Learning through Theater
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Willimantic, Connecticut, United States
About the store
I am a teacher who has worked in the field of theater-in-education for the past 48 years. Passionate about theater as a resource in the learning process, I have spoken at conferences throughout the country and am now developing lessons that will help more teachers to use theater as a vehicle through which they can reinforce curricular and humanistic objectives. I was a child who would have benefited from a weekly scheduled "theater time" in which we acted out a scene from a social studies lesson or dramatized a poem. My research and my practice over the decades have shown me that positive theater experiences can anchor in a deeper kind of learning in all students.
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A Christmas Carol: A Play Told in Six Scenes
This wonderful story written by Charles Dickens is a must for students and teachers looking for a fun and simple dramatic reading or a staged production to share with the school or family and friends. Adapted for the stage by Carol J. Macy. Dickens has an important message about kindness and caring verses striving for material wealth. Each scene asks for only minimal props and costume pieces. Victorian Christmas music can be uploaded online or purchased on a CD. Students will LOVE acting ou
4th - 12th
Drama, Instrumental Music, Literature
CCSS
RL.6.2
, RL.6.3
, RL.6.4
+14
Bringing Literature to Life with 3rd-8th Graders
This product is designed to help educators lead their students in the dramatization of stories or scenes from stories. The lesson includes exercises in the art of improvisation for the stage; exercises that will prepare students to improvise more easily when dramatizing a story. In addition, this product includes a scripted version of the Greek myth "Pandora's Box" for students to dramatize. This approach to dramatizing stories involves narration, improvised responses to the narrator on the p
3rd - 8th
Drama, Instrumental Music, Literature
CCSS
RL.3.2
, RL.3.3
, RL.3.10
+20
The Little River Creature: A Play for 1st - 3rd grade
Turning a story into a play can help educators to take any one of the stories on their shelves and then dramatize that story with their students. Children will delight in becoming the different characters. Carol integrates narration, improvisation, music, and sound effects to bring literature to life. In this lesson, students will listen to the story of The Little River Creature and will then become a part of the story following the narration and responding with non-verbal and verbal improvi
PreK - 2nd
Drama, English Language Arts, Instrumental Music
CCSS
RL.2.1
, RL.2.2
, RL.2.3
+4
Bringing Literature to Life with Pre-K-2nd Grade
This lesson demonstrates to teachers how to lead students through simple dramatizations of stories by using the tools of Narration, Improvisation, and Music. Special exercises are offered that will free the imagination and help actors prepare to act out stories by responding to narration and then using their own words while they portray the different characters. In addition, the lessons will help teachers to dramatize The Little Engine that Could with students. Also included is a script for A
PreK - 2nd
Drama, English Language Arts, Literature
CCSS
SL.1.1c
, SL.1.2
, SL.1.6
+7
The Dream: Celebrating Black History in a Short Play
This inspiring short play is designed to introduce students to the difference that four African-Americans made in helping our country move in the direction of equality for all citizens. In the story, a student, who was asked to write a paper on one African-American who fought for equal rights, is unsure of where to begin. After falling asleep, the student is greeted by a dream figure and taken to different scenes from the lives of four courageous Americans. Worksheets are included to help acto
4th - 12th
Drama, U.S. History
CCSS
CCRA.R.2
, CCRA.R.3
, CCRA.R.4
+12
The Nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen is a gifted author who has engaged both children and adults with his magical stories. This simple adaptation for the stage involves students in a play that helps actors and audiences to remember what is important in life and to be reminded that the natural world is filled with many wonders that uplift us more than all of the things money can buy. This play works well with K-1st grade when actors use their own words in response to the narrator's lines. The script has be
1st - 8th
Drama, English Language Arts, Music
CCSS
RL.2.1
, RL.2.2
, RL.2.10
+9
Thumbelina: A Play for K-3rd Graders
Thumbelina is a delightful story by Hans Christian Andersen. So much of classic literature has been forgotten today, so I have chosen to adapt this story for the stage. I've always felt that every fairy tale does not need to end in a marriage, and so this version returns Thumbelina to a fairy kingdom that lives in her mother's garden. Every role is a fun one to play. Children who cannot read can get familiar with the play and use their own words as the fish or the mole with the narrator's h
K - 3rd
Art, Drama, Literature
CCSS
RL.K.1
, RL.K.2
, RL.K.3
+13
Acting Out Poetry with 1st and 2nd Graders
This lesson is designed to give educators tools that will support them in dramatizing poetry to music with their students. The lesson includes several of the many poems that have been successfully dramatized with students in these grades. It is hoped that this lesson will be a springboard for educators who want to bring poetry to life with their students. The lesson can help you create a performance for the school, for another class, or simply a fun workshop for students; a workshop that will
1st - 2nd
Drama, English Language Arts, Instrumental Music
CCSS
CCRA.L.3
, CCRA.L.5
Three Prompts for Poetry and Acting out Original Poems with 3rd-8th Grade
Three Prompts for Poetry encourages students to write their own poetry based on three exercises. In addition, this lesson includes a simple approach to dramatizing original poetry with students. Music is added to provide atmosphere, to support the actors, and to engage an audience. This lesson is a wonderful opportunity to include language arts, theater, and music in one lesson.
