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Curriculum & Lesson Planning

Teaching drama made practical.

Explore strategies, ideas, and insights to help you plan, teach, and inspire with confidence.

Playwriting

Sense Scenes

Have fun with the five senses! Students write a different header on five different pieces paper: 1. Sight (objects) 2. Sound 3. Smell 4. Touch (Textures) 5. Taste Go through the headers with the...
Teaching Drama

Preparing Middle School Students to Perform Monologues

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...
Curriculum & Lesson Planning

Speeches from History – A Cross-Curricular Unit

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...
Teaching Drama

Growing Your Drama Program Through Outreach

““There are two ways of spreading light – to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” ~Edith Wharton” I was very lucky growing up where I did. I grew up in North Bay, Ontario, Canada....
Classroom Exercise

Classroom Exercise: Fear In A Hat

One of the keys to Classroom Management is getting students to work well together. Group work is tricky if students don’t know one another. Why should I share something with this guy who doesn’t...
Classroom Exercise

Classroom Exercise: What’s in a Name?

One of the keys to Classroom Management is getting students to work well together. Group work is tricky if students don’t know one another. Why should I share something with this guy who doesn’t...
Curriculum & Lesson Planning

Using Arts Statistics

The importance of Arts Education is hard to quantify. The Arts excel at improving intangible skills (e.g. communication, self-expression, creative and critical thinking) which don’t graph as well...
Teaching Drama

Eight Great TED Talks for Arts Educators

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...
Directing

Directing First Time Actors

Enjoy this replay of our January 2014 LIVE Drama Teacher Hangout. The topic was “Directing First Time Actors” with Forrest Musselman, a theatre teacher who shared some very valuable tips for...
Acting

Tongue Twisters in the Theatre Classroom

I am a huge fan of tongue twisters in the theatre classroom. They have so many uses. They get a group focused & relaxed, they help warm up the voice, they get the lips and tongue limber and ready...
Acting

Agatha Rex in the Classroom: Student Scenework

At a recent conference middle school teacher Adam Moreno from the University School of Milwaukee shared with me how he uses Agatha Rex in the classroom: students work on, self-direct, and present...
Acting

Script Analysis for Actors: Relationships

Looking for other script analysis articles? Click here! Here’s an activity that will give your students a lot of detail on their characters and their relationship with the other characters in the...
Classroom Exercise

Exercise: Play Trailer

I received the trailer below for a production of Tuna Fish Eulogy and I think it’s great. It’s basically a commercial for the show, but also gives a clear indication of the style of the production,...
Classroom Exercise

Comprehension Exercise: The Dark Ride

“A dark ride is an indoor amusement ride where riders in guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain animation, sound, music, and special effects. – Wikipedia” As a...
Playwriting

Brainstorming

I’m working on a new play in a different way this month. It’s going to be from the ground up with a class. When we had the first meeting a student raised their hand and asked “What’s this play...