Calling All Theatre Teachers: How do I Determine the Right Pacing for Units?

Welcome to our video series, Calling All Theatre Teachers! In this series we’re going to answer questions that drama teachers have about stepping into a theatre program.

QUESTION: How do I figure out the pacing of units?

Watch the video of our discussion of this question — Laramie shares how unit pacing and figuring out the gaps between lessons is a lot of trial and error.

Click the link below for a unit tracking sheet. Track what went well, how long certain activities or assignments took, and especially make note of when activities went longer or fell short of your time expectations. No class is the same as any other, but having a general sense of time will help you in the long run. And better to make these notes in the moment than rely on your memory a year later!

This series is hosted by Lindsay Price and Laramie Dean. Lindsay has been in theatre education for 30 years, writing plays and classroom resources specifically for middle and high school through Theatrefolk (Check out Lindsay and Laramie’s latest The Ultimate Classroom Playwriting Resource) and co-creating the Drama Teacher Academy.

Laramie has been teaching theatre since 2003 and writing since he could first wrap his fingers around a pencil. (Check out Laramie’s Theatrefolk plays!) Currently he’s the theatre director at Hellgate High School in Missoula, Montana, where he’s worked for the last 12 years.