Curriculum & Lesson Planning

The first week of drama class can be the toughest week of the semester. A drama class is quite different than a “regular” class. Students need to be comfortable with each other before the “real...

Your first reaction to using Close Reading in the Drama Classroom might be – Ugh! There’s no way my students will sit still for that. This is the only time they get up and get moving. Fair enough....

What is close reading?Close reading is an analysis tool. Students read a text multiple times for in-depth comprehension: • First read: WHAT is being said in the text? What QUESTIONS do you have? •...

Episode 129A: The Drama Teacher AcademyWhat is the Drama Teacher Academy? Who is DTA for? Why should you join? Plus! A sneak peek into one of our courses.

“Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up” – Pablo Picasso Creativity is a misused, maligned, misunderstood word. Especially in the drama classroom. Many students...

It’s the first day of semester. You have a Grade Nine / Drama One class or a group of students you haven’t worked with before. They stare at you, you stare at them. How can you determine what they...

What makes a good monologue? What criteria do you give to your students? Before students start writing their own monologue, it’s important for them to be able to identify and assess the elements of...

Not only is it important for students to reflect on and evaluate the work of others, they also need to build self evaluation skills. But self assessment can be tricky. It takes a lot of practice to...

Peer evaluation is a process whereby learners give feedback to other learners. It is key to the learning process for a number of reasons. Curriculum Understanding In order to assess an activity,...

Whether you’re performing your first role or your fortieth, Theatrefolk has a great roundup of guides to help you prepare for your role, to analyze the script from a few different angles, and to...

Performances are rarely the only area where learning occurs in the drama classroom. What goes on during instruction, what happens in rehearsals and group work, how problems arise and are solved —...

Critical Thinking is a buzzword. It’s one of the keystone 21st century skills. How do we incorporate critical thinking into the drama classroom? Provide steps not buzzwordsCritical thinking is a...

The start of a new year holds many promises. I will make a resolution! I will change my life! I will….do something for two weeks and then go back to my old way of doing things. Because there’s so...

Episode 107: Cross-Curricular in the Drama Classroom Teacher Jeff Pinsky will embark on a new cross-curricular journey with his drama curriculum this year. He’ll be incorporating the holocaust into...

Episode 91: The 25 Hour Play Project Playwright and educator Corey-Jan Albert talks about working with student playwrights and how to get students from idea to finished product in 25 hours,...

Do you notice any of these common issues when your middle school students perform monologues in competition? • They’re overcome with nerves. • They’re unable to grow their characters beyond...

Here’s a unit you can use that combines technology, drama, and cross-curricular learning. Talk about a multi-purpose activity! Since the unit involves speeches, it’s probably best-suited to...

TED is an organization that arranges conferences around the notion of “Ideas Worth Spreading.” Many of the talks centre around science and technology, but they also have a healthy amount of...