Theater Period Pieces Teacher Resources

Welcome to the Renaissance, known as one of the most vibrant periods in the world of theater. An informational video provides a thorough overview of the period, noting key changes that took place on the stage. After a lengthy discussion...

From mystery plays to Shakespeare! Progress chronologically through the evolution of English drama, which began as a way for English clergymen in the eleventh century to illustrate biblical stories to the mass of illiterate commoners....

Life doesn't make sense, so theater shouldn't make sense either. A video about the theater of the absurd, the 45th installment of the Crash Course Drama and Theater series, discusses the unique movement in theater history. An overview of...

Welcome to America! A very entertaining video teaches pupils the history of drama and how it made its way to America. It discusses those that were not pleased with the appearance of theater in the New World and even tells the tale of a...

Who would've guessed that a boy from the sleepy town Stratford-upon-Avon would grow up to become one of the greatest playwrights of all time? Scholars only know a few details about Shakespeare's early life, but that information is the...

After reading Acts III and IV of Othello, give your class a fun, interactive, music-related activity. Begin by asking high schoolers about songs they have heard in movies or plays. Let them look up the lyrics online and ruminate about...

Introduce the origins of theater and dramatic roles with this highly entertaining, animated video. It illustrates the evolution of the stage from the shrinking of the chorus in dramas during the fifth century BCE in Ancient Greece, as...

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens has delighted readers for generations. An in-depth study guide gives an overview of an adaptation of the classic story for the stage. Along with summaries of the plot and key characters, theater goers...

What a great instructional activity, upper graders are sure to love. They explore costume design and the relationships between theatre, culture, and history. They research three time periods, write a response about two of them, then...

Students view video clips from the program NY VOICES: "The Public" at 50, which examines Joseph Papp's passion and commitment to bring theater to diverse communities of New York. They create a playbill highlighting productions for an...

For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...

Check your readers' understanding of Shakespeare's famous historical play, Henry V. Basic, reading-comprehension questions cover the plot of the story.

Students describe and compare characters and situations in dramas from and about cultures and historical periods, illustrate in improvised or scripted scenes, and discuss how theater reflects a culture.

High schoolers compare Noh drama to western drama and trace the influence of Japanese theater on modern western drama.  In this Noh drama lesson, students read the play Black Tomb (Kurozuko) defining the elements and conventions of Noh...

The danger of mob mentality is on display in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Get your class thinking with some challenging quickwrite questions, then assign characters from the play to be read aloud altogether. Links to worksheets for...

Historically, members of the upper class provide plenty of fodder for comedic writers. Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest is no exception, and a study guide for the classic play discusses some of the Victorian social issues he...

A writer has the responsibility to defend the less fortunate members of society. At least that was the view of Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables. The novel is the subject of a study guide from Orlando Shakespeare Theater. Learners...

What makes a good leader? Use the curriculum guide for William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar to help scholars answer that question. Pupils research the play's historical context and other background information before engaging in...

Students participate in a reader's theater using farm animals in the novella Animal Farm. In this Animal Farm lesson plan, students evaluate interpretations using the text, personal experience, and historical events.

Students research the history of Canadian theater. They read a play,research the playwright and the social and historical environment of the play,and present an excerpt to the class.

Bring Julius Caesar to life with a reader's theatre approach that engages the entire class. The opening exercises model the importance of reading with expression while choral reading exercises permit class members to practice their...

Young scholars write a rap or hip-hop lyric about the life of a famous Black American. They explore famous Black Americans in history and explore how the rap form compares to other forms of poetic expression.

Eighth graders use first-hand slave narratives that show conditions of slavery. They paste text into Appleworks and publish with a picture clipped from web sites. They create a group account of life during slavery to prepare for reading...

George Bailey learns that it truly is a wonderful life when he discovered how many lives he has touched—not to mention how many new generations of lives the story touches every year. A study guide on It's a Wonderful Life  introduces...