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Learning Standards Standards

What does a student learn in ?

This is the year pretend play starts to look like real theatre. Students invent characters, act out short scenes, and use their voice and body to show how someone feels. They also watch classmates perform and talk about what the story meant. By spring, students can plan a short scene with a partner, perform it for the class, and explain one thing that worked.

  • Pretend play
  • Acting out stories
  • Characters
  • Voice and movement
  • Watching performances
  • Working with a partner
Source: Texas Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills
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 story ideas

    Students start the year by turning their own experiences into pretend play. They make up characters, settings, and short story ideas with classmates.

  2. 2

    Shaping a scene together

    Students organize their ideas into short scenes. They decide what happens first, next, and last, and try out small changes to make a scene clearer for an audience.

  3. 3

    Acting and presenting

    Students practice using their voice, face, and body to show how a character feels. They rehearse short pieces and perform them for the class.

  4. 4

    Watching and responding to theatre

    Students watch performances and stories from different times and places. They talk about what the work meant to them and what they liked or would change.

Mastery Learning Standards
The required skills a student should display by the end of Grade 1.
Connecting

  • Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art

    TH:Cn10.1

    Students connect something from their own life to a character or story they act out. A memory, a feeling, or a person they know can shape how they perform.

  • Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural

    TH:Cn11.1

    Students connect a story or play to the world around them, noticing how where people live or how they grew up shapes the way a character acts or what a performance is about.

Creating

  • Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work

    TH:Cr1.1

    Students come up with ideas for a character or a short scene, then decide what that character might say, do, or feel.

  • Organize and develop artistic ideas and work

    TH:Cr2.1

    Students arrange story ideas into a short scene, deciding who the characters are and what they do. It's early practice in turning an idea into something others can watch.

  • Refine and complete artistic work

    TH:Cr3.1

    Students look back at a scene or character idea they created and make it better before calling it done. They practice changing small details until the work feels ready to share.

Performing/Presenting/Producing

  • Analyze, interpret, and select artistic work for presentation

    TH:Pr4.1

    Students pick a character or scene to act out and explain why it fits the story. They start making choices about how to perform, not just what to say.

  • Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation

    TH:Pr5.1

    Students practice a scene or short performance more than once, making small improvements each time before showing it to an audience.

  • Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work

    TH:Pr6.1

    Students act out a scene or story in front of others, using voice, movement, and expression to show what the characters feel and what the story means.

Responding

  • Perceive and analyze artistic work

    TH:Re7.1

    Students watch a short play or scene and describe what they noticed, what happened, and how it made them feel.

  • Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work

    TH:Re8.1

    Students explain what a character wants and why they act the way they do in a short play or story, using what they see and hear to back up their thinking.

  • Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work

    TH:Re9.1

    Students look at a short performance and say what worked and what didn't, using simple reasons like "the character seemed scared because she hid her face."

Common Questions
  • What does theatre look like at this age?

    Students act out stories, play pretend characters, and use voice and body to show feelings. Most work happens through games, story drama, and short scenes. The point is not polished performance. It is learning to imagine, make choices, and share ideas with a small audience.

  • How can families support theatre at home?

    Read a picture book together and act out a favorite part. Take turns playing different characters and using silly voices. Ask what the character wants and how they feel. Five minutes of pretend play after a story builds the same skills students practice in class.

  • Does a child need to be outgoing to do well?

    No. Shy students often do fine because most work happens in pairs or small groups, not on a stage. The goal is to try ideas and listen to classmates. Confidence grows over the year as students get more turns to play and pretend.

  • How should the year be sequenced?

    Start with movement and voice games so students feel safe being silly in front of peers. Move into pantomime and short character work, then into story drama based on familiar books. Save sharing with an audience for later in the year, once routines are solid.

  • What does mastery look like by the end of the year?

    By spring, students can pretend to be a character with a clear voice and body, follow a simple story from beginning to end, and watch a classmate's scene and say one thing they noticed. They can also offer an idea when planning a scene with a partner.

  • What usually needs the most reteaching?

    Audience behavior and staying in character are the two big ones. Students often want to wave at friends or break into giggles mid-scene. Short, repeated practice with clear signals for starting and ending a scene helps more than long lectures about focus.

  • How do students respond to a play or performance?

    Students learn to say what they saw, what they liked, and what the characters might have been feeling. At home, ask the same questions after a show or movie. Pointing out one moment that worked and one question worth asking is plenty.

  • Will students write scripts?

    Not in a formal way. Most scenes are planned out loud or sketched with pictures, then tried on their feet and changed. Writing a few words or a list of events is fine, but the work lives in playing the scene, not on paper.

  • How is theatre connected to other subjects?

    Acting out a story builds reading comprehension because students have to picture characters and events. Pretending to be a farmer, a firefighter, or a historical figure brings social studies to life. Short drama moments fit neatly into a reading or science block.