students create their own musical versions of Grimm's tales.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Math, Physical Education, Science, Social Studies |
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| It's All in the Translation
Students will examine the important role translation plays in interpreting the dramatic literature and theater of the ancient Greeks. Students compare and contrast four different translations of the Greek tragedy, Hecuba.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| King Arthur: Man or Legend?
The Kennedy Center Production of Excalibur leads students to further study about the legend of King Arthur as depicted in stories, poems, and artwork.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Landscapes of the Mind
Students will explore four of Martha Graham's choreographies inspired by women, and analyze the expression of emotion and structure of narrative through written and verbal assessment.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Light in the Storm Unit
Inspired by the Civil War-era story A Light In the Storm, these lessons introduce students to the Fenwick Island Lighthouse, Civil War Music, and the events of the time period. The lessons my be taught as a group or individually.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Little Women Unit
Students will recreate the melodrama used in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, explore costuming, and create a model stage design.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Magicicada: A Life Cycle
Students will learn about the Magicicada, and they will create collage cicadas and poems using facts about cicadas along with origami replicas.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Science |
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| Mark Twain, the Lincoln of Our Literature
In this unit, students will explore the American "voices" through which Twain translates, assails, contours, and celebrates aspects of American life and the American character.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Masks and Aesop's Fables
Aesop’s fables are over 2,600 years old, but the stories—and their morals—are still relevant today. In this lesson, students will learn a fable, make simple masks, and retell the story as part of a Greek chorus using masks.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Mixed Media Messages: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
In this lesson students will explore varied aspects of recycling, identify and draw recycling symbols, create a mock television commercial focusing on the benefits of recycling, and create a stage set backdrop made of recycled materials.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Science |
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| Mountains: A Drama Exploration
Students use creative dramatics to demonstrate an understanding of the three ways mountains form.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Moving Tales
Students are assigned a Grimm Brothers’ tale, which they read and then perform through movement.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Physical Education |
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| My Little Island
Students will learn about the geologic processes of island formation, and the impact of geologic history on culture.
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Theater |
Science, Social Studies |
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| Noh Theater
Students study the art of the Japanese Noh theater and act out a Noh play. In learning about the history, theatrical elements, music and dance, and costuming, they are also comparing and contrasting these to the other theater elements they have studied involving Greek, Elizabethan and Modern Theater.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Nureyev: After Petipa
Students study how Nureyev's life and work were affected by social, cultural and political forces in Russia.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Nureyev: Bringer of Light
This lesson focuses on Nureyev’s artistic endeavors and achievements in the dance world of the West.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Nureyev: The Unconquerable Will
This lesson focuses on how creative expression developed in the West, particularly in dance.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Oklahoma! and the Cultural Myth of America
Through viewing the musical Oklahoma! and reading Frederick Jackson Turner's essay, students examine and discuss cultural ideals and values.
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Theater |
Social Studies |
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| Olympic Athletes and Moments in Time
Through the use of research, mock interviews, and tableau, students will learn about a selected Olympic athlete.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Physical Education, Social Studies |
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| Peace 1: The Quilt Story
Students use pantomime to communicate places they find peace.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Pioneer America: Folklore and Tall Tales
Through improvisational activities, students are introduced to the folklore of the pioneers; specifically, the tall tale.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Pioneer America: Journey West
In this lesson, students perform monologues about the early pioneers in America and their motivations for moving West.
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Theater |
Social Studies |
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| Pioneer America: Legendary Westerners
Students focus on legendary westerners to understand how individuals impact history.
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Theater |
Social Studies |
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| Pioneer America: Pioneer Living
Students learn what life was like for early American pioneers and create a tableaux depicting a pioneer scene.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Playing with Puns
Students will compare puns and wordplay in The Shakespeare Stealer and Twelfth Night.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Portrait of Place, Portrait of a Family
Students learn about portraying places and life stories, both literally and metaphorically, through text and performance.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Prairie Magic and Territory Folks
Students closely examine several aspects of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma!.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Prometheus Bound: Rebel with a Cause
The primary focus of this lesson is the close study of the text of Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound. Students review some of the principles of ancient Greek drama found in Aristotle’s’ Poetics and explore some examples of well-known myths used as seminal sources. Study questions are provided, as well as topic suggestions for writing assignments, oral presentations, and special projects.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Puppets on the Move: China and the Silk Road
Students will gain an understanding of the dynamics of trade in China, culminating in student-produced shadow puppet performances.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Reading a Fable
Students recognize the fable as a literary form.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Reliving History Through Slave Narratives
After reading slave narratives recorded in the 1930s by the Federal Writers' Project, students research slavery and tell a story based on their findings.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Russian Folktales
Students are introduced to the folktale genre and study Russian folktales.
