Unit: Storybook Scenes — Acting Unit
Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of the principles of acting in a
scene by writing, rehearsing, and performing a 4-5 minute storybook scene.
Subject: Scene Acting
Level: Drama Foundations
Main Concepts: Objectives, Tactics, Characterization, Theatre Stage Basics, Blocking
National Standards:
TH:Cr2.1.7
a. Examine and justify original ideas and artistic choices in a drama/theatre work based on
critical analysis, background knowledge, and historical and cultural context.
b. Demonstrate mutual respect for self and others and their roles in preparing or devising
drama/theatre work.
TH:Cr3.1.7
a. Demonstrate focus and concentration in the rehearsal process to analyze and refine choices in
a devised or scripted drama/theatre work.
b. Develop effective physical and vocal traits of characters in an improvised or scripted
drama/theatre work
TH:Pr4.1.7
a. Consider various staging choices to enhance the story in a drama/theatre work.
b. Use various character objectives in a drama/theatre work.
TH:Pr5.1.7
a. Participate in a variety of acting exercises and techniques that can be applied in a rehearsal or
drama/theatre performance.
TH:Pr6.1.7
a. Participate in rehearsals for a drama/theatre work that will be shared with an audience.
Storybook Scenes - Acting Unit
Lesson 1: Trusting your Instincts/“Listening”/Reacting
Daily Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of listening and trusting
their instincts by playing different improv games.
Materials Needed: None.
Hook:
Invite everyone to come sit on the floor in a circle.
Play Fortune Cookie. Ask if anyone has played the game where together, as a group, they
create a story by saying one word at a time, going around the circle. (Most have) Explain
that this is like that, but instead of telling a story, they will be telling someone’s fortune.
The first person to go will announce whose fortune is being told (ex: This is Mrs. King’s
fortune) and then the next person will begin the prediction using only one word and then
the next and so on and so on until the entire class has decided that the fortune is complete.
At that point, when it feels done, everyone will clasp their hands together, bow, and
whisper “yes yes yes yes yes yes yes,” because it is such a wise fortune.
As soon as they are getting the hang of it, tell the students that they can now ask questions,
like it is a magic eight ball (ex: What will my wedding day be like?” etc.)
Tell the students that the goal isn’t to try to be funny, but to go with their impulses, to
listen to the sentence and try to fit it, and to do it is as fast as they can. Make ground rules
of anything that can’t be said (potty humor, in particular — “poop” is a funny word to 7th
graders).
Discussion:
Ask the students to go back to their chairs. Begin a discussion about the exercise by asking
the following questions: What did you have to do in order for the fortune to progress? Did
you have to listen to those around you? Go with your impulses?
Activity:
Stand in front of the students with hands open and say “I need things.” Ask for five
different objects. Students will bring you things like shoes, pencils, books, notebooks, etc.
None should be the same.
Instruct them to stand in a circle. Tell them that they all need to learn the script —
A: This is a _______!
B: A what?
A: A ________!
B: OH! A (new)_______!
The person in the middle will present their item (pencil) to someone in the circle, insisting
that it is something else (a designer handbag) and treating it as such. (This is a designer
handbag! A what? A designer handbag!) Then, the person in the circle will accept the item,
announcing it as a new item (OH! A hotdog!) and will treat the item like the new thing until
they give it to someone else. Allow this to go on for a little while, and then slowly starting
adding items so that there are eventually five different things being presented.
Discussion:
Ask the students to sit on the floor, and conduct a discussion asking the following questions.
Ask the students if it was it easy to come up with names for the gifts? Did it get easier or
harder for them as you went along? Why?
Transition:
Have all of the students go and sit back in their chairs.
Activity:
Ask for two volunteers. Explain to the students that one of these students is a visiting
foreign diplomat. They have come to tell you all about their homeland and customs, all in
gibberish. The other is his/her translator, and they will tell you everything that is being
said. Let the students demonstrate this.
