Grades 1–3
Theater Words Match
Draw a line from each theater word to what it means: actor, audience, stage, script, costume and props.
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Free printables · kindergarten to 5th grade
Free drama worksheets for kids
50 free drama worksheets in 10 topics: theater words, stage directions, using your voice, body and movement, feelings and faces, creating characters, scripts, reader’s theater, drama games and putting on a show. Five original reader’s theater scripts, 29 answer keys and one of Kevin Coulston’s cartoon characters on every page.
Theater words Grades 1–5
Learn the words of the theater: match actor, script and props to what they mean, meet the people who put on a show, label the parts of a theater and solve a theater crossword.
Grades 2–5
Jobs in the Theater
Many people help put on a show. Match each theater job to what that person does.
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Grades 2–5
Parts of a Theater
Look at the theater from above. Write the name of each numbered part from the word bank.
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Grades 3–5
Theater Vocabulary Fill-In
Fill in each sentence with a theater word from the word bank, like rehearsal, cue and curtain call.
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Grades 3–5
Theater Crossword
Solve the crossword with ten theater words. Use the word bank if you get stuck.
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The stage and stage directions Grades 2–5
Learn the nine areas of the stage, from upstage right to downstage left, tell stage left from stage right, follow stage directions and place actors on the stage.
Grades 2–5
Stage Directions Chart
The nine areas of the stage on one page, with a note on why the back of the stage is called upstage.
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Grades 2–5
Label the Stage Areas
Write the short name of each of the nine stage areas in its box, from USR to DSL.
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Grades 2–4
Stage Left or Stage Right?
Read where each actor is and which way they face. Circle stage left or stage right.
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Grades 3–5
Follow the Stage Directions
Start where each direction says, follow it and circle the stage area where you end up.
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Grades 3–5
Place the Actors
Read where each actor stands and write their letter in the right stage area. Then plan your own scene.
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Using your voice Grades K–5
Pick a loud or soft voice for each character, say one line five ways, warm up with tongue twisters, learn volume, pitch, pace and tone, and see how one stressed word changes a sentence.
Grades K–2
Loud Voice or Soft Voice?
Read about each character. Circle loud or soft for the voice that fits.
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Grades 1–5
Say It Five Ways
Say the same line five ways: happy, scared, angry, bored and surprised. Draw your face for each one.
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Grades 1–5
Tongue Twister Warm-Ups
Warm up your voice with eight tongue twisters. Say each one slowly three times, then fast.
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Grades 2–5
Volume, Pitch, Pace and Tone
Match each voice tool to what it means, then name the tool each actor is using.
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Grades 3–5
Stress the Word
Say the same sentence five times, each with a different word stressed. Match each one to what it means.
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Body and movement Grades K–5
Act without words: pantomime action cards, guess the pantomime, plan freeze frames for a story, move like an animal and read the feelings in body language.
Grades K–3
Pantomime Action Cards
Cut out the cards. Act out the action without words while the class guesses.
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Grades 1–3
Guess the Pantomime
Read what each actor does with no words and no props. Write what they are pretending to do.
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Grades K–2
Move Like an Animal
Draw a line from each animal to the way it moves, then move that way too.
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Grades 2–5
Body Language Clues
Read what each actor’s body is doing. Match it to the feeling it shows.
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Grades 1–5
Freeze Frame Story
Plan three frozen pictures for the beginning, middle and end of The Three Little Pigs.
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Feelings and faces Grades K–5
Draw and act out feeling faces, play feelings charades, put feeling words in order from small to big, match lines to feelings and find the clues that show how a character feels.
Grades K–2
Draw the Feeling Faces
Draw a face for each feeling, then make that face yourself.
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Grades K–3
Feelings Charades Cards
Cut out the cards. Act out the feeling with your face and body while the class guesses.
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Grades 1–4
Say the Line with Feeling
Read the stage direction and the line. Circle the feeling that fits, then say the line that way.
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Grades 2–5
Small, Medium and Big Feelings
Put each set of feeling words in order from smallest to biggest.
