A Short History of Theater: From Greek Festivals to Realism

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Arts · Drama / Theater
SP-DRAMA-007 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 2
A Short History of Theater: From Greek
Festivals to Realism
Arts · Drama / Theater · Grades 9-11 · 50 minutes
Time needed
50 minutes (one class period)
Prep
Copy the 2-page worksheet (one per student).
Technology
None.
Student
independence
High. Students read and answer on their own, then compare.
Copies to make
One 2-page worksheet per student
Materials
Pencils, Worksheet
Goal for today: Students will describe key features of five periods of theater history and place four of them in the
correct order.
Before the bell
☐ Copy the worksheet, one per student (2 pages).
☐ Write on the board: Greece → Middle Ages → London in the 1500s–1600s → Realism (late 1800s).
☐ Keep the answer key on your desk. All answers come from the reading.
Say this to start
Good morning! Today you will take a quick trip through theater history. You will read about ancient Greek theater,
medieval plays, Shakespeare’s London, Japanese Kabuki and the rise of realism. Then you will use the reading to
answer questions and build a timeline. Everything you need is on the page, so you do not have to remember anything
from class.
Run of show
Minutes
What you do
What students do
0–5
Take attendance the way the school requires. Hand out the
worksheet and read the board timeline aloud.
Settle in and write their name.
5–15
Read the first passage aloud (or have a student read), then
tell students to read the second passage silently.
Underline one key fact in each paragraph.
15–28
Tell students to complete the fill-in questions 1–8 with the
word bank.
Fill in each blank using the reading.
28–38
Tell students to complete the multiple-choice questions
9–11 and the true/false questions 12–14.
Answer the questions using the reading as
proof.
38–46
Tell students to complete the timeline table and the short
answer, question 15.
Number the periods and write one sentence
of opinion.
46–50
Read the answers to the fill-in section aloud. Collect all
worksheets and stack them for the teacher.
Check answers and hand in the worksheet.

SubstitutePlans.com
Arts · Drama / Theater
SP-DRAMA-007 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 3
If things go wrong
• If students ask for facts not in the reading, tell them to use only the reading. It contains everything they need.
• If students finish early, have them draw a quick sketch of an ancient mask or a Globe theater yard on the
back.
• If a student asks about a person such as Shakespeare, say that today’s reading is a quick overview and they
can look him up another day.
• If noise rises, ask students to finish the fill-in questions silently before comparing.
Early finishers
• Write two questions you could ask an actor from ancient Greece and the answers they might give.
• Choose one era and list two ways its theater was different from a modern school play.
Support and challenge
• Support: Let students underline the key words in the reading and complete only questions 1–8 and the
timeline.
• Challenge: Ask students to compare the way women were treated in theater across the periods in the reading
and write two sentences.
Notes for the teacher (you fill this in)
Jot a few lines before you leave. A full Daily Sub Report is in the free Sub Survival Kit at SubstitutePlans.com.
How far the class got / what to pick up next:
Students who were especially helpful:
Anything the teacher should know: