Sixth graders learn where the two masks of theater come from, telling a comedy that ends happily from a tragedy that ends in loss, and sort story features into each form.
Students will be able to…
The two masks of theater, one smiling and one frowning, stand for its oldest forms. What separates a comedy from a tragedy?
Project this and sort each story feature into comedy or tragedy — tap a feature, then tap where it belongs.
Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.
The symbol of theater is two masks, one smiling and one frowning. Where do they come from, and what two kinds of story do they stand for?
Students sort comedy and tragedy features.
Students classify short plots.
Students write both endings.
Students reflect on dramatic forms.
Aligned to the National Core Arts Standards (Theatre).
Describe and record personal reactions to artistic choices in a drama.
Explain how artistic choices shape the meaning in a drama.
Investigate the history and traditions of theater forms.
Identify the essential events in a story that make up its dramatic structure.
Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.
Have students pick a simple story and write both a comic and a tragic ending, so the difference between the forms becomes clear. A printable comedy-and-tragedy worksheet is in The Arts library.
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A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.
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.