Elementary Reading Lesson Plan: Drama

The following reading lesson plan is geared toward upper elementary reading students, but may be altered for another level. It is a three to four day reading lesson plan. The purpose of the lesson is to teach children the characteristics of drama, and how a drama is different than a short story.

Reading Lesson One:

Give students a copy of a famous short story and a copy of a short drama. Ask the students to compare the two and write down any differences they see in how each is written.

Ask a few students to share what they wrote down. On the board, write what they found.

Tell students that a drama is meant to be performed on stage and a short story is meant to be read.

Give students the following notes on elements of a drama: See figure 1

Have students look at the short story that they received at the beginning of the class (Use something short). Have the reading class brainstorm ways that the story can be changed into a drama. On the board, write what needs to be changed to convert the short story to a drama. This will help reading students understand the challenge of writing a drama as opposed to a story. It will also reinforce the elements of a drama that were discussed.

Collect the copies of the short stories and dramas. Tell the students they will be writing a drama in reading class tomorrow.

Reading Lesson Two: (This lesson may need to be divided into two reading class periods)

Pass out copies of the short story. Review with the class the elements of a drama (Notes from yesterday).

Divide the reading class into groups of four or five. Tell each group to convert the short story to a drama. Remind them that they need to tell most of the story through the dialog of the characters. They may have a few small narrator parts, but keep it to a minimum. Make sure they include stage directions where needed.

Monitor each group to make sure that they are on the right track and they are working efficiently. Give them guidance when needed.

After each group finishes writing their drama, give them time to practice performing it. Keep them informed of the time so they will be able to finish their drama before the end of class.

Reading Lesson Three:

Have each group perform their drama for the reading class. After each group performs, discuss the ways they changed their short story into drama form.