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Being a Good Audience

Second graders learn how to be a good audience — watching quietly, keeping their eyes on the stage, and clapping to show they enjoyed the show — so performers feel respected and everyone can enjoy the play.

Grade 2Audience30 minutes1 class periodArtistic ProcessExplicit teaching4 StandardsNCAS
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Explain a good audience.
  • ✓Watch quietly.
  • ✓Tell good from not-good behavior.
  • ✓Show respect.
Essential Question

Being in the audience is an important job too! When you watch a show, how can you be a GOOD audience?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Sort It · Interactive

Good Audience or Not?

Project this and sort each action into being a good audience or not a good audience.

👏 Sort each — good audience or not?Try it
👍 Good Audience
👎 Not a Good Audience
Tap an action, then tap a bucket.
The Lesson · Artistic Process (Warm-Up · Explore · Play · Perform · Reflect)

30 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — The Audience Job

4 min

Being in the audience is a job too — how do you do it well?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Ask about watching shows.
  • Set the goal.
  • Warm up.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Think.
  • Consider.
  • Warm up.
2

Explore — Explore Being an Audience

8 min

Children explore.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send children to Good Audience or Not?
  • Sort each one.
  • Talk about respect.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort them.
  • Talk.
  • Explain.
3

Play — Play

9 min

Children play.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Practice watching quietly.
  • Practice clapping.
  • Keep eyes on the stage.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Watch.
  • Clap.
  • Look.
4

Perform — Perform

6 min

Children perform.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Take turns performing and watching.
  • Be a good audience.
  • Be kind.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Perform it.
  • Watch well.
  • Be kind.
5

Reflect — Reflect

3 min

Children close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a good-audience action.
  • Say why it helps.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Say why.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the National Core Arts Standards (Theatre).

NCAS
TH:Re7.1.2

Watch and respond to a performance.

NCAS
TH:Re8.1.2

Show appreciation as an audience.

NCAS
TH:Cn11.2.2

Understand the audience’s role.

NCAS
TH:Pr6.1.2

Share and view a drama respectfully.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Audience-action cards.
  • Sentence frame: “A good audience ___.”
  • Model watching.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with quiet vs. loud.
  • Use pictures.
  • Practice clapping.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Explain why respect matters.
  • Make an audience-rules poster.
  • Give kind feedback.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 👏Audience picture cards
  • 💻Good Audience or Not?
  • 🎭A pretend stage
  • 🖍️Crayons
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

audiencethe people who watchquietnot loudrespectbeing kind and politeclapto show you liked itwatchto look at the showstillnot moving aroundperformto act for othersapplauseclapping
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
Name one thing a good audience does.
Watch quietly, keep eyes on the stage, sit still, or clap at the end.
QUESTION 2
When do you clap during a show?
At the end, to show you liked it.
QUESTION 3
Why should you watch quietly?
So the actors can perform and everyone can enjoy the show.

Reflect: good audience.

Have children practice being a good audience — watching quietly and clapping — during a show at home. A printable audience sheet is in the Arts library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Being a Good AudienceFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Being a Good AudienceQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Being a Good AudiencePrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: applause, audience, clap, perform, quiet, respect, still, watch
  1. to act for others
  2. not moving around
  3. being kind and polite
  4. to look at the show
  5. to show you liked it
  6. not loud
  7. the people who watch
  8. clapping

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. Name one thing a good audience does.
  2. When do you clap during a show?
  3. Why should you watch quietly?
Answer key — Part A: 1) perform · 2) still · 3) respect · 4) watch · 5) clap · 6) quiet · 7) audience · 8) applause
Part B: 1) Watch quietly, keep eyes on the stage, sit still, or clap at the end. 2) At the end, to show you liked it. 3) So the actors can perform and everyone can enjoy the show.