Things to Avoid
Dramatic Play versus Drama-Setting up a grocery store or restaurant and having your students pretend to shop or order does not include enough drama. That is dramatic play. I am looking for you to use what you have learned over the semester such as pantomime, reader’s theatre, process drama, theatre of the oppressed, etc.
Do not use what you did for lesson plan practice “The Three Little Pigs.”
Having your students put on a costume piece and then proceed to do the science or math does not include enough drama. Save the curriculum part for after the drama. First have them act out a story connected to the curriculum or pantomime something or write a scriipt and perform it and then go to the curriculum work. You can return to the drama portion after the curriculum work as well. Putting on a costume piece does not mean the students are using drama skills.
Do not use a lesson plan that is all about music or dance. There is a separate class for that.
Please use the template below. You should have at least two typewritten pages double-spaced.
Make sure the drama part of your lesson plan is detailed. I will not accept a lesson that does not have a drama activity included. Remember that we have learned to use drama to teach subject matter.
Be sure to look at the rubric below before and after writing the lesson plan.
LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE
Title of Lesson: (Try to think of a catchy title)
Grade:
Subject: (Could be more than one)
Standards: (Could be more than one. Write out the standard descriiption)
Narratives: (Readings if any included, Powerpoints, etc.)
Drama Form: (Pantomime, tableaux, process drama, etc.)
Materials: (Scripts, costume pieces, props, craft items, videos, etc.)
Goal of Lesson: (what you want them to accomplish in terms of skills and curriculum. Example: Students will be able to add, subtract, multiply and divide whole and decimal numbers using money).
Objective: (ie. participate in discussions, practice math skills, participate in process drama, handle playground conflicts).
INTO
The Teacher will explain the Goal and Objective:
Prior Knowledge: (Describe how you will conduct a discussion with the students to elicit what they already know or understand with regards to the standard (ie. “Let’s see what you remember about decimals”).
Discussion Prompts: (Questions you will ask the class to check their prior knowledge).
Introduction of Narratives: (Explain reading or introduce the topic the lesson will address)
Read the Narrative(s): (There may not be a text, but this may be a place where you bring up other elements of the lesson)
Comprehension Check: Conduct discussion to determine comprehension.
Discussion Prompts: What questions you might ask to determine comprehension.
Drama warm up: Include a warm up that will connect to your lesson.
THROUGH
Detailed descriiption of how you will teach the drama portion.
This part of your lesson plan should be very extensive. Some students in the past have put most of their focus on the subject matter and curriculum, rather than the drama activity. Remember what the point of our class is. You are using drama to teach curriculum or about social issues. At least a page of your lesson plan should be devoted to this section. Explain your drama activity in great detail with many examples. You can also use visuals.
BEYOND
Standard Assessment Question: Tie back to the standard(s) and assess whether or not the lesson accomplished the standard(s). Create an assessment question-Ask yourself if the activity served its purpose considering both the dramatic activity and the standard you addressed with the activity. Here’s an example of an assessment question: After the activity, are the students able to describe character traits? Are they able to describe the characters motivations and feelings and how their actions contribute to the sequence of events?