3rd - 8th
Drama, English Language Arts, Instrumental Music
CCSS
W.K.3
, W.K.8
, W.3.3
+10
Acting Out Poetry with 3rd-6th Grade
Dramatizing poetry with students gives them the opportunity to experience language with their whole selves. Poetry has often been viewed as something boring or something that has to rhyme. In this lesson, students are up on their feet doing a warm-up exercise that prepares them to become anything in a poem and then moving seamlessly into the dramatizing poetry. Adding music will provide atmosphere, support the actors, and engage an audience.
3rd - 6th
Drama, English Language Arts, Literature
CCSS
RL.3.10
, RL.4.2
, RL.4.4
+10
River Dragons: A Play for 1st -3rd grade
River Dragons is a poem that was turned into a play for 1st -3rd graders. The lesson is designed to encourage students to experience the difference between listening to a poem and dramatizing it on a stage. Students will enter the world of five whimsical river dragons who gather every night in early fall to sing and chant their river songs in a community of river dragons. The experience includes the entire class and can be a one-time workshop or a play that is practiced over time and presented
1st - 3rd
Drama, English Language Arts, Instrumental Music
CCSS
SL.2.2
, SL.2.4
, SL.2.5
+4
PANDORA'S BOX: A Play for Grades 3rd-8th
This adaptation of the Greek Myth, Pandora's Box, is a delightful way to introduce your students to the fun of using their own words and actions to respond to the narration and stage directions in the play. In this way, teachers can create an authentic performance where students do not need to memorize lines, but can improvise with their words and actions throughout the play. This lesson includes a warm-up exercise that will help students to improvise in a scene, using their own words. The n
3rd - 8th
Drama, English Language Arts, Instrumental Music
CCSS
RL.3.2
, RL.3.3
, RL.4.2
+10
Acting Out Poetry with Pre-K-Kindergarten
This lesson gives educators tools to help them successfully involve their students in acting out poetry. The lesson begins with an exercise called "Show me a Picture" and then moves easily into dramatizing poetry to music. Teachers are asked to buy a roll of blue painter's tape to prepare and outlining a stage in their classroom. It is hoped that "Theater Time" will be a regularly scheduled event. Dramatizing poetry to music can stand on its own as an exercise that helps students to listen to
PreK - K
Drama, English Language Arts, Music
CCSS
SL.K.2
, SL.K.3
, CCRA.L.3
+1
Overheard on the Middle River: A Play about Kindness
This is a play or readers' theater piece about KINDNESS. There are many roles for students with easy to memorize (or to read) lines. In this play, a small bird is feeling very alone and has been watching a flock of waterbirds gather on a river every day. One day the waterbirds notice him. Each bird reaches out to say something kind to him. And in the end, they all fly into the sky together. Worksheets reflect on the theme and ask students to write down some of the ways in which they can be
1st - 3rd
Drama, Literature, Social Emotional Learning
CCSS
RL.1.1
, RL.1.2
, RL.1.3
+14
Bread and Confidence: A Play about Believing in Yourself
Here is a play about believing in yourself that can be read aloud in class or performed with your students, whether it is shared with the class next door or at a school assembly. The play can also be presented as a celebration of any special occasion such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day, or a graduation as well. The theme of this play is do your best and to have confidence in yourself. It also emphasizes the importance of making a little difference in the lives of those arou
3rd - 6th
Drama, English Language Arts, Music
CCSS
RL.4.2
, RL.4.3
, RL.4.4
+11
The Imagination Box: Sparking Creativity Pre-K- 3rd
The Imagination Box is an exercise that is designed to help students develop their imaginations. It is also a great way to introduce "Theatre Time" in your classroom. With a roll of blue painter's tape outlining a stage, you are on your way to giving your students the opportunity to learn through drama. The imagination box allows students to develop their imaginations through a simple exercise. Include instrumental music to create atmosphere, support the actors, and to engage the audience.
PreK - 3rd
For All Subjects, Music
Showing 1-16 of 16 results
About the store
Experience
I am a teacher who has worked in the field of theater-in-education for the past 48 years. Passionate about theater as a resource in the learning process, I have spoken at conferences throughout the country and am now developing lessons that will help more teachers to use theater as a vehicle through which they can reinforce curricular and humanistic objectives. I was a child who would have benefited from a weekly scheduled "theater time" in which we acted out a scene from a social studies lesson or dramatized a poem. My research and my practice over the decades have shown me that positive theater experiences can anchor in a deeper kind of learning in all students.
Teaching style
It might be easier for me to communicate my teaching style by asking you to watch me at work and to tell me what you think I believe about education. Throughout the decades as an educator and teaching artist in the field of theater arts, I have cared deeply about finding the different ways to engage students and to insure that they were learning. In graduate school, I cared about the essential question, “What is it that happens between a facilitator and students that engages those students and helps them to succeed as learners?” I believe that one of those important qualities on the part of the educator is to believe that the student can succeed and to communicate that belief to every individual.
My own education history
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from The School of Fine and Applied Arts at Boston University.
Master of Arts Degree in Theater Education from Norwich University in Vermont.
Additional biographical information
Please visit my website, www.carolmacy.com, to learn more about my background, to read what others have said about my work, and to enjoy photographs and video clips of me directing and leading workshops with students from Kindergarten thru high school in New York, Vermont, California, and Connecticut. As a traditional classroom teacher, I have taught Kindergarten for three years as well as high school students for 11 years in Connecticut. There I taught theater, social studies, English, Literature, American Sign Language, and Writing.
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