Long Island Kindergarten Show Cancelled for College Prep Test: Why This Makes No Sense

It was reported by many news sources, and it made headlines when the principal of the Harley Avenue Elementary School in Elmwood, which is located on Long Island, cancelled the annual kindergarten variety show. Why was it shutdown? This was

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The Fantasticks: History and Themes for Classroom Discussion, Part 3

Romantic Fantasy in Moonlight, Cold Reality in Daylight Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt named Act I of The Fantasticks “In the Moonlight” (due to its romantic mood) and Act II “In the Sun,” which is where the audience witnesses what

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Teaching Commedia dell’ Arte, Part II

Character Walks Since Commedia Dell’ Arte is a physical theatrical art form, it is essential and fun to have students experiment with various ways of moving their bodies. Have the students walk around the classroom as a character of their

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The Arts and Learning: Theatre in the Classroom and Community

In Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on Learning, the preeminent study on the usefulness and importance of the arts as a teaching and achievement tool, Richard Riley, Secretary, Department of Education, wrote. “The ultimate challenge for American

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Reader’s Theatre in the Classroom: Part 2, Reading Rock Stars

I found inspiration for the following Reader’s Theatre activity at www.readwritethink.org. Visit this site to discover ways in which you can expand the following activity, for links, and even more Reader’s Theatre ideas to use in the classroom! Reading Rock

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Reader’s Theatre in the Classroom: Part I, The Basics

What It Is Reader’s Theatre is a fun approach for developing reading confidence in children. It engages kids to engage in oral reading by reading characters in scripts that has been developed from a short story or novel. It is

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The Dynamics of Classroom Playwriting and Reading Aloud, Part II

In the first part of this two part series, we discussed some of the benefits of playwriting in the classroom, how teachers can get basic playwriting training and how to use playwriting exercises when teaching. Plays by their very nature

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Teaching Spanish in the Classroom through Theatre

What better way is there to apply the Spanish language and culture in the classroom than through theatre? It definitely helps to have classes where the students engage in traditional learning, such as writing down Spanish vocabulary, watching movies in

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The Dynamics of Classroom Playwriting and Reading Aloud, Part I

Playwriting in the classromm, theatre arts and teaching

Why Dramatic Writing and Reading? Playwriting can be a useful tool in active learning, especially if you take the stance that plays are meant to be heard and seen and not simply read silently by individuals. Just about any subject

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Basic Playwriting Exercise: Character Conflict

This is a simple playwriting exercise designed to get students writing dialogue and creating conflict on stage. As it is with all exercises, there are rules for this one. Sometimes students will protest the fact that there are rules for

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Teaching Students Depression-era Themes in ANNIE

Annie the Musical History Depression FDR

A Bit of History ANNIE is a Broadway musical based upon the newspaper strip Little Orphan Annie, created by Harold Gray in 1924. The plot of the comic strip follows the adventures of Annie (who wanders throughout a world full

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