Lesson Name: Expectations and Practice Dates: August 3rd

Class: Theatre 1

Subject/Topic: Intro

Objective

Materials ●​ Syllabus(on Canvas)

●​ Weekly Rubric
●​ Journal Template

Pre-Class Have class copies of the Weekly Rubic

Prep

Instruction

Journal How are you feeling about taking drama class? Explain why. What are you
excited or nervous about? What are your hopes for this class?

Warm-Up Name Game

Teacher Input ●​ Pull up the Syllabus on the smart board

●​ Classroom Expectations
○​ No Cell phone policy
○​ Classroom care
○​ Where to find supplies needed
○​ Bathroom policy
○​ Canvas Navigation

Guided Practice ●​ Have students create their journals

●​ Give them five minutes to write their journals
●​ Pass out the weekly rubric
○​ Go over the journal portion
○​ Explain the grading process
●​ Have them switch with a partner
●​ Have them grade their partner’s journal
●​ Switch back and have their partner’s discuss why they got the
grade they did

Independent Practice ●​ Students will redo their journals

Closure ●​ If there is time do the airplane exercise

○​ Pass out a blank piece of paper for each person
○​ Have them write as much information as they can, about
themselves, in 30 seconds
○​ They will then make a paper airplane, and throw it in any
 direction.
○​ Another student will take that piece of paper, and they will
introduce the class to that student.
Lesson Name: What is Theatre? Dates: August 4th

Class: Theatre 1

Subject/Topic: Intro to Theatre

Objective

Materials EdPuzzle- What is Theatre on Canvas

White Poster Paper
Markers
Balloon
Post It Notes

Pre-Class Make sure Balloon is blown up

Prep

Vocab ●​ Theatre
●​ Actor
●​ Audience Member
●​ Dramatic Moment

Instruction

Journal What do you know about the theatre?

Have you ever seen a live performance?
Have you ever been on stage or worked backstage?

Warm-Up Will be done at the end of class.

Group Up

Teacher Input Discuss Journal Questions

Guided Practice ●​ Theatre Is.. Posters

○​ Have students get into groups of 4 or 5
○​ Pass out a White Poster Board Paper for each group and
markers for each group.
○​ Have them write Theatre Is... at the top
○​ Give each group 5 mins to discuss and write down what
theatre is...
○​ Have them place their posters across the room
●​ Gallery Walk
○​ Have each student grab two post-it notes
○​ Have them walk around and read what the other groups
came up with
○​ Have them write two thoughts down and stick it on the
poster that made them think about it.
○​ Have the class discuss what they believe are the biggest
 components of theatre.
●​ Warm Up game
●​ Comparing Film vs. Theatre
○​ Normally during this game, there comes a time when
someone almost steps on something and the entire class
responds. Remind the students of this and let them know
that this can be considered a “dramatic moment.”
○​ Ask them “would you have responded the same way if
you were watching a video of it? What if you didn’t know
them?”
○​ Have a discussion about the immediacy of theatre, the
excitement of being in the moment, How is it different than
film?
○​ Ask the students: “Do you think you’d feel as connected to
what is going on

Closure Go over Vocabulary

Lesson Name: Ensemble Building/Saying Yes Dates: August 7th

Class: Theatre 1

Subject/Topic: Intro to Theatre

Objective

Materials Small Ball

Cups
Weekly Rubric

Vocab Ensemble

Instruction

Journal What do you think it looks like to SAY YES in drama? What are some
different things you might be required to SAY YES to in this class?

Warm-Up Line Up Line UP

Teacher Input ●​ Discuss journal and warm up

○​ Define Ensemble
●​ Go over the Say yes part of the rubric
○​ Explain how students will be graded

Guided Practice Machine Build

●​ Have class split into groups of 5 or 6
●​ Give each group a ball and a cup
●​ Tell students they will create a machine to get the ball from one
person, at the start, to another, who will be the end
●​ Give them 10 minutes to brainstorm and practice
●​ Have them pull out the weekly rubrics
●​ Have each group perform
●​ After each performances, have students find at least one thing
that was in the exceeds category.

Closure ●​ Discuss the aspects of saying yes with the practice performance.
Discuss how it felt to say yes, and if there were any difficulties.
Lesson Name: Be Safe Dates: August 8th

Class: Theatre 1

Subject/Topic: Intro to Theatre

Materials Balloon for Group UP

Pre-Class Set up Cross the river game

Prep Be Safe part of the rubric Split up
-​ Exceeds
-​ Meets
-​ Does Not Meet

Instruction

Journal What needs to be true about this class for you to feel comfortable taking
risks? What do you need from your classmates and teacher so you can
feel safe in drama?

Warm-Up Cross the River

Teacher Input -​ Review ensemble

-​ Talk about the warm-up
-​ Go over the Be Safe part of the rubric

Guided Practice Have class split into groups of three

-Give each group a section of the Be Safe
-Give the group time to look at their section of the rubric
- Give each group a warm-up activity to perform
●​ Human knot
●​ Group UP game
●​ Counting Game
○​ Based off of how many students are in the circle
they must count to that number(or double it if it is
a small amount)
○​ Only one person can say a number at a time
○​ They can not go in a circle
○​ If doubled, a person can only say a number twice,
and can’t go twice in a row.
-One at a time, have groups perform their task for the rest of the group.
Have audience members guess which column of the Rubric is represented
by the presenting group, citing evidence from the performance that aligns
to the Rubric column they chose

Closure Look again at our BE SAFE Rubric from today. Is anything missing that
would make you feel safer in this class? Would you change any of the
language? Why is BE SAFE so important to building our ensemble? How
will that affect how this class performs?
Lesson Name: Intro to Feedback Dates: August 10th

Class: Theatre 1

Subject/Topic: Intro to Theatre

Objective

Materials Feedback Worksheets

Feedback Rubric

Pre-Class
Prep

Vocab Feedback

Instruction

Journal What does the word “feedback” mean to you? What is the purpose of
giving feedback? What makes feedback helpful? What makes feedback
unhelpful?

