Skip to content
Learning Standards Standards

What does a student learn in ?

This is the year pretend play becomes the first step into theatre. Students use their own lives and imaginations to act out characters and small stories, often with puppets, props, or dress-up. They practice sharing a scene with others and talking about what they saw friends perform. By spring, students can take on a role in a short pretend story and tell a grown-up what their character was doing and why.

  • Pretend play
  • Acting out stories
  • Puppets and props
  • Sharing performances
  • Talking about plays
Source: Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Core Standards
Year at a glance
How the year usually goes. Every school and district set their own curriculum, so treat this as a guide, not official pacing.
  1. 1

    Pretend play and imagination

    Students step into make-believe roles like a parent, a doctor, or a puppy. They use props and costumes to act out simple ideas from their own lives.

  2. 2

    Acting out familiar stories

    Students take on characters from favorite books and songs. They use their voice, face, and body to show how a character feels and what they do.

  3. 3

    Sharing little performances

    Students practice short scenes and share them with classmates or family. They learn to face an audience, speak so others can hear, and take a small bow at the end.

  4. 4

    Watching and talking about plays

    Students watch classmates perform and notice what happened in a scene. They share what they liked, what felt funny or sad, and what the story might mean.

Mastery Learning Standards
The required skills a student should display by the end of Pre-Kindergarten.
Connecting

  • Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art

    TH:Cn10.pk

    Students draw on things they've seen, felt, or done to make choices in pretend play and simple performances. Personal stories and everyday moments become the starting point for acting and storytelling.

  • Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural

    TH:Cn11.pk

    Students connect stories and characters in plays to their own lives and the world around them, noticing how people's experiences show up in art.

Creating

  • Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work

    TH:Cr1.pk

    Students make up characters, stories, and simple scenes through imaginative play. This is the beginning of learning how to create theatre.

  • Organize and develop artistic ideas and work

    TH:Cr2.pk

    Students act out a simple story or idea, putting scenes in an order that makes sense.

  • Refine and complete artistic work

    TH:Cr3.pk

    Students pick a favorite way to act out a story or character and practice it until it feels right.

Performing/Presenting/Producing

  • Analyze, interpret, and select artistic work for presentation

    TH:Pr4.pk

    Students choose a character or short scene to act out and practice showing it to others.

  • Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation

    TH:Pr5.pk

    Students practice a song, movement, or short scene more than once to get it ready to share with others.

  • Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work

    TH:Pr6.pk

    Students share a short performance, like acting out a story or a feeling, so the audience understands what they are expressing.

Responding

  • Perceive and analyze artistic work

    TH:Re7.pk

    Students look at a short play or puppet show and talk about what they noticed. They describe what happened and share what they liked or found interesting.

  • Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work

    TH:Re8.pk

    Students look at a short play or puppet show and say what they think is happening and how the characters feel.

  • Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work

    TH:Re9.pk

    Students pick a favorite drawing, costume, or performance and say why they liked it. That's the start of learning to judge what makes something good.

Common Questions
  • What does theatre look like for a four-year-old?

    Theatre at this age is mostly pretend play. Students act out stories, take on roles like a firefighter or a bear, use their voices and bodies to show feelings, and watch each other perform short scenes. There are no scripts or memorized lines.

  • How can I support theatre learning at home?

    Play pretend together for ten minutes a day. Act out a favorite picture book, take turns being different characters, or use stuffed animals as a puppet cast. Ask what the character is feeling and why.

  • Does my child need acting lessons or a stage?

    No. A rug, a cardboard box, and a few dress-up items are plenty. The goal is imagination and confidence, not performance skill.

  • How do I plan a year of theatre for this age?

    Build the year around story drama and pretend play tied to books and themes already in the classroom. Start with simple character work in the fall, add short retellings of familiar stories midyear, and finish with small group scenes students help shape.

  • What should students be able to do by the end of the year?

    Students should take on a pretend role, use their voice and body to show a feeling, retell a short story through action, and watch a classmate perform and say something they noticed. Comfort with pretending in front of others is the main marker.

  • Which skills usually need the most reteaching?

    Staying in a role for more than a moment, and being an audience without joining in. Both take repeated practice. Short, frequent drama games work better than long lessons.

  • How does theatre connect to the rest of the school day?

    Acting out stories builds vocabulary, listening, and sequencing, which feed straight into reading and writing later. Pretend play also gives students a low-pressure way to practice taking turns and naming feelings.

  • What if my child is shy about performing?

    Start with puppets or stuffed animals doing the talking instead of the student. Join in as a character yourself so it feels like play, not a show. Comfort grows over months, not days.