Ask the students to get with a partner, and then ask each partner to find another
partnership. One person in each partner is the gibberish speaker and the other is the
translator. They have two minutes to converse this way. Ring the bell and tell them to
switch partners
Discussion:
Have a discussion with the students about what worked and what didn’t? Was your
partner “listening” to you when you were speaking gibberish? How were you able to know
what to say, as the translator?
Activity:
Tell the students that they are going to combine the two games, and we are now going to
play gibberish gift-giving.
Have the students make two lines facing each other. One line (A) is the gift giver and the
other (B) is the gift receiver. The person from A gives the person from B a present,
indicating only with gestures and their gibberish how big it is and how heavy it is. The
person from B opens the present and shows us what was inside with their gestures, their
expressions, and their gibberish. As soon as the giver gives and the receiver receives, they
go to the end of the opposite line. Let each student go through each line at least once.
Discussion:
How would you apply what we did today to theatre? What do you think this has to do with
acting? Why would following our impulses be important for actors? What was the hardest
part of today?
Storybook Scenes - Acting Unit
Lesson 2: Theatre/Stage Basics Part 1
Daily Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of stage directions and
acting positions by participating in a variety of activities, as well as completing the check
for understanding in their journals.
Materials Needed: Slips of paper, labeled with the different stage directions, ready to hand
out as soon as students start to walk into class.
Hook:
Hand each student a slip of paper as they walk into class (saying US, CS, DS, SR, SL, DSR,
DSL, USR, USL). Do not give any instructions yet. Deflect any questions about what we are
doing with the piece of paper.
Transition: Begin by asking the questions “What is theatre?” and “Where does theatre
take place?” Inevitably, someone will say that theatre takes place on a stage. This is
somewhat true, but anything can be a stage. Tell them you need them to use their
imagination to see that the carpet in the front of the room is a stage. We will be using it as a
stage today.
Introductory Activity: Ask for three brave volunteers to come up… explain that they are
going to participate in an improv scene. Explain that they are the actors, and you (the
teacher) are the director. Ask the class to give them a scenario. Before they can do much,
stop them and give them really terrible directions. On purpose. The goal is to confuse
them. After a minute of confusion, ask the students to give them a round of applause, and
invite them to return to their seat.
Ask if it was confusing for anyone. Ask the actors if they knew what it was that you wanted
them to do. Explain that this is why they had to come up with a way to give clearer
instructions. Every stage is set up this way, and it means the same thing in every theatre.
(Explain that it is from the actor’s point of view. Explain why upstage and downstage are
switched from what they might normally think.)
Transition: Have everyone take a look at their papers, and based on the conversation we
just had on upstage and downstage, and remembering that this carpet is a stage, invite
them to come sit down where they think they should go, based on the direction on their
cards.
Once everyone is seated, ask students to help you make a list of the different stage direction
cards, and define the tougher ones for them.
(Based on this, does anyone need to move?)
Instruction: Have the students get their journals, label the page as today’s journal number,
and draw the following diagram of a 3x3 grid (draw it on the board for them):
______________
Audience
Label the diagram together, as if it were a stage, and the nine boxes show the nine different
stage directions.
Activity: “Who has ever seen the first Harry Potter movie?” “Who remembers the part
where they play Wizard Chess?” This next game is kind of like that. Ask for two
volunteers. Everyone else is standing on the stage of the classroom. The volunteers will say
first who it is they want to move (whether it is one person, or a group of people (girls,
everyone wearing blue, certain birthdays, whatever)) and then where that group of people
is moving to. The two volunteers will alternate calling out. You will also rotate the
volunteers a few different times. (Depending on the class, after a few rounds of this, you
can start playing it “Musical Chairs” Style, where the last person to get there (without
running or shoving) is out. Some classes can’t handle this.)
Transition: Erase the diagram on the board and draw a new, blank one. Ask students to
return to their journals, flip open to the very last page, and draw a new one there. This new
one can’t be labeled. It must be as blank as the one on the board.
Check for Understanding: Tell them that you would like to check and make sure that
everyone gets the idea of the stage directions. Have them rip a blank piece of paper out of
their journals, and ask them to draw another stage diagram but ask them not to label it this
time. Tell them that their finger is an actor, and the diagram is a stage for their actor.
Their actor will have a starting point. Tell them that you, as the director, have some ideas
as to where the actor should go when he is on stage. Give directions, have a stopping point,
and have them draw a certain mark on that box. Do this a few times.
An X - Start downstage. Take a few steps toward upstage. Take a few steps toward upstage
right. Move upstage.
Smiley Face - Start center stage. Move toward stage right. Move downstage center. Take a
few steps toward downstage left, then move upstage left.
Their Initial - Start stage left. Move upstage left. Move toward downstage right. Cross to
downstage right.
Let them pick the mark - Turn to the person next to you. Give them a starting point, three
or four directions to follow, and an ending point. Switch so that you are each testing each
other.
Transition: Ask them to turn in their papers. Put your journals under your chairs, we will
come back to them later.
Activity: Explain the Machine Game. This time it isn’t a still picture, but a moving
machine made out of people. One person starts the machine, doing a repetitive movement
and a repetitive sound. Other people add on when they feel inspired. Ask for a volunteer to
start. Watch for when the machine is “done.” Play this until you see a good example
machine with people facing all sorts of directions.
Discussion: Freeze the machine. Ask the audience questions. Who is the focal point? Who is
your eye drawn to? Which way are people facing? Did you notice that not everyone is
facing the audience? What does that do to the picture?
Instruction: Talk about how in acting, just like there are stage directions, there are also
directions for the actor to face - actor positions. Talk about it like it is a clock. The trick to
knowing what they are called is looking at how much of the actor’s face you can see. (Full
front, full back, half - profile, 1/4 right, left, etc.)
Draw a person, bird’s eye view, on the board. Have students help to label the different
actor positions. Ask them to copy this into their journals. Talk about what might be the
strongest, and what might be the weakest.
Activity: Have everyone stand up in their places. Play a quick game of Simon Says with the
acting positions. Tell them that they are the actor, so this time the stage is the chairs and
their left is stage left, etc. Tell them not to look at the papers on the walls because they will
confuse them.
If there is time at the end: Have students play freeze, but between every two or three
scenes, make a new rule about acting positions or stage directions (ex: you are only allowed
to move upstage and downstage, one of you needs to be facing full back at all times, you
may only face 1/2 right or left, etc.)
Storybook Scenes - Acting Unit
Lesson 3: Theatre/Stage Basics Part 2
Daily Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of stage directions and
acting positions by participating in a variety of activities, as well as completing the check
for understanding in their journals.
Materials Needed: Stage Term Relay Race Papers.
Hook:
Have students grab their journals on the way out the door as they follow you to the
auditorium.
Activity:
Lead students on a tour of the stage. Have them take notes on the different stage terms.
- House
- Pit
- Apron
- Grand Drapes
- Teaser
- Proscenium Arch
- Leg
- Cyclorama
- Backstage/Offstage
- Onstage
- Baton
- Electric
- Traveler
- Wing
Transition:
Move students back to the classroom.
Instruction:
Draw the different types of stages on the board and talk with students about the differences
as you label them. Ask students if they have seen any plays on these different kinds of
stages. Have students draw and label these in their notebooks.
- Proscenium Stage
- Thrust Stage
- Theatre in the Round/Arena Stage
Review Activity:
Set up two podiums. Divide the class into two different teams. Play a family feud style
review game with the students (first one to buzz in gets to answer).
Activity:
Move back to the auditorium and divide the class into eight different groups. The first
person in each line has to do all of the items 1-10 before passing it on to the next person. As
soon as everyone in your group has gone, you have to sit down. The first group that is
finished, with everyone seated, wins!
Stage Term Relay Race
1. Crawl along the center line from upstage to downstage.
2. Do five jumping jacks facing 1⁄4 right while standing downstage left.
3. Cross from stage left to stage right using the crossover or grapevine move.
4. Hop over to touch one of the stage left legs then skip over to touch one of the
stage right legs.