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Grades 2–5
How Does the Character Feel?
Read each short scene. Write how the character feels and the clue that tells you.
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Creating characters Grades 1–5
Invent a character, sort inside and outside traits, interview a character in the hot seat, design a costume and give each character a walk and a voice.
Grades 1–5
Create a Character
Invent a character for a play. Give them a name, a look, a voice and a big wish, then draw them.
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Grades 2–5
Inside and Outside Traits
Sort the traits: outside traits are how a character looks, inside traits are how they act and feel.
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Grades 2–5
Character Walks and Voices
Decide how each character walks and how they talk. Try each one out.
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Grades 1–5
Design a Costume
Pick a character and design their costume. Draw it and label the colors and props.
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Grades 3–5
Hot Seat Interview
Write questions for a character in the hot seat, then answer them as that character.
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Reading and writing scripts Grades 1–5
Learn the parts of a script, sort dialogue from stage directions, turn a story into a script, plan a play on a storyboard and write a short scene of your own.
Grades 2–5
Parts of a Script
Read a short script about a puppy and a turtle. Match each part of a script to what it does and answer the questions.
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Grades 2–4
Dialogue or Stage Direction?
Sort each line from a script: is it something a character says, or something the actors do?
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Grades 3–5
Turn a Story into a Script
Read a short story about Mia and a tiny dragon. Write it as a script with character names and stage directions.
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Grades 1–5
Plan a Play Storyboard
Plan a short play in six boxes. Draw each scene and write what happens.
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Grades 3–5
Write a Short Scene
Plan the characters, setting and problem, then write your own short scene as a script.
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Reader’s theater scripts Grades K–5
Five short, original reader’s theater scripts, from a three-part snail race for kindergarten to a five-part cookie mystery for 5th grade, each with questions to answer after the show.
Grades K–1
The Snail and the Bunny
A reader’s theater script for 3 readers: a twist on the tortoise and the hare. Answer three questions after the show.
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Grades 1–2
The Lost Crayon
A reader’s theater script for 4 readers. Red Crayon is missing, and the other crayons go looking.
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Grades 2–3
The Robot Who Could Not Dance
A reader’s theater script for 4 readers about a stiff little robot and the school talent show.
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Grades 2–4
The Monster Under the Bed
A reader’s theater script for 4 readers. Max is scared of the monster under his bed, but the monster is scared too.
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Grades 3–5
The Great Cookie Mystery
A reader’s theater script for 5 readers. The cookie jar is empty, and Detective Whiskers follows the clues.
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Drama games and improv Grades K–5
Warm-up game cards, who-what-where improv cards, a yes-and story builder, theater bingo and a theater word search.
Grades K–5
Drama Warm-Up Game Cards
Cut out eight warm-up game cards with easy rules, like Mirror Me, Freeze! and One-Word Story.
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Grades 2–5
Who, What, Where Improv Cards
Cut out the cards. Pick a who, a what and a where, then act out a scene with no script.
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Grades 2–5
Yes, And Story Builder
Learn the improv rule “yes, and”. Add a yes-and line to each idea to build the story.
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Grades 1–4
Theater Bingo
Two different bingo cards of theater words on one page. Cover the word the caller reads. Four in a row wins.
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Grades 2–5
Theater Word Search
Find twelve theater words. They go across, down and diagonally.
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Putting on a show Grades K–5
Learn good audience manners, design a set, make a poster for your show, look back on your performance and earn a drama star certificate.
Grades 1–3
Good Audience Manners
Sort what a good audience member does and does not do during a show.
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Grades 2–5
Design a Set
Choose where your play happens. Draw the set on the stage and list the furniture and props you need.
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Grades 1–5
Make a Show Poster
Design a poster for your class play with the title, cast, date, time and place.
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Grades 1–5
My Performance Reflection
Look back on your show. Color the stars for each skill, then write what went well and what to try next time.
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Grades K–5
Drama Star Certificate
A certificate for a student who took part in a play, a skit or a reader’s theater show.
