Acting Teacher Resources

Pledge your loyalty to the king and the Stamp Act or sign an oath against the tax. After simulating an in-class tax for school supplies, young historians consider the reasons for the Stamp Act and similar colonial policies. The...

Shadow puppetry has an ancient past, it is also a great way to build oral expression and reading fluency. Young thespians research folk tales, compare and contrast reality and fantasy, then create and perform a shadow puppet play based...

Read and act out folktales, fairy tales, or myths from various Asian American cultures with your class. Each group reads a story aloud and then works together to create a short play or skit about the story. Suggestions for stories are...

This 4-question handout addresses key elements of Act 4.4 of Taming of the Shrew. It is intended for small group discussion, followed by individual written reponses. The prompts require critical thinking and analysis.

This is a fun, thought-provoking lesson. Learners use census data from 1855, primary source documents, their historical knowledge, and information regarding the New York City Draft Riots of 1863 to construct and engage in a role-play....

Learners role-play sports situations and determine the actions needed to stay safe from injuries. They define the term sports safety, develop short skits about situations involving sports safety, and work together in cooperative groups.

Who doesn't love a play where most of the characters die? Such deaths are a defining characteristic of many of Shakespeare's tragedies, the topic of an informational video on the Bard and his works. Along with outlining the plot elements...

How the Kansas-Nebraska Act created Bleeding Kansas is complicated—until scholars research and examine documents from the time. After completing activities that include mapping, photo, document analysis, and discussion, learners...

In the Middle Ages, theater left the church of moved outside to a secular stage. An interesting video describes the transition from pulpit to public venue, discussing common plot lines and other aspects of medieval drama. Animated...

A 20-page guide is a must-have for any instructor, seasoned veteran, or first year-teacher, using Arthur Miller's The Crucible as an anchor text. The guide begins with extensive background information about Miller and the McCarthy era...

Group members role play state legislators, supporters of and opponents to the The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors). After listening to the arguments put forth for and against the immigration legislation,...

An engaging and informative video sheds light on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Rosa Parks, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Kid-friendly animated figures visually portray what the narrator says. An end-review...

Save the Lofty Trees, by Leslie Mills, provides the text for a study of the roles of animals and humans in the forest. Richly detailed, the plan offers two approaches to the play: as a scenario for children to imagine what actions would...

No instructional activity accompanies this drama about the American Revolution. With 13 speaking roles, the short script could be used for a class production, a instructional activity on the parts of a play, or to supplement your social...

If your purpose in using Romeo and Juliet with your classes is to share enjoyment rather than to just read the play by rote, come and inspect these materials designed for the scenes in Act II of Shakespeare's tale of star-crossed lovers.

Do figures of speech enhance a play or story? In small groups, learners locate and describe figures of speech they find while reading a reader's theater play. After making predictions, they describe how the figures of speech make the...

Based on the documentary film Savage Acts: Wars, Fairs, and Empire, this lesson explores concepts of National interests and imperialism. They view sections of the film and share which images exemplify the meaning of each vocabulary term....