Technical stagecraft including lighting, sound design, set construction, and stage management. Addresses the logistical and creative coordination required to mount and execute live theatrical performances.
Unit 1: Stop-Motion Animation & Foundational Research. Students explore persistence of vision, digital research credibility, storyboarding, animation physics, and production.
A project-based learning sequence for theatre students focused on the directorial challenges of staging Matilda Jr. in two vastly different performance spaces: a traditional proscenium auditorium and a modern thrust-stage black box.
A 10-day unit exploring 3D paper construction through the creation of animal forms or masks, focusing on precision, perseverance, and paper engineering.
A comprehensive four-week unit and independent study guide for contemporary drama. Students analyze scripts, research playwrights, design technical elements, and stage scenes for a final production portfolio.
A comprehensive workshop where students in grades 5-8 master the art of digital storytelling by blending narrative structure, audio production, and visual composition into a final multimedia project.
This graduate-level sequence explores the intersection of labor law, fiscal strategy, safety protocols, and crisis management within professional theater production. Students develop the leadership skills necessary to navigate union environments and high-stakes technical environments.
An advanced technical theater sequence for graduate students exploring the intersection of light physics, human perception, and visual storytelling. Students move from the biological mechanics of the eye to high-level system integration and dramaturgy.
Students investigate how costumes and properties (props) function as tools for character development and storytelling. The sequence guides students through the process of distinguishing between prop types, exploring costume psychology, fabricating safe props, and mastering backstage organization.
A 5-lesson sequence for 5th graders exploring technical theater through lighting and sound engineering. Students learn how to manipulate mood and focus using physical properties of light and creative sound design, culminating in a technical rehearsal simulation.
This sequence introduces 5th-grade students to the world of technical theater through the lens of scenic design. Students progress from learning stage geography to analyzing scripts, drafting floor plans, and ultimately building a 3D scale model (maquette) of their own set design.
Students step into the role of the technical crew, learning stage management, costume organization, and backstage safety. This sequence culminates in students mastering the organizational and communication skills required to run a professional theater production.
A professional, portrait-oriented video production storyboard and visual guide for the 'AI Superstar' promotional video. It features a detailed scene-by-scene script breakdown, presenter framing instructions, exact 3D cartoon asset descriptions, AI image generation prompts, and editing tips.
A versatile peer feedback form for any digital project. Based on the Solution Tree model, it provides structured spaces for 'I Like...', 'I Wonder...', and 'I Suggest...' prompts to guide constructive student feedback. All writing and input fields have been made completely blank.
A formal, teacher-facing grading rubric for the stop-motion animation project. Features technical Look Fors, Urbandale district priority standards, a 1.0 to 4.0 grading scale, and dedicated scoring/notes areas for final grade entry. The score column has been removed so that grades can be highlighted directly on the matrix. Now updated to 5 learning requirements.
A student-friendly, printable summative self-reflection sheet. Features simplified 'I can' performance targets, checkable circles across a 4.0 scale (Developing to Exemplary), and high-contrast, standard-spaced writing lines for student production reflections.
High-impact student slide deck for Lesson 9: The Frame Festival. Guides students through presentation parameters, film festival norms, active critiquing structures, and final rubric evaluation. Slide 4 has been updated with the 5 actual learning requirements, and slide 6 has been corrected to refer to the 4-point proficiency scale.
A comprehensive, sub-ready teacher lesson plan for Lesson 9: The Frame Festival. Now updated to 3 pages, detailing that students complete exactly 1 peer feedback form, and removing redundant look-for blocks.
High-impact student slide deck for Day 6 of the Animation Studio. Guides students through class/team norms, role responsibilities, the daily 30-frame goal, and the storyboard/group action reflection protocol.
A comprehensive, sub-ready teacher lesson plan for Day 6 of the Animation Studio. Fits the Lesson 1-5 Urbandale UCSD template. Includes class/team norms, role setup guides, detailed scripts, 45-minute block timeline, reflection protocols, and exact proficiency scale alignment.
A student-facing, printable summative self-reflection sheet. Features simplified student-friendly 'I can' performance targets, checkboxes for self-evaluation (1.0 to 4.0), and dedicated high-contrast writing lines for student and group production reflections.
High-impact student slide deck for Lesson 9: The Frame Festival. Guides students through presentation parameters, film festival norms, active critiquing structures, and final rubric evaluation.
A comprehensive, sub-ready teacher lesson plan for Lesson 9: The Frame Festival. Includes step-by-step presentation scripts, peer critique procedures, and a high-value unit rubric mapping the 4 core course learning requirements from 1.0 to 4.0.
Production plan and storyboard guide for the 'AI Superstar' promotional video. This lesson contains the visual storyboard detailing framing, presenter actions, and specific 3D cartoon image prompts to help the presenter record and edit the promotional video.
Unit 1, Lesson 9: The Frame Festival. A celebration block where students showcase their completed historical stop-motion animations, conduct peer critique reviews, and evaluate final projects using the comprehensive unit rubric.
Unit 1, Lesson 6: The Animation Studio - Day 6. Teams establish collaborative group norms and class safety norms, delegate professional roles, and capture the first 30 frames.
An introductory lesson on the fundamentals of scenic design, guiding students to create their own stage groundplans using industry-standard drafting symbols.
An introductory lesson into the world of stagecraft, covering the 'Big Five' areas of technical theater, stage directions, and the roles of the tech crew. Students will learn how magic is made behind the scenes through visual slides and a hands-on set design challenge.
A week-long challenge where students act as directors to solve the spatial constraints of Matilda Jr. across multiple stage configurations, culminating in a professional pitch.
A lesson exploring the evolution of English theater during the reign of King James I, focusing on stagecraft, darker themes, and the transition to indoor performance spaces.
A comprehensive 10-day unit focused on conceptualizing and creating 3D clay miniatures using Model Magic. Students explore career paths like set design and pottery while developing studio habits and problem-solving skills through iterative sculpting and self-analysis.
Applying color, texture, and detail using acrylics and paint markers, followed by a final project reflection.
Building the 3D form using advanced folding, scoring, and attachment techniques while practicing studio habits and perseverance.
