Montague Township School District
Theatre Curriculum Guide
Grade 1
2025-2026
Melissa Neamand
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Description
K-2 Theatre curriculum addressing four basic domains of learning: Psychomotor (developing perceptual and expressive skills and techniques), Cognitive (assimilating knowledge and developing higher order thinking skills), Affective (cultivating positive attitudes toward art and the discipline), and Aesthetic (deriving pleasure from a combination of senses, emotions, intellect, philosophy, imagination and spirit). Structured to allow maximum crossover with other parts of the Elementary curriculum. Drama is used as a way of approaching the study of every subject without compromising unique curricular goals.
Big Ideas
- Theatre artists acquire skills in creative thinking, which allows them to exercise flexibility when making decisions and creating worlds through imagination.
- Theatre artists use curiosity, questioning, observations, experiences, and problem solving to generate ideas, concepts, and feelings that shape a work of theatre.
- Theatre artists work individually and as a contributing team member.
- Theatre artists acquire specific skills and knowledge to use in creating theatre.
- Theatre fosters an understanding of oneself and his or her place in the world.
- Theatre interprets and reflects upon history, society, and culture.
Essential Questions
- How do we use voice and movement to tell a story?
- Why do we change our voice for retelling parts of a story?
- How do actors communicate with the audience?
- How do we use body language to communicate?
- How do we use voice to express feelings, emotions or mood?
- Why do we pretend?
- How does theatre communicate values?
- How do we use our imagination to tell a story?
- How are the values of culture represented in theatre?
- How do we respond to theatre?
Visual Arts - Connecting
Visual Arts - Creating
Visual Arts - Presenting
Visual Arts - Responding
Media Arts - Connecting
Students analyze how characters, events, and ideas develop in stories through dramatic performance and retelling. They interpret words and phrases that convey meaning and emotion, participate in collaborative conversations about texts, and write narratives based on theatrical experiences and story dramatizations.
Students explore how theatre reflects cultural values, traditions, and beliefs from different communities and time periods. They examine how individuals and societies are represented through drama and recognize how experiences and events may be interpreted differently based on cultural perspectives.
Students use digital tools and resources to create and communicate original ideas through theatre-based projects. They engage in collaborative learning activities using various media formats to document and share their dramatic experiences and creative processes.
Students are assessed through teacher observations, performance rubrics, performance task checklists, written or drawn work, self-assessment, hand signals, peer critique/assessment, 3-2-1 reflection, journal entries, self reflection, mapping one's journey, and technology-based presentations. Formative, summative, alternative, and benchmark assessments are used across units.
| Unit | Formative | Summative | Benchmark | Alternative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01The Creative Process, Performance, and Aesthetic Responses | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 02History of the Arts and Culture, Performance, and Aesthetic Responses | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Coverage | 2/2 | 2/2 | 2/2 | 2/2 |
| Unit | IEP | 504 | MLL | At-Risk | Gifted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01The Creative Process, Performance, and Aesthetic Responses | — | — | — | — | — |
| 02History of the Arts and Culture, Performance, and Aesthetic Responses | — | — | — | — | — |
| Coverage | 0/2 | 0/2 | 0/2 | 0/2 | 0/2 |