5. Recite the entire alphabet while standing in the house.
6. Crab walk along the proscenium line from stage right to stage left.
7. Hop on one foot to upstage right and point to (BUT DO NOT TOUCH) the cyc.
8. Turn around three times while hopping on one foot in down stage center.
9. Sing Row Row Row Your Boat three times in the stage right wing.
10. Say the Pledge of Allegiance while standing on the apron and facing full back.
Storybook Scenes - Acting Unit
Lesson 4: Introduction: Stories into Scripts
Daily Objective: Students will choose storybooks to turn into mini-plays, and they will
write an outline of their mini-plays.
Materials Needed: A favorite picture book from your own childhood.
Hook:
Invite students to join you on the rug for story time. Introduce the story. Tell them why you
chose it (what it means to you, why you remember it from your childhood, who read it to
you, etc.) Begin reading the picture book to the students. Go all out, like it is story time at
Barnes and Nobles.
Stop the story halfway through (at an important and pivotal point) and have students get in
groups with people around them. They need to create a short skit for how they think the
story will end. Give them three minutes to discuss and one minute to perform. Have
everyone perform their one minute guesses for the ending.
After students have performed, read them the rest of the story.
Transition:
Have students move to their seats, picking up their journals on the way.
Instruct students to write in their journals answering the following prompt:
Journal Entry: What is your favorite picture book or story from your childhood? Why?
What does it mean to you now?
**Have students write a brief synopsis of the story beneath their answer.
Discussion:
Ask students if they have ever seen a movie that came from a book. Examples? How do you
think they did that? What about a play from a book? Ever heard of that? (If not, give some
examples. Like Wizard of Oz, Wicked, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Holes,
The Giver, etc.)
Explain that they are going to do something similar with the stories that they came up with.
Transition:
Talk about this project a little bit. Tell students the basics of what they will be doing over
the next few class periods. They will be turning their stories into short plays that they will
then perform in class.
Tell them that they are going to READ the first part of the story (1-2 minutes of it) and
then they will act out the rest of it in their groups (4-3 minutes) for a performance that is a
total of five minutes. These performances must include every person in your groups. You
will need to pick a story that you can read to the class, so someone must own it or borrow it
or be able to check it out of the library.
They will learn different ways to make their mini-plays better every class, things to add
onto it or enhance it (like blocking, characterization, etc.).
At this point, the lesson could go one of two ways. Either you split them into predetermined
groups, or you allow them to get into a group of three or four. (I let them get into their own
groups).
Instruction:
Ask students to share their journal entries/story ideas with their classmates. Have each
group choose which one they are going to adapt into a short play. Have them begin writing
an outline.
Check for understanding:
Have them write an outline for their plays, that they turn in (doesn’t need to be graded), so
that you can check that everyone has a story, and see who needs help next class.
Storybook Scenes - Acting Unit
Lesson 5: The Basics of Script Writing
Daily Objective: Students will demonstrate their developing understanding of scriptwriting as they turn their story ideas into scripts.
Materials Needed: 10-12 different plays and 10-12 different novels.
Hook:
Ask the question: How is a script different from a novel? How is it written differently?
Make a list on the board of any difference that they mention.
Pass out different examples of scripts for students to look at in their groups.
Add anything to the board that didn’t make it already onto the list.
Activity:
Hand a script and a novel to each different group. Allow them a few minutes to look
through each, noticing the differences. Ask them if there is anything that is missing from
the list on the board.
Things to make sure are up there:
-
less descriptive
dialogue is written differently
scenes and acts instead of chapters
stage directions in parenthesis (are these said out loud?)
perspective is different
Journal Entry: Check for understanding
Write the following situation like it is a script for a play: etc.
John walks into the kitchen, his brother Alex is sitting at the table.
“Hey,” said John, looking in the fridge and grabbing a soda. Alex mumbled under his
breath.
“What’s wrong?” John asked, patting Alex on the shoulder.
“Don’t touch me,” Alex growled.
Would turn into something like:
(JOHN walks into the kitchen, ALEX is already sitting at the table)
JOHN: Hey. (while walking to the fridge, looking inside, grabbing a soda)
(ALEX mumbles something under his breath)
JOHN: What’s wrong? (crosses to Alex, patting him on the shoulder)
ALEX: (shouting) Don’t touch me!
