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Actor or Audience?

Third graders learn the two big roles in theater — the actor, who performs, and the audience, who watches — and what each one does to make a show great.

Grade 3Performance35 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 the actor’s job.
  • ✓Explain the audience’s job.
  • ✓Sort the actions.
  • ✓Do both roles well.
Essential Question

In theater, there are actors who perform and an audience who watches — and both have important jobs! What does each one do?

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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

Actor or Audience?

Project this and sort each action into what an actor does or what an audience does.

🎭 Sort each — actor or audience?Try it
🎭 Actor
👏 Audience
Tap an action, then tap a bucket.
The Lesson · Artistic Process (Warm-Up · Explore · Rehearse · Perform · Reflect)

35 minutes, five moves

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

1

Warm-Up — Two Big Jobs

4 min

Theater has actors who perform and an audience who watches — what do they do?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Ask who’s in a show.
  • Ask about watching.
  • Warm up.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Think.
  • Share.
  • Warm up.
2

Explore — Actor & Audience

9 min

Children explore.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send children to Actor or Audience?
  • Sort each one.
  • Talk about them.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort them.
  • Talk.
  • Name.
3

Rehearse — Rehearse

10 min

Children rehearse.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Practice an actor’s job.
  • Practice an audience job.
  • Try both.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Act it.
  • Watch it.
  • Both.
4

Perform — Perform

8 min

Children perform.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Do a mini show.
  • Be a good audience.
  • Be kind.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Perform.
  • Watch.
  • Be kind.
5

Reflect — Reflect

4 min

Children respond.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name an actor job.
  • Name an audience job.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

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

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the National Core Arts Standards (Theatre).

NCAS
TH:Re7.1.3

Understand actor and audience roles.

NCAS
TH:Pr6.1.3

Perform for and be an audience.

NCAS
TH:Re8.1.3

Respond to a performance.

NCAS
TH:Cn11.2.3

Connect to theater roles.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Actor/audience cards.
  • Sentence frame: “An actor/audience ___.”
  • Role-play both.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with perform vs. watch.
  • Sort one at a time.
  • Try one role.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Make a theater rules chart.
  • Explain why quiet helps.
  • Do both roles.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🎭A pretend stage
  • 💻Actor or Audience?
  • 👏Hands to clap
  • 🖍️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

actorwho performs in a showaudiencethe people watchinglinesthe words an actor saysstage voicea big, clear voicecharacterwho an actor playswatchto look at the showclapto show you liked itperformto do a show
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 something an actor does.
Learns lines, uses a big voice, stays in character, or faces the audience.
QUESTION 2
Name something an audience does.
Watches quietly, claps at the end, keeps still, or enjoys the show.
QUESTION 3
When does the audience clap?
At the end of the show.

Reflect: two roles.

Have children act out a scene, then be a good audience for a family member’s scene. A printable actor-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.

🃏 Actor or Audience?Flip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
0

Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

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

📝 Actor or Audience?Quiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
0%

Nice work!

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.

🖨️ Actor or Audience?Print
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: actor, audience, character, clap, lines, perform, stage voice, watch
  1. who an actor plays
  2. the words an actor says
  3. the people watching
  4. to look at the show
  5. to do a show
  6. to show you liked it
  7. a big, clear voice
  8. who performs in a show

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. Name something an actor does.
  2. Name something an audience does.
  3. When does the audience clap?
Answer key — Part A: 1) character · 2) lines · 3) audience · 4) watch · 5) perform · 6) clap · 7) stage voice · 8) actor
Part B: 1) Learns lines, uses a big voice, stays in character, or faces the audience. 2) Watches quietly, claps at the end, keeps still, or enjoys the show. 3) At the end of the show.