Before You Begin

Elementary School

Each of the 11 sessions in The Lion King Experience follow the same structure. The sessions are organized by theme: Pride, Story, Plot, Character, Space, Language, Music, Movement, Vision, Spectacle, and Reflection. The themes are inspired by Aristotle’s poetics and other elements of drama.

1. The sessions span 45 minutes though some suggest longer periods to capitalize on the theme’s learning (Session 9: Vision can be extended to 60 minutes, Session 10: Spectacle is 60 minutes, Session 11: Reflection is 90 minutes).
2. Each session is launched by a video introduction, which introduces the theme and key concepts for the session.
3. Following the video, students participate in a teacher–facilitated group activity outlined in the Lesson Plan.
4. Next, the class divides into three small groups called Prides to work on projects related to the session’s theme. Each Pride receives a Challenge Sheet outlining their task for the day. While the Challenge Sheets will sometimes feature different characters or scenes, the activity is the same for each Pride.
5. At the conclusion of the activities, the Prides share their work with the class.
6. Finally, the students participate in a culminating group reflection.
7. Each session includes optional journal prompts that students can complete as homework. The Pride Journal assignments encourage students to draw connections between their work in The Lion King Experience and their own lives.

Middle School

Each of the 18 sessions in The Lion King Experience follow the same structure. The sessions are organized by theme: Introduction, Pride, Rhythm, Plot, Story, Ensemble, Foundations, Process, Objective, Character,  Vision, Image, Transition, Space, Sound, Atmosphere, Cue, and Reflection. Each theme is a broad theatrical concept that can be explored through many angles. For example, in Atmosphere, students learn to create theatrical atmosphere using sound, lighting, and movement.

1. The sessions span 45 minutes though some suggest longer periods to capitalize on the theme’s learning (Session 12: Image can be extended to 90 minutes, Session 18: Reflection is 60 minutes).
2. Each session is launched by a video introduction, which introduces the theme and key concepts for the session.
3. Following the video, students participate in a teacher–facilitated group activity outlined in the Lesson Plan.
4. Next, the class divides into three small groups called Prides to work on different projects related to the session’s theme. Each Pride receives a Challenge Sheet outlining their task for the day.
5. At the conclusion of the activities, the Prides share their work with the class.
6. Finally, the students participate in a culminating group reflection.
7. Each session includes optional journal prompts that students can complete as homework. The Pride Journal assignments encourage students to draw connections between their work in The Lion King Experience and their own lives.

Your lesson plans are your map to The Lion King Experience. As you would with any lesson, devote some time to reading the plan in advance of the session so that you can prepare your space, gather any additional materials, or make necessary modifications to best serve your students. Each session includes step-by-step instructions for facilitating the day’s learning, and many include “teacher tips” that suggest modifications, facilitation notes, or enrichments you may wish to include.

Many sessions require the use of specific materials. Some materials are available for you to print and some materials you may need to source (e.g. markers, chart paper).

If you opt to include the suggested homework in your facilitation of The Lion King Experience, print the PDFs and assemble into a journal or packet for students or have your students use a journal of their own and read the Pride Journal prompts to them at the end of each session.

Help! I’m not a theater teacher

That’s OK! We’ve built The Lion King Experience so that any educator can facilitate each session. Because foundational concepts and learning themes are delivered through the introductory video, and because Pride work is student-driven and project-based, you can be successful with this material whether you’re a seasoned thespian or new to the stage. We’ve included a theater education glossary with domain-specific lingo and concepts you might find throughout your lesson plans, or wish to incorporate in your instruction.

Frequency

The Lion King Experience is intentionally flexible and allows you freedom of scheduling. We recommend that you don’t let more than two weeks pass without facilitating a session so that students can continue building their skills and knowledge over time. The Experience works well when facilitated weekly or twice a week, though more frequent sessions are also successful. As with most educational experiences, consistency is key.

What to expect

If you or your colleagues are new to theater-education or project-based learning, you may be unaccustomed to the energy and atmosphere of The Lion King Experience. Because it is a creative outlet, theater work can seem frenetic and even loud.

In The Lion King Experience students work as a whole class and in smaller groups to act, sing, dance, design, and write. Much of the growth is what happens enroute to the learning—students negotiate, collaborate, and experiment to complete the various activities. Additionally, because each Pride focuses on a unique topic, you’ll often see movement, hear discussions, and see design work happening at the same time.

This is what engagement and joyful learning looks like in the theater. It is your job, as the facilitator, to make sure everyone is on task and safe during the sessions. Be sure to prepare visitors so that they know what they are observing— this kind of work can be foreign to those accustomed to a traditional classroom environment.

