Lights, Camera, Action! Pupils read Little Women and create, act, and direct a melodrama that Jo March and her sisters would enjoy. The lesson plan comes complete with resources for the educator on melodrama as well as examples for drama scholars.

Concepts

little women, louisa may alcott, elements of drama, writing dialogue, Drama, Writing

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Additional Tags

dialogue, little women, melodrama, performance, play, story circle, english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Enhance the project-based learning by having a film festival as a class that shows each melodrama in succession
• Consider inviting parents/administrators for melodrama performances, so actors and directors can have an original, real audience

Classroom Considerations

• Teachers should read Little Women as well as various print, media, and web resources included within resource to prepare for the lesson
• Learners that are visually impaired or disabled may need modified handouts or texts

Pros

• Lesson plan reflects the highest level of Bloom's Taxonomy/Webb's Depth of Knowledge and ensures rigor for pupils
• Project-based learning and collaborative nature of lesson reflect cutting-edge, 21st-century teaching practices

Cons

• There are many suggested reads for the educator prior to planning, which may be cumbersome 

Common Core

RL.9-10.1 W.9-10.3.a W.9-10.8 SL.9-10.1.a SL.9-10.1.b