JOHN: (confused) What did I do?
ALEX: (laughs bitterly) Oh, like you don’t know.
(ALEX pushes his chair back from the table and leaves)
Ask volunteers to come up, one at a time, and write the next part on the board. Then, when
we have all agreed that it is written correctly, have them write what happens next. Three or
four more lines of the script.
Have them work in their groups, starting to write their scripts. Tell them that this isn’t a
final script, just a starting point. They are welcome to change it any time they like.
Tell them that it is likely that this will change, so have them write down only what they
KNOW needs to happen, what they KNOW people need to say, etc.
Give them the rest of the class time to do this. Walk around and ask if anyone needs help,
answer questions, and check that people are doing this.
Storybook Scenes - Acting Unit
Lesson 6: Motivated Blocking
Daily Objective: Students will demonstrate an understanding of blocking by roughly
blocking their scenes and writing down blocking in their scripts.
Materials Needed: None.
Hook:
Draw a diagram of the stage on the board. (9 squares.) With the students’ help, fill in all the
stage areas. Briefly review how to write stage directions.
Draw a little couch center stage of your diagram, a table up left, and a stick figure on the couch.
Draw an arrow of a stick figure’s blocking path on the board and see if the students can write the
stage directions. (such as cross DSR or XDSR.)
Ask students to change writing implements with the person next to them and draw an arrow of
the stick figure’s path as you read the following directions.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The man gets up from the couch.
The man walks down stage and talks.
The man crosses up stage right behind the table.
The man crosses to up (center) stage.
The man does a circular cross around the end table to down stage left.
The man exits down stage right.
Have the students come up one at a time to draw one step of the stage directions with arrows to
see if they were doing it correctly. Remind them of ways to keep left, right, up and down
straight.
Instruction:
Go over the three different types of onstage movement.
1. Movement from Place to Place – Just what it sounds like
2. Gestures – Using our hands, arms, face & body to communicate non-verbally. (We also
use gestures to add to our verbal communication.)
3. Stage Business – What we do with our bodies on stage. Are we fiddling with a prop,
sitting with our legs crossed, knitting a sweater, etc?
Individual Practice:
Allow students time to work on their scripts and to work on blocking.’
Storybook Scenes - Acting Unit
Lesson 7: Creating characters
Daily Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of creating characters by
participating in various activities and discussions, and by answering questions about their
own characters.
Materials Needed:
Characters Powerpoint
Tape (if you want)
Instagram assignment sheet
Hook:
Start with a short discussion, asking the following questions:
What do you know about creating a character so far? What do you think you learned from
your puppets and your pantomime stories that can apply here? What can you use to
pretend to be someone else? Voice? Body? Costumes? Facial expressions?
Transition:
Ask students to get out their journals. Show the character powerpoint, and with each
picture, ask for words that describe this person/character.
With the first two, ask them to answer out loud.
With the rest of the slides, have them write down FIVE words that describe that character.
Ask them to skip a line before each, to save room, because they are going to come back to
these.
Now go back through and ask the students to write down how that person’s voice would
sound. Ask for brave volunteers to demonstrate a possible voice for that character. Again,
use the first two for a together example.
List of pictures in the powerpoint:
1. Old man/Grandpa
2. Young girl/Toddler
3. Angry mom
4. Cheerleader CHEERING
5. Sick older woman
6. Bored teenaged boy
7. Flight attendant
8. Teacher (you can decide the situation)
9. Radio show host
10. YOUR NEIGHBOR!!! (no picture) (just for fun)
Activity:
Invite students to move around the classroom as a specific character. At first they should
be in soft focus, and just focusing on the movements of that character (silently). Ask them
to walk like that character, move like that character (gestures and facial expressions).
Then, ask them to greet others, as they continue to move around the space. Ask them to use
a voice that the character might use.
