1st Edition

Reader's Theater...and So Much More! Grades 5-6

By Brenda McGee, Debbie Keiser Triska Copyright 2010
    148 Pages
    by Prufrock Press

    Reader's Theater . . . and So Much More! is written for grades 5-6. This exciting resource contains plays, skits, and independent research activities with an innovative twist for differentiated instruction. This high-interest book of humorous skits and plays is a jumping-off point for research and creativity for students of all ability levels. Each of the reader's theaters comes with suggestions for differentiating and extending the lesson's content. These plays not only provide a legitimate reason for students to reread texts and practice fluency, but they also promote cooperative interaction with peers.

    Grades 5-6

    To the Teacher Act 1: Reader’s Theaters In the Beginning There Was the Wheel (transportation) Famous Folks (biography) Zany Zones (oceanography) Founders or Partners? (veterinary medicine) They Call It Circulation (circulatory system) Zeus Summons the Greek Gods and Goddesses (mythology) Alexander the Great (biography) The Perfect Pet (insects) Act 2: Adaptations Introduction The Bundle of Sticks (Aesop’s fable) Who’s in Rabbit’s House? (folk tale) The Boy Who Cried Wolf (Aesop’s fable) Why the Sun and the Moon Travel Through the Sky (pourquoi story) Act 3: Format Models Introduction Time Travel (Civil War) Heeerrre’s Fossil! (fossils) To Tell the Truth: Stephenie Meyer To Tell the Truth: Ancient Nubian Royalty To Tell the Truth: George Washington Carver Huntin’ Bones (choral reading) Musical Interview With Percy Jackson Act 4: Monologues Introduction Who Am I? A Monologue With a Twist Clean Your Room Now! It’s, Like, a Teen Rock Sensation Enough Is Enough! Act 5: Starters Introduction Let’s Make a Wacky Deal (natural disasters) We Aren’t Cave Dwellers Anymore (shelters) Be Like the Tide! (ocean currents/oceanography) Reader’s Theater Rubric Blank Rubric About the Authors Common Core State Standards Alignment

    Biography

    Brenda McGee is an experienced, award-winning teacher and published writer. She has taught in public and private schools in kindergarten through eighth grade. She was the cofounder of former publishing house, McGee-Keiser Academic Enrichment Programs, based in Plano, TX. She is the author of several previous books, two of which have won awards for outstanding curricula for gifted and talented students from the National Association for Gifted Children.

    Debbie Keiser is author or coauthor of more than two dozen books, including Solving the Research Puzzle, Earth Central, Ph.D.: Doctor of Sciences, and several titles in the popular Differentiated Curriculum series. She was the cofounder of former publishing house, McGee-Keiser Academic Enrichment Programs, based in Plano, TX.

    The three books in the Reader's Theater...and So Much More! series by Tom McGee, Brenda McGee and Debbie Keiser provide ready-to-use reproducibles for grades, 2-6, 3-4, and 5-6. Each book includes scripts that integrate high interest reading material into comical skits. In contrast to other reading programs that may not appeal to kinesthetic-tactile learners, the Reader's Theater books encourage elementary students to read more fluently while also encouraging articulation, proper pronunciation, and inflection for dramatic interpretation. Students are motivated to reread, not for the sake of repetition or because a teacher “says so,” but rather for the purpose of dramatic presentation.,Susan Hyde,Educating Maine, 1/21/11