Classroom management

As with all good teaching, classroom management in the theater creates a positive learning environment for you and your students. Early in the Experience, your students will create an ensemble contract in which they will identify how the class and Prides will function. Use the contract as a classroom management tool and remind the students of their rules.

Because theater work can be noisy at times, develop systems for gaining the group’s focus without losing your voice. We recommend that you create a clapping rhythm that the Prides respond back using their hands. Call and response can be an effective tool for managing focus and transitions.

If your Prides struggle with time management or collaboration, assign one student to be a time-keeper, and one to be a peace-keeper within each Pride.

In tandem with producing the musical

If you are producing The Lion King KIDS or The Lion King JR., the curriculum works well as a pre-cursor to the rehearsal process. The Experience will immerse your students in the world of the play and a broad range of theater-making skills. These benefits will combine to make an enriching and rewarding artistic process for your students. Additionally, you can use the character, choreography, design, and directorial ideas generated in the sessions in your production of The Lion King.

You may elect to add additional time into your rehearsal process devoted to The Lion King Experience sessions. In this format, your students might rehearse the musical several days a week, with an additional day exclusively for The Lion King Experience. This format will allow your cast further opportunities to create a strong ensemble and will give both cast and crew exposure to areas of theater (and characters!) they don’t typically access during rehearsal.

You might find that The Lion King Experience sessions present an opportunity to engage students outside of your cast in the theatrical process. Perhaps you are interested in exposing students in a different grade to theater arts. The Experience may also align nicely with an existing afterschool program or club (it could be strong content for your drama club, for example). Whatever the case, facilitating The Lion King Experience can be an engaging way to introduce the theater to students outside of your production. Note that the KIDS edition lessons have been created for students in 3rd-5th grade, while the JR. edition includes lessons for 6th-8th graders.

Stand-alone Experience

The Lion King Experience has been designed to act as a stand-alone experience, independent of producing the musical. The Experience can be facilitated as a unit in a classroom or as an afterschool program. The final sharing in the Reflection session can be performed in assemblies or for families and friends. You can use elements of The Lion King Experience to enrich your student’s experience of the Broadway show or simply as an engaging and immersive theater curriculum.

Modules

Although we recommend completing the full Experience in the suggested sequence, many of the sessions have been designed to stand alone.

Prides

Before the first session, divide your class into three Prides. Since the Prides are intended to work together for the duration of the Experience, be mindful of class dynamics when assigning your students to a group. If you are working with a large group, or if your students do better in smaller teams, you may decide to create more than three Prides.

Be sure to print additional Challenge Sheets should you wish to create more Prides. Each session, select a new Pride Leader for each Pride. The Pride Leaders’ jobs are to read the Challenge Sheet aloud to their Prides, keep their group on task, and assist with preparations and clean up. A Pride Leader tracking template is available.

Preparing your space

Preparing your space in advance of each session will help you facilitate The Lion King Experience efficiently. An open space—like a stage—is the perfect environment for The Lion King Experience, though a classroom can work just as well. For all sessions, you will want an open playing space for warm-ups, viewing the introductory video, the group activity, sharing, and reflection.

If you are working in a classroom, consider pushing desks or other furniture to the parameter of the room to create your playing space. Designate a spot in the room for each Pride. Preset any additional materials before your students arrive.

Each session

Your lesson plans include a list of included materials, additional materials, and preparation needed for each session, but some materials and prep are standard throughout The Lion King Experience. Before each session, ensure:

• Your space is clear of obstacles (for example: by pushing desks to the perimeter).
• You’ve secured all necessary audio/visual technology.
• You’ve reviewed the lesson plan, copied all necessary items, and gathered all additional materials.

Like any immersive educational experience, assessment can help you track your students’ growth and identify opportunities for more exploration and development.

The included assessment forms are tied to both the theater skills explored over the duration of The Lion King Experience, and the many 21st Century Skills your students will employ along the way. The assessment tools include:

• Teacher Pre and Post Evaluation Rubric: This rubric assesses theater skills developed over the course of The Lion King Experience, and is tied to the anchor standards set forth in the National Core Arts Standards. Use it during Session 2 and Session 11 for elementary school and Session 4 and Session 18 for middle school to evaluate growth over time.
• Teacher Pride Session Rubric: This rubric assesses both theater skills, and 21st Century Skills, including: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. Use relevant strands after each session to evaluate your Prides’ work.
• Student Pride Check List: This student-completed check list evaluates the same theater and 21st Century Skills as the Teacher Pride Session Rubric. When students complete the list after each session, they build strong self-assessment skills.

Use any combination of these tools to assess The Lion King Experience. You are also free to develop your own assessment tools based on your student population’s needs and school’s learning goals.