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Theater |
Foreign Language, Language Arts |
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| Scratch Dance
After gathering factual information on an insect of their choice, students will create and perform an original poem, and in the process learn how a poem can be used to communicate information.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Science |
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| Shadows & Light, Science & Puppetry
Students will learn how light interacts with matter, by creating and performing shadow puppet plays.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Science |
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| Shakespeare Stealer
This four-lesson unit centers around the play The Shakespeare Stealer, and the book of the same name.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Math, Physical Education, Social Studies |
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| Show Business
This lesson puts the work of Rodgers and Hammerstein in the historical context of the development of American musical theater.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Sondheim's Into the Woods
After studying Sondheim's works, students will create a libretto and script for an original musical based on The Grimm Brothers' fairy tale, The Frog Prince.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Sondheim: Creating a Context
Students explore the musical theatre genre and examine ways that musicals reflect cultural context.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Sondheim: Secret Metaphors
This lesson explores Sondheim's experimentation with diverse structural designs.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Sondheim: Voice of Cultural Change
This lesson explores Sondheim's contributions to musical theatre in the context of the dramatic changes in American life and culture.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Southern Puritanism and Tennessee Williams
This lesson continues the exploration of "Puritanism" as an influence on the development of modern American drama by focusing on elements of narrative, theme and characterization in selected works of Tennessee Williams.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Steps of a Giant: Martha Graham
This unit is dedicated to exploring the work of Martha Graham, one of the most innovative and celebrated dance artists of the twentieth century.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Street Games
Students experience street games of Harlem by learning about and playing established games.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Physical Education, Social Studies |
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| Structures on a Light Station
Groups of students create structures at a lighthouse station with their bodies.
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Theater |
Social Studies |
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| Sundiata, Mali's Lion King
This lesson introduces the legendary Malian king Sundiata Keita through mask-making, an element of traditional Malian festivals.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Syncopated Duet
Students will compose a duet that contains syncopated rhythm sequences.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Tall Tales Today
In this lesson, students are exposed to several traditional tall tales, then prompted to write an original tall tale set in contemporary America.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Teaching Shadow Puppetry
Students will explore the art, scientific data, history, production and magic of shadow puppetry.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| The Candle and the Mirror
Students examine author Louisa May Alcott as a pioneer, deeply dedicated to her family and to the ethical framework they represented.
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Theater |
Social Studies |
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| The Gilded Age
This unit explores the history, architecture, arts and culture of American high society from the 1890s-1920s, during the Gilded Age.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| The Innovative Voice
Students will learn about the structures and themes of seminal Martha Graham works, create movement combinations using elements from Graham choreographies, and synthesize their exploration in written journals and assessments.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| The Memory Play in American Drama—Part I
Students will explore Tennessee Williams' classic,The Glass Menagerie, to study the concept of memory from a personal perspective, and then as an element of modern American drama.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| The Memory Play in American Drama—Part II
This lesson explores the function of memory as a dramatic and structural device in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, and compares it to Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| The Rest Is Silence
Students will examine how Shakespeare's use of split lines and shortened lines of iambic pentameter creates meaning by reading, analyzing and staging the opening scene of Hamlet.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| The Way West: A Duet of Plays
Students will explore the pioneers' and settlers' ways of life through drama and song.
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Theater |
Social Studies |
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| The Work of Stephen Sondheim
This curriculum unit brings students in touch with the remarkable contributions of Stephen Sondheim to musical theatre.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Those Fundamental Things
This lesson focuses on specific formative steps Rodgers and Hammerstein contributed to the development of American musical theater.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Today I Feel . . .
After discussing books about feelings, students tell their own stories, using facial expressions, gestures, and changes in voice to express emotions.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| Tolerance: Gender Issues
A study of advertising reveals how some professions have changed over the years and introduces pioneers who broke professional barriers.
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Theater |
Social Studies |
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| Twain: An American Humorist
This lesson examines the diversity and intricacy of Mark Twain’s humor.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Twain: Icon and Iconoclast
Students examine Twain's work in the context of pre- and post-Civil War America.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Twain: Steamboat's a-Comin'
This lesson examines the mystique of rivers as inspiration for creative expression. It also provides students with a glimpse of the powerful influence the Mississippi River and its environs had on Mark Twain’s writings.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Twain: Tom Sawyer—Mythic Adventurer
This lesson focuses on the content and style of development in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Uncivil Civilization in The Hairy Ape
Students examine the bleak view of modern civilization, as presented in Eugene O'Neill's The Hairy Ape.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| Uppity Farm Animals
Students will analyze problems and create solutions by dramatizing the story, Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type and the poem, "Farmer Brown Has a Problem."
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Theater |
Language Arts, Science |
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| Utopian Visions
Students read Sir Thomas More's Utopia and perform a monologue from the perspective of an inhabitant of his ideal society.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| What a Character!
Students analyze a character's traits, actions and motives, and then use the tools of a storyteller (face, body, and voice) to bring the character to life.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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| What Blame to Us if the Heart Live On
This lesson focuses on various ways the content of selections of William Faulkner’s prose and Tennessee Williams’ one-act plays illuminate aspects of the psychological climate of the South following the Civil War.
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Theater |
Language Arts, Social Studies |
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| When I Was Young
Students will interview family or community members about their youth, and share their stories with the class.
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Theater |
Social Studies |
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| Writing an Original Fable
Students will write original fables using the stages of the writing process and, in small groups, perform their fables as skits.
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Theater |
Language Arts |
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