List of characters to choose from:
Themselves (to start with)
Football Jock*
Crazy Cat Lady
Damsel in Distress
Cowboy*
Nerd*
Popular kid in school*
Alien invader
Action Hero
Dumb Blonde
Zombie
Drill Sergeant
Principal*
Toddler
Grandpa
Thief
Cheerleader*
Rock Star
Surfer Dude*
Discussion:
Have students sit down where they are. Ask, “What is a stereotype?” Have a few people
add to the definition. Get some examples. “Is a stereotype good or bad?”
Ask why stereotypes maybe don’t make the best or most interesting characters… How they
can be a good place to start, but why they aren’t very realistic… “What can you do to make
them more realistic?”
Activity:
Select a few of the characters to try again and ask students to make some more realistic,
less stereotypical characters. (This should be brief. Choose only four or five more.)
Instruction:
Invite students to go back to their journals, and on the same page, do the same thing for
their OWN characters. Have students go back to their journals and write down FIVE
words that describe their own characters for their play.
Ask them to write down what their character’s voice would sound like?
How do they move? How do they walk? What gestures do they make (face and body)?
How are you going to make your character more realistic and less of a stereotype?
Activity:
Invite individual groups of students to come up and “model” how their character moves by
walking a “runway.” Have the students in one group all go at the same time.
If you are low on time, but would still like to include this activity, have all of the students
come walk around the room again, but this time as their characters. Ask them to make
realistic choices.
Discussion:
“Looks and how they sound are only a part of creating a character. What else do you need
to know about the character or decide about the character?”
(feelings, emotions, actions, etc.)
In their journals, under their character description, ask them to answer the following
questions about their characters.
1. What does your character care about?
2. What kind of person are they?
3. How does your character treat people that they like?
4. How does your character treat people that they don’t like?
Assignment:
Instagram characterization worksheet. Instruct students to find ONE picture (whether it is
found on the internet, in a magazine, or one they take themselves) that their character
might instagram (supposing they had an account). Have students come up with an
instagram handle, or name, for their character (and show them where to write it). Students
will also need to write a caption for their photo (they may include hashtags if they want to).
These are due NEXT class. (ask if anyone has questions)
If there is time at the end:
Play Hitchhiker or Park Bench.
Storybook Scenes - Acting Unit
Lesson 8: Objectives and Tactics
Daily Objective: Students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of objectives and tactics by
participating in different activities and discussions, and by deciding their character’s objective and three
tactics they can use.
Materials Needed:
- four sheets of butcher paper
Follow-up From Last Class:
Have students get with their groups. Allow five minutes for everyone to present their instagram
assignment, and for everyone in their group to comment (in character) on everyone’s post. Have them
turn it into the basket.
Hook:
Have all the students sit in a circle. Ask who knows the game If you Love me, Won’t you please please
Smile? Explain that this in this game, someone starts in the middle. They have to choose someone in the
circle, and they have to try to make them smile but ALL they can say is “If you love me, won’t you please
smile?” If the person smiles, then they switch places and take a turn in the middle. As students play this
game, offer some side coaching (specifically to encourage them to try something new if what they are
doing isn’t working (try to get as many tactics out of them as possible)).
Transition & Instruction:
Ask “What were you trying to do in that game? What did you want?” Write down the objective of the
game on the board (I wanted ____ to smile).
Write the word OBJECTIVE on the board. “Who has ever seen or heard of this word before? What does it
mean?” (they will probably say “goal”)
Objective: Goal. Aspirations. What a character wants.
Explain that in a play, an actor needs to know what his character wants because it will influence his acting
choices.
- Think: Something to fight for and why. (What are some examples?)
- Should fit into the following formula (I want (person) to (verb/action)) Write the
formula on the board.
- Explain how an objective is more interesting when there is another person
involved. How “I want to eat ice cream” is less interesting than “I want my mom
to let me eat ice cream for dinner”
How were you trying to get what you wanted? (Get some examples. Write them on the board in “to ____”
format. Explain Tactic: What a character does to get what they want. A strategy.
- A strong tactic is a verb. It fits in this phrase “to _____ him/her” Write this on
the board.
- Must go through your scene partner. “What do you think that means?”
- Think of the reaction you want from the other character. How do you want them
to feel or what do you want them to do and how do you get there.
