Are you looking for a fun activity to teach new content or even to use as a review? Why not try a Prop Box Play? In this activity students work in groups of four to create a brief skit or play on any topic. They choose their individual roles within the group, research their topic, write their skit, and build props on the first day. In order to ensure that your students are working and not wasting time, you can initial the steps to complete the Prop Box Play on a checkoff sheet. On the second day your students can perform their plays while other students take notes.
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| Engage your students with a Prop Box Play |
Prop Box Plays can be used with ANY topic! Different ideas include:
• Explorers to the Americas
• Characters in a book that you want to summarize
• Progressive Movement
• Key events leading up to the Civil War
• Absolute Rulers in Europe
• Loyalists and Patriots in the American Revolution
What is most exciting about a Prop Box Play is how easy it is to use to engage your students. First, you start off with your Prop Box. It can be made from regular classroom items. Add additional props such as costume pieces or household items. Now is the perfect time of year to grab those cheap Halloween costume pieces from the Dollar Store! For $10 you can buy props to last your whole year.
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| Props you can include |
Make your prop box with:
Scissors
Colored pencils
Markers
White paper
Construction paper
Tape
Paper clips
Rulers
Stapler
Fun additions include:
Blue painter’s tape
Fabric
Yarn
Popsicle sticks
But you need more than props – you need a framework for organizing the play! You can get handouts such as a rubric, student roles, checkoff sheets and graphic organizers here.
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I hope you and your students have fun with your Prop Box Play! If you want to see one in action, you can check out my Native American Tribes of Texas Prop Box Play.
