©2009AllRightsReserved

Readers’TheatreLessonPlanConcepttoTeachThislessonhelpsstudentspracticereadingoutloud.UsingReaders’Theatrecanincreasereadingandoralfluencyinacreativeandstress‐freeenvironmentbyusingscriptsprovidedontheCapstonewebsite.Thislessonwillenticestudenttofinishthebook.

Objectives• Thestudentwillworkinateamenvironmenttoperforminfrontofpeers.• Usingamultimediatitle,thestudentwillbuildvocabularywhileinteractingwithtechnologyto

comprehendthemeaningofabook.• Thestudentwillreadwithfluencyandexpression.

Materials• Readers’TheatrescriptsareavailableformanyCapstoneInteractivetitles.Thislessonwilluse

NightoftheHomeworkZombies,butmanyscriptsareavailableonwww.capstoneinteractivelibrary.com.

• Multiplecopiesofthestudentscript–oneforeachreader.• Titlewebsite:www.MyCapstoneLibrary.com.• Assessmentwebsite:www.CapstoneKids.com.• Extendedlearningwebsite:www.FactHound.com.• VocabularyworksheetreproducibleforNightoftheHomeworkZombies.• Amultimediacomputertodisplayandlistentotheinteractivetitle.• (Optional)Findcostumessuitableforthepartsandstudents.• InteractivetitlessuitableforReaders’Theatreinclude:

ExploringEcosystems AdventuresinSound JourneyintoAdaptationUnderstandingPhotosynthesis CrashCourseinForcesandMotion WorldofFoodChainsLessonsinScienceSafety ShockingWorldofElectricity BlasttothePastNightoftheHomeworkZombies InvadersfromtheGreatGooGalaxy TigerMoth,InsectNinja TigerMothandtheDragonKiteContest

ProcedurePreparation1) Copythereaders’theatrescript(s).2) Copytheincludedvocabularyworksheet–1perstudent.Setup3) Assigneachstudentapartthatisappropriatetothatstudent’sreadingability.4) Priortoapublicperformance,havestudentslookthroughthepages,identifytheir

character,andpracticetheirpart.5) Costumesarenotrequired,butoftenmaketheReaders’Theatermoreaccessibletoall

students.DirectInstruction

©2009AllRightsReserved

6) Havestudentsperformthereaders’theatre.7) OpentheInteractivetitleasaclassonaprojectororinteractivewhiteboard,orwith

individualcomputers8) Showthestudentswheretheglossaryislocatedinthebackoftheinteractivebook(clickon

theglossarytaboronthefeaturestabtofindtheglossary).9) Askastudenttoreadaloudthedefinitionofthefirsttermintheglossary.10) PassouttheVocabularyWorksheet.11) Showthestudentshowtowritethedefinitiononaworksheetorintheirvocabulary

notebook.12) Askthestudentstofindandwritethedefinitionsforalloftheglossarywords.13) Allowfortimeforthestudentstolistentothebookafewtimesmakingsuretheyusethe

featuresyou’veintroducedtothem.

AssessmentAfterthestudentshavelistenedtotheinteractivebookandfeeltheyknowthestorywellenough,showthestudentsthelinktoCapstoneKidsonthesearchresultpage.HavestudentstakethequizonNightoftheHomeworkZombies,andthenshowyoutheircertificateonscreenaftercompletingthetest.

ExtendedLearningActivities1) FactHound:ShowthestudenthowtoaccessFactHoundthroughwww.facthound.com.Here

theyareleadtoavarietyofwebsitesthatarekid‐safe.Leadthemtoclickonthesciencetab,andthenaskthemtowritedown(intheirnotebook)theaddressesoftwowebsitestheywouldliketovisit.

2) CapstoneKidsExploration:Allowthestudentstoexploretheauthorinterviews,gamesandotherfunactivitiesonCapstoneKidsastimeallows.

3) Addsuffixestoexistingwordstocreatenewwordsaboutafavoritesport.Forexample,weadded“‐ify”and“‐ology”tocreatezombifyandzombiology.

4) Readers’TheatreExtension:TitlesintheGraphicNovelformatworkverywellforthisextendedlesson.

o Discussthefollowingscriptroles:Narrator(s),Character(s),SilentCharacter(s),SoundEffectsPerson.

o Givestudentsanoverviewoftheirtask.EachgroupshouldcreateaReadersTheatrescriptfromthetextselectionthattheychoosefromCapstoneInteractiveLibrary.

o HavestudentsidentifythedifferentrolesintheirselectionandcreatetheirownReaders’Theatrescript.Groupscanthenassignspecificrolestoeachmember.

o Encouragestudentstousehighlighterstoidentifytheirportionsofthetext.o Havestudentspracticeperformingtheirscriptswithinthegroup.o HaveeachgroupperformtheirReadersTheaterscriptinfrontoftheclass.

©2009AllRightsReserved