Montague Township School District
Theatre Curriculum Guide
Grade 4
2025-2026
Melissa Neamand
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Description
This curriculum addresses 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 towards art and the discipline or are, and about themselves in relation to art; and Aesthetic--deriving pleasure from a combination of senses, emotions, intellect, philosophy, imagination and spirit. It is structured to allow for the maximum of crossover with other parts of the Elementary curriculum to create a whole learning approach. It is a guiding principle of this curriculum that drama can and should be used as a way of approaching the study of every subject, and that it can do so without compromising those curricular goals to which it is uniquely suited.
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 requires active participation.
- Theatre artists are aware of their thinking process and analyze their own learning in order to evaluate and make choices for improving the quality of their work.
- Theatre interprets and reflects upon history, society, and culture.
- Theatre artists embrace creative risks and the opportunity to learn from the choices they make.
- The arts demand learning to reach beyond one's perceived capacities by taking creative risks.
- Theatre artists share stories about the human experience.
- Theatre fosters an understanding of oneself and his or her place in the world.
- Theatre artists acquire specific skills and knowledge to use in creating theatre.
Essential Questions
- What are the 5 W's and how are they used in identifying setting, plot and character?
- How can you identify the setting?
- What are key elements in creating a stage?
- How can you recognize the cultural and historical context of a dramatic work?
- How can you identify the historical environment of a theatrical work using scene, costumes and props?
- What are some methods that can be used to support and critique yourself and your peers in positive way?
- How can you review a theater event based on the elements found in the performance and production of the dramatic work being observed?
- How can you apply imaginative, analytical and process skills needed when creating original dramatic works?
Visual Arts - Connecting
Visual Arts - Creating
Visual Arts - Presenting
Visual Arts - Responding
Students prepare for and participate in conversations and collaborations with diverse partners about dramatic works. Students integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats including video performances. Students analyze how and why individuals and ideas develop over the course of dramatic texts. Students interpret words and phrases in dramatic scripts including technical and figurative meanings. Students read and analyze dramatic structures including dialogue and stage directions. Students write routinely over extended time frames to research and reflect on theatre and shorter responses about performances.
Students describe how the world is divided into nations with different governments, languages, customs, and laws. Students describe how culture is expressed through and influenced by the behavior of people. Students describe how the development of both written and unwritten languages impacted human understanding and the development of culture and social structure. Students explore how theatre reflects societal values and beliefs across diverse cultures throughout history.
Students explain and demonstrate movement sequences individually and with others in response to various tempos, rhythms, and musical styles. Students correct movement errors in response to feedback and explain how changes improve performance. Students create and demonstrate planned movement sequences based on tempo, beat, and rhythm.
Students will be assessed across the units and year in a variety of ways including formative, summative, alternative, and benchmark assessments. Assessment methods include teacher observation, performance rubrics, performance task checklists, self-assessment/reflection, peer assessment (pair-share, peer evaluation and observation), analyzing primary source documents, short research projects, technology-based presentations, and evaluation of informal in-class performances and video evidence using observation, discussions, drawings, video, and simple student-created rubrics.
| Unit | Formative | Summative | Benchmark | Alternative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01Elements of Theatre | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| 02History of the Arts and Culture | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 03Aesthetic Response | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| 04Performance | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Coverage | 4/4 | 4/4 | 2/2 | 4/4 |
| Unit | IEP | 504 | MLL | At-Risk | Gifted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01Elements of Theatre | — | — | — | — | — |
| 02History of the Arts and Culture | — | — | — | — | — |
| 03Aesthetic Response | — | — | — | — | — |
| 04Performance | — | — | — | — | — |
| Coverage | 0/4 | 0/4 | 0/4 | 0/4 | 0/4 |