Kindergarten - 1st Grade

Both Kinder and 1st Grade have Theatre Google Classrooms,
and will be meeting LIVE on Google Meets for 6o minutes.

New assignments will be posted on the students' Theatre Google Classroom weekly. Google Classrooms were generated by CPS and are automatically attached to students' CPS accounts. Please see the video at the bottom of this page if you need assistance locating your Google Classroom. If you do not have a Theatre Google Classroom prior to our first class, please email me: thorney@cps.edu

Room 101 - Wednesday and Friday, 1:15-2:15 pm
Room 102 - Monday, 1:15-2:15 pm and Wednesday, 9:30-10:30 am
Room 108 - Thursday and Friday, 9:30-10:30 am

Room 205 - Tuesday, 9:30-10:30 am
Room 206 - Thursday, 1:15 - 2:15 pm
Room 207 - Wednesday, 10:30 - 11:30 am

For the students' safety, I am not displaying the Google Meets link here. Instead, it will be shared with you by your students' homeroom teacher, sent out from me via Remind, and located in the title box of your Theatre Google Classroom. If you have not received this information before our first class together, please email me: thorney@cps.edu.

Week 1 Lesson:

Welcome everyone! We'll be beginning with a great story that I use as an introduction to theatre, imagination, and believing in yourself. If you missed Harry and I read this in class, here's a YouTube video of the book (it's not me reading though).
"Amazing Grace" Read Aloud (video)
For Kindergarten's second class of the week, we read a classic story that teaches us to find what makes us happy and not follow the crowd.
Here's "The Story of Ferdinand" Read Aloud (video)

Week 2 Lesson:

This week we'll be reading a classic story that fits in with our first theatre habit - Try, Try, and Try Again! If you missed Harry and I read this in class, here's a YouTube video of the book (read by another wonderful teacher. not me).
"The Little Engine That Could" Read Aloud (video)
For Kindergarten's second class of the week, we read a creative rhyming book that teaches us to find the way we can do what we love, even if it's different from how everyone else does it.
"Giraffes Can't Dance" Read Aloud (video)

Week 3-5 Lessons:

This week we'll jumping into theatre skills, and kicking it off with pantomime. We'll take a few weeks on this skill, starting with pantomiming animals and moving into pantomiming everyday activities. The slideshow contains a video example of pantomime, and enough different animals to keep your children pantomiming for hours! Check back for another slideshow of everyday activities soon!
Animal Pantomimes (slideshow)

7th - 8th Grade

Both 7th and 8th Grade have Theatre Google Classrooms,
and will be meeting LIVE on Google Meets for 6o minutes.

New assignments will be posted on the students' Theatre Google Classroom weekly. Google Classrooms were generated by CPS and are automatically attached to students' CPS accounts. Please see the video at the bottom of this page if you need assistance locating your Google Classroom. If you do not have a Theatre Google Classroom prior to our first class, please email me: thorney@cps.edu

Room 404 - Monday, 10:30-11:30 am and Tuesday, 1:15-2:15 pm

Room 402 - Friday, 10:30-11:30 am
Room 406 - Friday, 2:15 - 3:15 pm
Room 408 - Tuesday, 10:30 - 11:30 am

For the students' safety, I am not displaying the Google Meets link here. Instead, it will be shared with you by your students' homeroom teacher, sent out from me via Remind, and located in the title box of your Theatre Google Classroom. If you have not received this information before our first class together, please email me: thorney@cps.edu.

Week 1 Lesson:

Welcome back everyone! This week we'll review our theatre class through a Bitmoji Class picture, as well as review and discuss our theatre habits and why they're important. We'll then navigate Google Classroom together and complete our first assignment which is a back-to-school, all about me document, so that I can learn what you're interested in learning in theatre class this year, and help everyone feel comfortable turning their camera on for theatre class activities.

Week 2 Lesson:

This week we'll discuss diversity, inclusion, and kindness - all of which are important not only in life but also in theatre class, as we all need to work together in order to be successful. We'll view TedTalk videos on these subjects, all delivered by children just a little younger or slightly older than the students, and then write a reflection on Google Classroom about how the topics in these videos connect to us personally.

Week 3 and 4 Lesson:

This week we'll dive into our theatre skills through activities to help us build our Ensemble (a group of dancers, musicians, or actors who work and perform together). We'll add pantomime to the mix by playing catch through the computer with an invisable ball, and then continue getting to know each other through teacher and student written "Would You Rather..." questions.
In week 4 I'll introduce two new warm-up activities for the students to play around with: "Word Association" and "Headlines", both which help develop improvisation and collaboration skills. Each homeroom will then be able to vote on which warm-up they feel is best for their group (ensemble) as we move into the next Unit and continue strengthening our Ensemble. .
Exits slips will be assigned in Google Classroom for students to show me how these activities connect back to building our ensemble and using our imagination.