New Jersey K–6 theatre standards

With prompting and support, identify similarities between characters in dramatic play or a guided drama experience and relate character emotions and experiences to personal experiences of self and peers (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

With prompting and support, identify similarities and differences in stories and various art forms from one’s own community and from multiple cultures in a guided drama (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama) experience about global issues, including climate change.

Collaborate on the creation of a short scene based on personal perspectives and understandings.

Propose potential character choices and plot details in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

Collaborate with peers to conceptualize props, costumes and scenery in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

Identify ways in which voice, gestures, movements, and sounds may be used to create or retell a story in guided drama experiences (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

Contribute to the development of a sequential plot; collaborate with peers to devise a meaningful dialogue in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

Contribute original ideas and make decisions as a group to advance a story in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

With prompting and support, contribute to the adaption of plot and dialogue in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

Identify similarities and differences in sounds and movements in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

Independently imagine multiple representations of an object in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama) and collaboratively create multiple representations of an object in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

With prompting and support, demonstrate the physical movement, voice and sound which are fundamental to creating drama experiences (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

Explore and experiment with various technical elements in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

With prompting and support interpret story elements (e.g., character, setting) in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

Utilize body and facial gestures with a change in voice to communicate character traits and emotions in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

Use voice, sound, movement, and gestures to communicate emotions in a guided drama experience; informally share guided drama experiences (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama) with peers.

Express emotional responses to characters to recall and recognize when artistic choices are made in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

With prompting and support, actively engage and build on others' ideas in dramatic play or a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

Identify and use props and costumes that might be used in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

Compare and contrast how characters respond to challenges in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

With prompting and support, identify and explain preferences and emotions in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama), or theatre performance, and explain how personal preferences and emotions affect an observer's response in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama), or theatre performance.

With prompting and support, name and describe settings and identify causes of character actions in a guided drama experience (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

Explain or use text and pictures to describe how personal emotions and/or others' emotions and choices compare to the emotions and choices of characters in a guided drama experience. (e.g., process drama, story drama, creative drama).

Explain how drama/theatre connects oneself to a community or culture and identify the ways drama/theatre work reflects the perspectives of a community or culture.

Identify, respond to and investigate connections to global issues including climate change and other content areas in a dramatic/theatrical work.

Compare the drama/theatre conventions of a given time period with those of the present.

Create roles, imagined worlds and improvised stories in a drama/theatre work articulating the physical qualities of characters, visual details of imagined worlds, and given circumstances, of improvised stories in a drama/theatre work.

Imagine, articulate, and design ideas for costumes, props and sets that support the story, given circumstances, and characters in a drama/theatre work.

Imagine how a character's inner thoughts impact their actions and collaborate to determine how characters might move and speak to support the story and given circumstances in drama/theatre work.

Devise original ideas for a drama/theatre work that reflect collective inquiry about characters, plots and their given circumstances.

Participate and identify defined responsibilities required to present a drama/theatre work informally to peers/audience and participate in the process.

Collaborate with peers to revise, refine, adapt and improve ideas to fit the given parameters of an improvised or scripted drama/theatre work through self and collaborative review.

Use and adapt sounds and movements in a guided drama experience.

Refine technical choices by creating innovative solutions to design and technical problems that arise in rehearsal for a drama/theatre work.

Participate in, propose, and practice a variety of physical, vocal, and cognitive exercises that can be used in a group setting for drama/theatre work.

Identify and utilize basic technical/design elements that can be used in drama/theatre work to demonstrate an understanding of the elements.

Describe and apply dramatic elements of dialogue, action, character emotion, and theme in the performance and/or creation of a drama/theatre work.

Physically and intellectually investigate how movement and vocal choices are incorporated and make meaning in drama/theatre work.

Practice drama/theatre work and share reflections individually and in small groups, and informally with an audience.

Identify, explain and demonstrate an understanding of both artistic choices and personal reactions made in a drama/theatre work through participation and observation.

Develop and implement a plan to evaluate drama/theatre work.

Analyze technical elements from multiple drama/theatre works and assess how the technical elements may support or represent the themes or central ideas of drama/theatre works.

Evaluate and analyze how a character’s choices and character's circumstances impact an audience’s perspective in a drama/theatre work.

Compare and contrast multiple personal experiences when participating in or observing a drama/theatre work and justify responses to drama/theatre work based on personal experience.

Explain responses to characters based on cultural perspectives when participating in or observing drama/theatre work.

Identify and discuss physiological changes connected to emotions on posture, gesture, breathing, and vocal intonation in a drama/theatre work.

Examine a community issue through multiple perspectives in a theatrical work.

Research the story elements of a staged drama/theatre work about global issues, including climate change, and discuss how a playwright might have intended a theatrical work to be produced.

Identify and examine artifacts from a time period and geographic location to better understand performance and design choices in a theatrical work.

Identify, explore and imagine multiple solutions and strategies in staging problems in a theatrical work.

Identify, imagine and practice solving multiple design/technical challenges of a performance space in a theatrical work.

Explore, describe and develop given circumstances of a scripted or improvised character in a theatrical work.

Articulate and apply critical analysis, extensive background knowledge, sociohistorical research, and cultural context related to existing or developing original theatrical work.

Actively contribute ideas and creatively incorporate the ideas of others in existing or original theatrical work, demonstrating mutual respect for self and others and their roles sharing leadership and responsibilities in preparing or devising theatre.

Demonstrate focus and concentration in the rehearsal process by analyzing and refining choices in a devised or scripted theatre performance.

Implement and refine a planned technical design using simple technology during the rehearsal process for devised or scripted theatre work.

Develop effective physical and vocal traits of characters in an improvised or scripted theatrical work.

Rehearse a variety of acting techniques to increase skills in a rehearsal or theatrical performance that assist in the development of stronger character choices.

Use a variety of technical elements to create a design for a rehearsal or theatre production.

Examine how character relationships assist in telling the story of devised or scripted theatre work.

Use various character objectives and tactics in a theatre work to identify the conflict and overcome the obstacle.

Perform a rehearsed theatrical work for an audience

Describe and record personal reactions to artistic choices in a theatrical work.

Compare recorded personal and peer reactions to artistic choices in a theatrical work.

Investigate various critique methodologies and apply the knowledge to respond to a theatrical work.

Justify the aesthetic choices created through the use of production elements in a theatrical work.

Assess the impact of a theatrical work on a specific audience.

Analyze how personal experiences affect artistic choices in a theatrical work.

Identify and interpret how different cultural perspectives influence the evaluation of theatrical work.

Examine how the use of personal aesthetics, preferences and beliefs can be used to discuss a theatrical work.