Warm-Up Pass the Rhythm

Teacher Input -​ Using shared journal responses, come up with a class definition
of feedback.
-​ Have them pull up the Feedback Rubric on Canvas
-​ Point out the three keys to strong feedback
-​ Uses specific drama vocabulary and/or language from the
Rubric
-​ Giving clear suggestions for improvement.
-​ Using body language and voice to show encouragement
and eagerness for peers to improve.

Guided Practice Feedback Practice

-​ Have students get with a partner. If there is one group of three,
just have them observe each other
-​ Pass out the Feedback Worksheet
-​ Have them choose who to go first
-​ Partner A will go first and pantomime building a
sandcastle while being disgusted.
-​ Partner B will watch and fill out the feedback form.
-​ Then the two will discuss
-​ Partner B will then go second and pantomime playing a
video game as if they were very old
-​ Have Partner A watch and fill out the feedback form.
-​ If there is a partner C, give the group time to do that one
as well.

Closure If there’s time: Have everyone determine one way they can improve on
their SAY YES score. Have everyone say out loud, at the same time, the
way they will improve. ○ Then assign the whole group to act out (no
speaking) the following: ▪ Task: Spending time at a beach ▪ Personality
trait: Showoff
Lesson Name: Feedback Cont Dates: August 11th

Class: Theatre 1

Subject/Topic: Intro to Theatre

Objective

Materials Video for Journal

Feedback Assignment- Be Safe
Feedback Quiz-On Canvas

Instruction

Journal Watch the video, and write feedback on one person in the video based off
of the “saying yes” part of our weekly rubric.

Teacher Input ●​ Review the class definition of “feedback”– and why it’s
essential to drama.
●​ Review the Giving Feedback Rubric the class will be
working with this week. Note that we’ve already practiced
the first and second parts of feedback – using language
from the Rubric and giving clear suggestions for
improvement.
●​ We’ll continue practicing those today while adding the
third part – using body language and voice to show
encouragement and eagerness for peers to improve.
●​ Tell students: Notice the difference between these two
ways I give the same feedback.
●​ Deliver the following in a bored monotone, slouched in a
chair, looking around the room while talking. I would give
you a “Partially Meets” because you seemed apathetic
when you were participating. You could improve by not
sidetalking and staying focused on the activity.
●​ Deliver the following in an upbeat tone, leaning forward
toward an imaginary student, with strong eye contact. I
would give you a “Partially Meets” because, when you
were talking during the activity, it didn’t seem like you
were really saying yes to trying it correctly. I know you
could easily get a “Meets” next time by fixing the side-talk.
What if you tried sitting by someone else and reminding
yourself to focus on whoever is talking?
●​ Notice that I met the feedback expectations we’ve
practiced in both examples – I gave a grade using words
from the Weekly Ensemble Rubric, and I gave a
suggestion for improvement. But also notice how it would
feel hearing the first example versus the second example.
●​ Our goal in giving feedback is to help each other improve
 as actors. If we say the right words but totally
communicate that we’re bored, uninterested, or don’t
believe in our partner, then they won’t feel the desire,
support, or confidence they need to actually use your
feedback to improve!

Guided Practice ●​ Students will participate in an ensemble-building game and give

each other feedback on the BE SAFE category of the Weekly
Ensemble Rubric.
●​ Have students partner up with a different partner than they had
yesterday. Partners will exchange their Weekly Ensemble Rubrics,
so each partner has the other’s Rubric.
●​ The partner who rides the bus route with the highest number (or
they can also compare house numbers) will be Partner A and the
other will be Partner B. The A partners will come to the center of
the circle to perform while the B partners will observe to give
feedback afterward.
●​ The A partners will be given a task that requires them to work
together to solve a problem. Example tasks:
○​ UP warm Up
○​ Human knot
○​ Counting to 20 one person at a time
●​ The B partners will be watching their partners for BE SAFE. Here
are some things for them to consider: ○ Was your partner taking a
lead on helping people be physically safe/feel safe in the group?
Or were they behaving recklessly with materials, their body, or
their words? ○ How did your partner react when something went
wrong or when someone made a mistake?
○​ Did your partner take on a leadership role in encouraging
peers?
○​ Was your partner focused on helping the group be
successful, or were they apathetic to the group’s progress
(side-talk, distracted, playing around, etc.)?
●​ Have the B partners underline language in the Weekly Ensemble
Rubric that they feel reflects their partner’s performance. • Stop
the activity and have partners rejoin each other. The B partners
will give feedback using the following sentence frame:
●​ The B partners then become the performers while the A partners
observe for feedback. Repeat the exercise as above. Then, repeat
giving feedback as above​ ​ ​ ​

Independent Practice Feedback Quiz