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Decide how students will demonstrate their knowledge of the unit. You can choose to have all your students do the same activity or allow students to choose from the provided activities to demonstrate their knowledge. You could also give students the choice to create their own assignment to demonstrate how they have mastered the content.

American actor Ira Aldridge was a pioneer and an activist. He was a celebrated 19th-century Shakespearan actor in England and Europe and one of the first black men to play the role of Othello. In this lesson, students will learn more about his story and about how he changed his story several times throughout his career. Students will reflect on the concept of changing one’s story in the face of adversity. Rubrics are provided.

Students will analyze a story/script and create the circumstances that turned the characters of the story into zombies.

Can you tell a great story in six minutes? How about in six seconds? You definitely can. Prior to TikTok, there was Vine—a short-form video hosting app where users created and shared six-second-long looping videos. Even within the limit of six seconds, creators were able to make fascinating and funny content to entertain and educate their viewers. The following lesson challenges students to make a scene and tell a story in only six seconds. They have to make quick, precise decisions and get to the point right away. And, of course, they have tobe clear and easily understood by the audience. Your students can choose to either create and perform a live six-second scene or create, film, and edit a six-second video.

Decide how students will demonstrate their knowledge of the unit. A variety of activities have been provided. You can choose to have all your students do the same activity, or allow students to choose from the provided activities to demonstrate their knowledge. Rubrics are provided.

To research in order to expand knowledge of how theatre is used in the real world. Students will research an existing theatre company and complete a project that demonstrates their knowledge (be it a written response, slide deck presentation, or a physical display board/presentation).

This lesson plan works as a great complement to the DTA Research Lesson Plan: Theatre Company Profile. In that lesson, students are introduced to various theatre companies, all with unique histories, facilities, and artistic goals. It’s a natural next step to have students create their own theatre companies, specifically tailored to their unique interests and personalities.

There are a whole host of careers in the theatre that aren’t acting. Students will discover and explore different jobs in the theatrical world, including experience needed, responsibilities, and possible salaries. Students will research an existing theatre professional and complete a written profile that demonstrates their knowledge.

Drama skills, particularly those learned while studying acting, are used in everyday life. Drama skills are transferable skills that are used in everyday life, particularly in the working world. In this lesson, we will look at a few of them, and then students will improvise real-world situations that apply those skills.

Students will use the storyboard form to create pictures for each moment in a scene they plan to write. The key will be to really think about the key plot points and character motivations students want their scenes to both show and tell. Then, the focus will be to create visual representations of what the audience will see when they are watching the scene/play.

Students will read a text that shares a point of view on a specific playwriting concept. They will freewrite their first impression of the text, answer questions on the text to develop their own personal opinion, and then complete a theatrical response to the text. Do they agree with the text? Disagree? Do they theatricalize the concept? This could be a scene, monologue, performance poem, costume, or set design, anything that can be put on paper and submitted.

Students will read a text that shares a point of view on a specific playwriting concept. They will freewrite their first impression of the text, answer questions on the text to develop their own personal opinion, and then complete a theatrical response to the text. Do they agree with the text? Disagree? Do they theatricalize the concept? This could be a scene, monologue, performance poem, costume, or set design, anything that can be put on paper and submitted.

Students will read a text that shares a point of view on a specific playwriting concept. They will freewrite their first impression of the text, answer questions on the text to develop their own personal opinion, and then complete a theatrical response to the text. Do they agree with the text? Disagree? Do they theatricalize the concept? This could be a scene, monologue, performance poem, costume, or set design, anything that can be put on paper and submitted.

Students will read a text that shares a point of view on a specific playwriting concept. They will freewrite their first impression of the text, answer questions on the text to develop their own personal opinion, and then complete a theatrical response to the text. Do they agree with the text? Disagree? Do they theatricalize the concept? This could be a scene, monologue, performance poem, costume, or set design, anything that can be put on paper and submitted.

Students will read the provided text that explores a playwriting “non-truth.” Students will summarize the main idea of the text and share their personal opinions of the concept by answering questions. They will then complete a theatrical response to the text. Do they agree with the text? Disagree? Do they theatricalize the concept? This could be a scene, monologue, performance poem, costume, or set design, anything that can be put on paper and submitted.

Students will read the provided text that explores a playwriting “non-truth.” Students will summarize the main idea of the text and share their personal opinions of the concept by answering questions. They will then complete a theatrical response to the text. Do they agree with the text? Disagree? Do they theatricalize the concept? This could be a scene, monologue, performance poem, costume, or set design, anything that can be put on paper and submitted.

Students will read the provided text that explores a playwriting “non-truth.” Students will summarize the main idea of the text and share their personal opinions of the concept by answering questions. They will then complete a theatrical response to the text. Do they agree with the text? Disagree? Do they theatricalize the concept? This could be a scene, monologue, performance poem, costume, or set design, anything that can be put on paper and submitted.

Students will read a list of basic playwriting rules, infer the meaning of the rules, read the meanings of each and respond with their personal opinions.

In this lesson, students will elevate rehearsal blacks and use them as a tool to enhance a play or story. Students will consider how thoughtful and creative choices with rehearsal blacks can denote character, status, mood, atmosphere, and more. Students can complete this exercise by sketching, using online images to create a mood board, or if you choose to do presentations, using black clothing items they own to create character looks.

In this lesson, students will watch a movie musical, respond to viewing questions, and apply themesand contexts from the musical in a post-viewing activity. The questions and exercises for this lesson are taken from the In The Heights Classroom Study Guide, which is included. Alternative pre-viewing questions and post-viewing exercises are available if you wish to modify the lesson. This lesson is ideal for the end of the school year, after a major assessment, or following a semester end production.