The Minotaur
Drama Therapy Teaching Unit

The Minotaur

Drama Teaching Unit for 7th Grade (6 Lesson Plans)

This teaching unit introduces students to another culture in the form of the Greek Myth ‘Theseus and the Minotaur’. It develops their knowledge of traditional skills and forms used in Greek Theatre, while using modern contexts to make the tragedy accessible..

Each lesson plan has clearly stated objectives and learning outcomes. They are structured to include introductory warm up, development and plenary sessions. A home work task is also included.

The MinotaurTooltip

The teaching unit contains 6 drama lesson plans.

  • Lesson 1: The Choosing of the Sacrifices
    Introduction to the story and its characters using the soundscape activity “Greek Market” and the improvisation activity “The Unlucky Few”.

  • Lesson 2: Meeting Ariadne
    Developing the plot using physical theatre in “The Greek Sailing Ship” and devising a scene in “Ariadne’s String”

  • Lesson 3: In the Labyrinth
    Use of trust exercises to develop the feelings of Theseus in the Labyrinth and physical theatre group work to represent the fearsome Minotaur.

  • Lesson 4: Using Masks in Performance
    Portrayal of emotions and action scenes using neutral masks, slow motion, mime and split scenes. A neutral mask is included!

  • Lesson 5: The Tragic End
    The key protagonists of the Greek Tragedy are subjected to interrogation on a TV chat show.

  • Lesson 6: Performance Assessment
    Evaluation of student-devised adaptation of the story using various drama techniques.

Supporting materials include

  • The Story of Theseus and The Minotaur
  • Neutral Mask

Additional resources are included in the appendices

  • Basic Drama Skills
  • End Of Unit Self-Assessment Form

The teaching unit is supplied as a PDF file, readable on most computers.