While you and your family are spending time at home, why not take advantage of the opportunity by engaging in educational activities that spark children's imaginations? Here are some recommended resources for families who are sheltering in place.
In The Rep’s WiseWrite program, students learn playwriting while increasing written communication skills. Now young learners can take part in WiseWrite at home – and then submit their plays for selection in our first-ever WiseWrite Digital Play Festival!
We'll be releasing a new WiseWrite curriculum unit every week through the end of May before presenting the festival online in June.
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Read a classic, accompanied by a Rep Study Guide!Reading is a great way for families to learn together. Take advantage of the online resources from your local library, and read one of the classics listed below. Then download the multidisciplinary Rep Study Guide from our production to learn more about both the book and the play adaptation.
1.) Find your book online at one of our local libraries.
2.) Then download one of our Study Guides to enrich your reading experience!
The Rep has compiled a list of theatre games and activities that you can play at home! No additional materials are needed — you just need your bodies, minds, and some of that extra energy! These activities are adaptable for any age, with suggestions in the activity description. This list will be updated with new activities periodically, so check back regularly to keep your routine fresh and active!
Additional ResourcesTheatres and arts organizations all around the world are creating at-home engagement for educators, parents, and students to remain connected to the arts during this time. The Rep is proud to highlight some of the amazing resources available for all grade levels!
Fun For All
• The Kennedy Center’s Digital Learning Resources – For students of all ages! Explore music, dance, theater, opera, visual and media arts at home and in the classroom through informative and engaging Kennedy Center Education digital learning resources. Search the collection by grade level, subject, and duration to find exactly what you’re looking for!
• The Kennedy Center’s Classroom Resources – For educators looking to infuse the arts into their educational practices, The Kennedy Center has developed a robust collection of hundreds of digital learning resources: lessons, articles, performance guides, how-tos and much more. And did we mention they’re free?
• Baltimore Center Stage's Camp at Home – Our friends at Baltimore Center Stage have developed an online curriculum for storytelling, complete with fun activities and learning exercises for all to enjoy.
Elementary
• Storyline Online – Your favorite classic children’s literature, read by famous faces you may recognize! This collection includes past ITC works like The Elves and the Shoemaker and The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
• Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems! – Around the world, people of all ages have joined Mo Willems in his studio for weekday LUNCH DOODLES. The three-week run, all 15 episodes and their downloadable activities, are archived below. Let the doodling continue!
• Theatre for Young Audiences @ Home – a roundup of virtual performances for young audiences, online education programs, and digital content—offered during an unprecedented time when children can't physically visit the theatre, the rehearsal room, or the classroom.
• Scholastic Learn at Home – Day-to-day projects to keep kids reading, thinking, and growing! Sort activities by grade level (Pre-K to 9th grade), and access additional resources for parents and teachers.
• Disney on Stage: Fun Activities for Families – Free educational activities from The Lion King, Mary Poppins, Aladdin, Frozen, and a selection of Careers in Theatres videos and podcasts.
• New Victory Arts Break – Explore the arts at home! New Victory Arts Break offers ideas for teachers and families to incorporate performing arts into their online learning. Each week will focus on a different art form with a series of free activities for kids guided by New Victory Teaching Artists. Juggling, magic, percussion, movement, and puppetry activities are already available!
Middle School/High School
• #Enough: Plays to End Gun Violence – #ENOUGH: Plays to End Gun Violence is a new campaign of theatre activism on a mission to provide middle and high school students with the platform to spark critical conversations about gun violence across the country. The project enables teens to express themselves through storytelling, foster open dialogue in their communities, take on leadership roles, and inspire creative action.
• Much Ado About Nothing – For the first time in over four decades, GREAT PERFORMANCES presents a Public Theater production recorded live at Free Shakespeare in the Park. After a highly successful, critically acclaimed run at the outdoor Delacorte Theater in New York City’s Central Park, "Much Ado About Nothing" is a bold interpretation of Shakespeare’s comedic masterpiece featuring Danielle Brooks as Beatrice. Available until May 27, 2020.
• Hamilton’s America – GREAT PERFORMANCES: “Hamilton’s America” provides a behind-the-scenes look at Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash hit Broadway musical Hamilton. “Hamilton’s America” blends history, footage of Miranda’s writing process, and scenes from the musical itself to create a vibrant and engaging film about the making of the musical and the preservation of Alexander Hamilton’s legacy. This collection includes clips, classroom activities, discussion questions, handouts, and teaching tips connected to the film. Additional material has generously been provided by The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
• Setting the Stage for Learning – LA Theatre Works’ Setting the Stage for Learning brings free audio recordings of important stage plays to middle and high schools around the world, harnessing the power of professional theatre to deepen students’ understanding of complex literature and subject content. For educators experiencing distance and online learning, LATW is offering an expanded collection of 25 education titles. (Exclusively for educators, visit the website for more information.)
• Where We Stand: Virtual Student Matinee – Baltimore Center Stage offers its production of Where We Stand by Donnetta Lavinia Grays and accompanying curriculum for free to all 7-12 educators who may find it useful. The play is a modern-day fable about a mysterious stranger who appears before a man with a tempting offer. Where We Stand is a one-person play that asks the question of what a community owes to the individual and what the individual owes to their community. To all teachers who opt-in and make the play part of their instructional materials, Center Stage will offer a link to a video recording of the play, a link to an audio recording of the play and supplemental materials to adapt to students' needs.