Let’s be clear here. I’m here to help teachers. Generally, that means advising theater arts teachers, but it could also be Language Arts, Reading, Music and Social Studies teachers. However, I’ve guided elementary core subject teachers, too. This post focuses my foolproof guide to Facebook Groups.
Like many people, I’ve been on Facebook for several years. Actually, I don’t know how long, but I know it’s more than five years. In that time, I’ve seen Facebook groups come and go. During quarantine, there were numerous Facebook groups who sprung from business memberships. I understand many of those have wasted away.
As I have mentioned before, you do not have to create every single lesson yourself or solve every darn problem that occurs in your classroom or production. There are hundreds of people with good advice out there in the internet.
How do I find Facebook groups?
It’s really easy to join groups.
- From your Feed, click Groups in the left menu.
- Click Discover to see Suggested for You, Friends’ Groups, Categories, Popular Near You or More Suggestions.
- Usually, you’ll hear from the group administrator within 24 hours.
- They may have a couple of questions for you when you ask to join, but usually they accept everyone.
Why Should I Join a Facebook Group?
Teaching (and directing) can be a very lonely business. Not to mention both are exhausting both mentally and physically. Sometimes we just need a hand up, right? Think of these groups as your friends, because they are. All of these groups are friendly and besides their files section has GOBS of free lessons for you to download. You can’t beat that, huh?
Primary Drama Teacher
This group’s conversations waffle between elementary and middle school theater. They describes themselves as, “A group for drama teachers particularly those who teach the primary range (but not exclusively), or people interested in primary age drama, to learn from each others’ experience and share ideas.” Membership is around 3,000.
In the past, ‘ve noticed some of the questions concern even preschool drama, which should be termed creative dramatics. I always worry when people use the incorrect descriptor. If you are looking for creative dramatics lessons, go to: DramaMommaSpeaks Creative Dramatics
A Foolproof Guide to Theater Teacher Facebook Groups
Elementary Theatre Lesson Lending
I don’t know as much about this group, but they have 1,482 members which is a healthy amount. Members are fairly active and helpful.
Here was a recent question: “What are y’all’s emergency sub plans for elementary (grades 3-5)? I need something that can last for 45 minutes. I can’t have anything that involves videos or a ton of printing. We were just getting ready to start stage directions/parts of a stage but we haven’t started it yet.
Middle School Facebook Groups
I follow this group fairly closely because I taught middle school theater classes for most of my teaching career. Anyone is invited to join. There are 2,200 members. Their group description is similar to others, describing themselves as “This (smaller by design) group is to provide resources and support specific to middle school theatre educators. Elementary/high school teachers are welcome to join as well. Additionally, this group was founded on the premise of practicing collaboration, rather than competitiveness. Where hopefully teachers can come to feel celebrated, no matter how new or seasoned they are. Not knowing something is okay here.”
Remember, you know best what you need for your students. What works in one person’s class may not be as successful in yours. Also, (and this is a big one)–just because someone gives you a copy of their file does NOT mean the lesson is a good one. It’s just a copy. If you are looking for lessons for middle school students, check out this blog post: Striking a Balance with Students in Their Middle School Years
A Foolproof Guide to Theater Teacher Facebook Groups
Their page states, “This is a place for theatre teachers to share lesson plans and ideas for their classrooms and programs. As a theatre teacher, we are often the only ones in the district. This is a place for us to share what works and what hasn’t worked, good moments, good fundraisers, fun shows, and generally a place for us to support each other and get feedback from other professionals in our content.” It has a membership of nearly 6,000.
Questions today ranged from needing a lesson plan for a substitute to a request for a lesson on pantomime for grade six.
A Foolproof Guide to Theater Teacher Facebook Groups
This group has 12,390 members! Wow, that’s a lot. It’s description says, “This is a FRIENDLY support group for drama teachers. This is to ask for help, ask for resources and anything else appropriate. You may even wish to share your best resources or ask other members to check resources, lesson plans, SoW etc.”
This group is based in England so sometimes the teaching terms they use are different than a U.S. teacher might use. They are helpful, however. Also, I appreciate that England has compulsory theater classes until age 14! Consequently, their approach appears more thorough than ours.
High School Theatre Directors and Teachers
This group is huge, nearly 11,000 members! This group is private like others. Here is their description:
A Foolproof Guide to Theater Teacher Facebook Groups
Drama Teachers and Those Interested in Drama Education
Coming in at 12,000 members this groups states, “Drama discussion, debate, challenge and support… A vibrant group of drama educators and those who appreciate the art.” I know for a fact there are playwrights, performing artists as well as teachers and directors in this group because I’d talked with them.
Their files section is quite extensive and of course that means those files are free to you.
Community Theater Directing Forum
This group contains 2,770 members. Anyone can join. This group is good if you are working with students and adults in a community theater setting. Their description states, ” A group for children’s theatre directors and producers from across the globe to share insight, feedback, and provide a community for networking.”
Questions are answered by one or many members and they are generally very helpful and useful. Here was a recent post:
Some Parting Words
In conclusion, I want to remind you again that you are not alone. True, you have to discover what works best for your students or your cast but there are plenty of people who would love to help you. Starting with me.
Do you know of some other theater teachers Facebook groups I should add? I’d love to hear from you. Email me at DhcBaldwin@gmail.com or comment here!
