Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8

*Click to open and customize your own copy of the Drama Lesson Plan

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Drama, and supports the standard of  referring to the structural elements of drama when writing or speaking about a text. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Prompt students to think of a TV show or movie they’ve seen that was adapted from a book, like Because of Winn Dixie or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Ask students:

  • How is the experience of reading the story different from watching it on screen?

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

  • Read the description on the Drama topic page.
  • Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding. 
  • Assign Related Reading. Have students read one of the following articles: “Around the World” or “Famous Faces.” Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Assign the Drama Quiz, prompting students to apply essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about drama while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

  • Make-a-Movie: Produce a movie dramatizing a scene from a book you’ve read that makes the audience identify with characters.  
  • Make-a-Map: Create a concept map comparing and contrasting different forms of drama. 
  • Creative Coding: Code a sorting game where players determine whether information describes comedies, tragedies, or both. 

More to Explore 

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of drama with these topics: William Shakespeare, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Dialogue.

 

Teacher Support Resources:

Learning Activities Support: Resources for best practices using BrainPOP.