- “I want to persuade my mom to let me eat ice cream for dinner”
Activity:
Come up with a great example of an objective together as a class. Have it written on the board for
reference.
(Ex: I want MRS. KING to HACK INTO THE ONLINE GRADING SYSTEM AND GIVE US ALL A’S
FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR or: I want THE PRINCIPAL to REPLACE SCHOOL LUNCHES
WITH CAFE RIO)
Explain that everyone is in a play. That the person mentioned in the objective is a character and that so
are they. In this play, there is a scene where they set up a meeting with that character and they need to
think of actable tactics that work for a stage. So! They are characters, in a meeting, on a stage, trying to
get something from the person in the objective.
Pass out sheets of butcher paper (four groups) and have them write down as many actable tactics that they
could use to get what they want on their paper. Give them a few minutes to do this. Then, have them flip
over the piece of paper and make a list like with Scattergories where they can’t have any repeats of
anyone else. Give a few more minutes.
Have one student from each group write their top ten (that they think no one else will have) on the board.
Activity:
Have the students get with a partner. Choose between you who is A and who is B. Have the two lines on
the board?
a: Don’t go into that room.
b: I need my keys.
They should try to say these lines to each other in as many different ways as they can. Instruct students to
choose tactics from the lists on the board and try to use them as they say these lines. Give them a few
minutes before switching who is A and who is B in their partnerships. Have them do it multiple times,
trying out different tactics, to see what works best.
Discussion:
Have a brief discussion about the use of tactics in order to get what they want. What was different each
time they said the line? What did they notice? Did anyone try something that they felt worked really well?
Transition:
Have the students move to their seats and get out their journals.
Practice and Assessment:
1. They need to decide their objective for their scenes, and write down three tactics they could use.
2. Write down how that will influence their acting choices.
*Leave the master list on the board for reference during the A/B activity and the journal entry.
Storybook Scenes - Acting Unit
Lesson 9: Rehearsal Day
Daily Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of the assignment by
playing rehearsal bingo.
Materials Needed:
- rehearsal bingo sheets for everyone.
Hook:
Pass out rehearsal bingo sheets as students walk into the classroom.
Instruction:
Go over the different squares with the students, explaining what each one entails. (The goal
is to get blackout. They can’t sign their own squares.)
Check with them every fifteen-twenty minutes of class and see how many squares they have
filled out and where they are in the process. Explain to the groups that are rushing through
it or taking too long where they should be at the next check point.
Remind students of the performances next class.
Name: ______________________
Period: ________
Rehearsal Bingo!
The goal is blackout. Your group should try to pass off each square by completing the task that it
describes. As soon as you finish a square, someone from your group or another group has to
initial it for you. Good luck!
Run-Thru as a
Group
For Review
Run-Thru as a
Group Without
Scripts (x3)
Make Sure it is
Within Time Limit
(4-5 mins)
Practice:
Perform for Another
Motivated Blocking Group and Receive
Feedback
Practice:
Characterization
Perform for Another
Group and Receive
Feedback
Practice:
Objectives and
Tactics
Make a list of any
costumes and props
you need and who is
bringing them.
Storybook Scenes - Acting Unit
Lesson 9: Performance Day
Daily Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of the principles of sceneacting by performing their rehearsed storybook scenes and by completing a reflection.
Materials Needed:
Rubrics for each student.
Hook:
Allow students ten minutes at the beginning of class to rehearse.
Instruction:
Establish a performance order.
Move to the performance space (we performed in the commons). Ask students to bring
their journals.
Have each group perform.
After each performance, while the next group is setting up, have students write down one
thing that the previous group did well.
After all of the performances, have students move back to the classroom. On that same
journal entry, have students write down three things they felt they did well and one thing
they would improve on if they were to do it again.
Students can play Freeze! with any time that is left.
Storybook Scene Performance Score Sheet
Memorization
1
2
3
4
5
Characterization
1
2
3
4
5
Projection
1
2
3
4
5
Time Limit
1
2
3
4
5
Professional Performance
1
2
3
4
5