Arts Backpack

How to write your own play

How to write your own play

Project Title

How to write your own play

Tips and tricks to help you write, edit, rehearse and perform your own play

Partner Organisation: Fly High Stories
Art-form: Theatre
Lesson plan included? No
Number of lessons (60 minutes): 4
Partner activities: Make your own pocket theatre; Making paper puppets
Covid-secure advice: Social distancing may be required
Difficulty: Intermediate

Fly High Stories

Building Blocks Explorer: Dance

Building Blocks Explorer: Dance

Title

Building Blocks Explorer: Dance

In this five-week project, members of The Royal Ballet will share important strategies that will help you and your children create a successful dance. Everyone involved in this project will be a dancer and at times a choreographer. The teacher will be the creative director!

Partner Organisation: Royal Opera House
Art-form: Dance
Lesson plan included: on the Royal Opera House website.
Number of lessons (60 minutes): 5
Covid-secure advice: social distancing may need to be incorporated into choreography
Difficulty: Advanced

Making Paper Puppets

Making Paper Puppets

Project Title

Making Paper Puppets

Theatre Alibi's wonderful Designer, Trina Bramman, has created beautiful flying puppets for you to make. Choose from various different templates – maybe a bird? A butterfly? A dragon? Or even a winged horse!

Partner Organisation: Theatre Alibi
Art-form: Puppetry
Lesson plan included? on Theatre Alibi Website
Number of lessons (60 minutes): 1
Covid-secure advice: children should use personal equipment where possible
Partner activities: How to make a pocket theatre; Shadow puppetry
Difficulty: Intermediate

Theatre Alibi

Create and Sing: Hansel and Gretel

Create and Sing: Hansel and Gretel

Project Title

Create and Sing: Hansel and Gretel

Join CITV presenter Luke Franks as he visits the Royal Opera House and meets a host of young singers who introduce him to the opera Hansel and Gretel. This ten-lesson Immersive course will guide you and your class through the process of putting on your own version of this opera (which includes specially arranged musical extracts), and help you establish the key elements of dramatic singing.

Partner Organisation: Royal Opera House
Art-form: Music
Lesson plan included? on the Royal Opera House website
Number of lessons (60 minutes): 10
Covid-secure advice: Singing activities may not be allowed
Difficulty: Advanced

Fever

Fever

Project Title

Fever

An interactive online opera for 8 to 12 year olds. There are 5 songs in Fever!  Each session you will find:

  • lyrics and teaching guides to learn each song
  • videos that teach some moves to go with them
  • creative writing and science tasks to try
  • tips to make simple props and costumes

Over the 5 weeks, you'll learn the whole thing! 

Partner Organisation: Scottish Opera
Art-form: Music
Lesson plan included? on the Scottish Opera website
Number of lessons (60 minutes): 5
Suitable for children with additional needs? 
Covid-secure advice: Singing activities may not be allowed
Difficulty: Advanced

Scottish Opera

Chrome Music Lab: Song Maker

Chrome Music Lab: Song Maker

Project Title

Chrome Music Lab: Song Maker

To make a song, add notes by clicking the grid. Then, share your song with a link. You can also use a MIDI keyboard, sing into a microphone, or use your computer keys.

Partner Organisation: Chrome Music Lab
Art-form: Music
Lesson plan included: No
Number of lessons (60 minutes): 1
Partner activities: Fever; Everything's a moving picture
Suitable for children with additional needs? 
Covid-secure advice: Children will need to do this on personal devices
Difficulty: Beginner

Chrome Music Lab

Design and make

Design and make

Design and Make

Design and Make

At the end of this 10-week programme, your students will present their set designs for a featured opera or ballet in a scale model box. Join designers Ruth Paton, Rhys Jarman and Catherine Morgan as they explore the fascinating world of set design, and explain how to create a wealth of exciting scale models.

Partner Organisation: Royal Opera House
Art-form: Craft / Visual art
Lesson plan included: on the Royal Opera House website.
Number of lessons (60 minutes): 10
Covid-secure advice: children should bring their own equipment or work with individual equipment (scissors, glue etc.)
Difficulty: Hard

Make a story house

Make a story house

Make a Story House

Make a Story House

What is a story house? A story house is made of card with pictures in each of its windows and doors that tell a story. You can hang your story house on your window and the light will bring your pictures to life.

Partner Organisation: Theatre Alibi
Art-form: Craft
Lesson plan included: No
Number of lessons (60 minutes): 2
Covid-secure advice: children should bring their own equipment or work with personal equipment (scissors, glue etc.)
Partner activities: How to write your own play; Design a comic book
Difficulty: Medium

Theatre Alibi