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One topic
Each topic has a pack of its five sheets and their answer keys: theater words, stage directions, using your voice, body and movement, feelings and faces, creating characters, scripts, reader’s theater, drama games, putting on a show.
How to use them
- Warm up first: cut out the Drama Warm-Up Game Cards and pull one out at the start of drama time. Five minutes of Mirror Me or Freeze gets everyone moving.
- Learn the words: Theater Words Match and Jobs in the Theater give the class the words they need to talk about a show.
- Practice on paper, then on the floor: after Stage Directions Chart and Follow the Stage Directions, tape the nine areas on the floor and call out directions.
- Act without words: Pantomime Action Cards and Feelings Charades Cards turn into quick games for the whole class.
- Put on a show: pick a reader’s theater script for your grade, plan it with Design a Set and Make a Show Poster, then perform it for another class.
- Look back: after the show, kids fill in My Performance Reflection and earn the Drama Star Certificate.
Start here by grade
- Kindergarten and 1st grade: Loud Voice or Soft Voice?, Draw the Feeling Faces, Move Like an Animal, The Snail and the Bunny, Pantomime Action Cards.
- 2nd grade: Theater Words Match, The Lost Crayon, Guess the Pantomime, Good Audience Manners, Dialogue or Stage Direction?.
- 3rd grade: Stage Left or Stage Right?, Volume, Pitch, Pace and Tone, The Robot Who Could Not Dance, Inside and Outside Traits, Parts of a Script.
- 4th and 5th grade: Place the Actors, Stress the Word, Turn a Story into a Script, The Great Cookie Mystery, Hot Seat Interview.
- Any age: Drama Warm-Up Game Cards, Create a Character, My Performance Reflection and the Drama Star Certificate.
More free printables for the classroom
- Music theory worksheetsNotes, rhythm, instruments and composers for K–5.
- SEL worksheets200 pages for feelings, friendship and kindness.
- Writing and grammar worksheetsStory planning, dialogue and quotation marks.
- Classroom activities and gamesBrain teasers, bingo, scavenger hunts and whole-class games.
- Write a storyMake up a story, then turn it into a play.
- ASL worksheetsFingerspelling, the ASL alphabet and Deaf culture.
Books for early finishers
The characters on these worksheets come from Kevin Coulston’s drawing books. Keep one in the classroom for kids who finish early: the How to Draw books build a drawing one small step at a time.
Questions
Are these drama worksheets free?
Yes. All 50 worksheets, the 29 answer keys and the topic packs are free to print for the classroom, homeschool, drama club and summer camp. Print one sheet, a topic pack of five or the whole set.
What grades are they for?
Kindergarten to 5th grade. Each card shows the grades it suits best, and the grade buttons hide the rest. Younger kids start with loud and soft voices, feeling faces, pantomime and the short reader’s theater scripts; older kids add stage directions, script writing and the longer scripts.
Do I need a stage or a drama background?
No. Every sheet works in a regular classroom with the desks pushed back. The stage sheets teach the nine stage areas on paper first, and the game cards explain each game in two or three sentences. Every sheet with right answers has an answer key page right after it.
Can we perform the reader’s theater scripts?
Yes. All five scripts are original and free to perform in class, at an assembly or for families. They run from three parts for kindergarten and 1st grade to five parts for 3rd to 5th grade, and each one has questions to answer after the show.
Which way is stage left?
Stage left is the actor’s left while they face the audience, so it is on the audience’s right. The Stage Directions Chart shows all nine areas, and Stage Left or Stage Right practices the difference.
What order should I teach them in?
The topics are grouped by kind, so mix them. Start with a warm-up game and the theater words, then voice, body and feelings, then characters and scripts. End a unit with a reader’s theater script, the reflection page and the Drama Star certificate.
Do they print in black and white?
Yes. Nothing depends on color, and the cut-out cards print well on plain paper or card stock. Sheets are US Letter and also print on A4.
All sheets are US Letter, print well in black and white, and are free for home and classroom use. The reader’s theater scripts are free to perform. More for teachers in the teacher resources library.
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