One thing I’ve found is that drama doesn’t have to be a separate subject; it can be incorporated into most subjects you are already doing. In fact, integrating subjects together is a wonderful idea when teaching kids because it builds depth in their learning and skills developed. Whether you just want to play some drama games, perform a play, or create and present a mock trial, I have ideas for you for this school year.

Hi! My name is Danielle and I have homeschooled my kids from Pre-K through high school and have enjoyed many different ways to fit drama into our homeschool and now want to share what I’ve learned with you.

If this is your first time, you might want to start super simple and then build from there. If you have two semesters with your students, then you can assess how things are going and add more for the second semester. We have drama bundles that can simplify your life and help you get started.

Important skills to work on with middle school students:

• Critical thinking skills

• Writing skills

• Presentation skills

• Debate skills

• Organizational skills

• Leadership skills

When planning for a drama class, I always start the year planning on drama games and a play. This way if this is all we do, students learn important acting skills and other skills listed above while having fun warming up with drama games to prepare them for the play we will do later in that semester or the next. It also helps me assess which kids are all in and ready for a bigger role and which ones need something a little smaller with less lines and stage time. They are auditioning without even knowing it. 😉

Next, I consider if we have enough time or if I want to dig deeper with older students and add more. This could be integrating subjects together or just adding something different that the students haven’t experienced before. It’s fun to take great literature or a play to another level.

Write a Playscript with a Homeschool Group

I usually have a lot of flexibility with a homeschool group, but even when I planned my drama class for a middle school and high school group at a hybrid private school, I was able to add the writing element to what they were doing. The English teacher loved the idea of blending literature and writing with drama as well, so he was on board to support me when I planned to have my students work together to write a playscript based on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This class was the reason I first wrote How to Write a Playscript - A Christmas Carol.

Maybe you love A Christmas Carol and are excited about working on a group project to have your kids write the middle sections of the play while the first and last chapters are already written in playscript format for you. Or maybe that sounds a bit daunting for your first time guiding students in writing a play and you’d like to start with something simpler.

If you’ve read Middle School Students Can Enjoy Great Literature from Drama, you learned about many of the greatest stories ever written that are now available on the public domain. The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm is on that list and an easy one to work from when writing your first script.

Write a Playscript from a Fairy Tale

Reading great literature is often included in middle school curriculum, but it doesn’t have to stop there. For instance, say you are reading and discussing Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Many are familiar today thanks to movies that have been produced and little fairy tale books, but there are even better ways to dig deeper into these famous tales.

When writing a play, everyone has to start somewhere. An easy place to start is to write a playscript based on one of these famous tales. “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” is a good example of a short story with a lot of options. It doesn’t require a lot of dialogue and can be written many different ways. Students can use exactly what they see in the text using a narrator to tell most of the story, or they can create dialogue based on what the characters are said to be doing in the story. They can also extend the tale or add characters to make it more their own.

Writing a playscript from a fairy tale incorporates WRITING, LITERATURE and DRAMA all in one. Students can take it a step further and act out their newly written scripts with friends or be the director and learn LEADERSHIP and ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS while leading others.

Another really fun way to dig deeper into a fairy tale is to do a mock trial.

Create and Present a Jack and the Beanstalk Mock Trial

“Jack and the Beanstalk” may seem like a story for elementary students, until you decide to put Jack on trial for stealing the Giant’s belongings. CRITICAL THINKING and DEBATE SKILLS are developed as students read the story from a new perspective. Which characters are good witnesses for Jack’s side (Plaintiff), and which are best for the Defense representing the Giant’s wife who is now left with nothing?

My kids and their friends have loved formal mock trials and literature-based mock trials. Both can develop similar skills, but the literature-based mock trials take less time to put together and present. It is also a lot of fun to take some of your favorite characters and put them on trial. Be sure to use literature books from the public domain or check out our mock trial curriculum here and save time!

You Can Teach Drama to Middle School Students

Drama is a great way to add fun to what your students are already studying, but fun isn’t the only thing they will gain from their experiences. They can learn important skills helpful to every middle school student:

• Critical thinking skills

• Writing skills

• Presentation skills

• Debate skills

• Organizational skills

• Leadership skills

You can check out all our plays and drama curriculum for more ideas.

If you have younger students, you can read How to Teach Drama to Elementary Students.

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Thanks for joining us!

Danielle at homeschooldrama.com