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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
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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.