LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Readers theatre with Jan Brett

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=420

A lesson plan for Grades K–2 English Language Arts

Provider: IRA/NCTE

About this resource

Appropriate grades
K–2
Provider
IRA/NCTE

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In this ReadWriteThink lesson, first- or second-grade students interact with the book Hedgie's Surprise by Jan Brett and create a Readers Theatre experience that is performed for other groups of students. Students make predictions about the story prior to reading, listen to the story read-aloud, and then make observations about the characters, setting, and plot postreading. This focus on the literary elements of the story leads students to create costumes, props, and sets for the final Readers Theatre performance. Although Readers Theatre does not usually employ such devices, the use of costumes and sets affords early elementary students a better understanding of the story. This resource includes links to teacher and students materials and to related websites.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 1

  • Goal 2: The learner will develop and apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is read, heard, and viewed.
    • Objective 2.01: Read aloud independently with fluency and comprehension any text that is appropriately designed for emergent readers.
    • Objective 2.02: Demonstrate familiarity with a variety of texts (storybooks, short chapter books, newspapers, telephone books, and everyday print such as signs and labels, poems, word plays using alliteration and rhyme, skits and short plays).
    • Objective 2.04: Use preparation strategies to anticipate vocabulary of a text and to connect prior knowledge and experiences to a new text.
    • Objective 2.05: Predict and explain what will happen next in stories.
    • Objective 2.06: Self-monitor comprehension by using one or two strategies (questions, retelling, summarizing).
    • Objective 2.07: Respond and elaborate in answering what, when, where, and how questions.
  • Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
    • Objective 4.02: Use words that name characters and settings (who, where) and words that tell action and events (what happened, what did ___ do) in simple texts.
    • Objective 4.03: Use specific words to name and tell action in oral and written language (e.g., using words such as frog and toad when discussing an expository text).
    • Objective 4.04: Extend skills in using oral and written language:
      • clarifying purposes for engaging in communication.
      • using clear and precise language to paraphrase messages.
      • engaging in more extended oral discussions.
      • producing written products.
      • completing graphic organizers.

Grade 2

  • Goal 3: The learner will make connections through the use of oral language, written language, and media and technology.
    • Objective 3.04: Increase oral and written vocabulary by listening, discussing, and composing texts when responding to literature that is read and heard. (e.g., read aloud by teacher, literature circles, interest groups, book clubs).
    • Objective 3.05: Locate and discuss examples of an author's use of:
      • kinds of sentences (declarative, interrogative, exclamatory).
      • capitalization (titles, dates and days, names of countries).
      • punctuation (exclamation marks, commas in dates, and to introduce dialogue and quotations).
      • use of paragraphs in texts and their effects on the reader.
      • genre(s) and specific word choice(s).
    • Objective 3.06: Discuss the effect of an author's choices for nouns, verbs, and modifiers which help the reader comprehend a narrative or expository text.
  • Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
    • Objective 4.03: Read aloud with fluency and expression any text appropriate for early independent readers.
    • Objective 4.04: Use oral communication to identify, organize, and analyze information.
    • Objective 4.05: Respond appropriately when participating in group discourse by adapting language and communication behaviors to the situation to accomplish a specific purpose.

Kindergarten

  • Goal 3: The learner will make connections through the use of oral language, written language, and media and technology.
    • Objective 3.02: Discuss concepts and information in a text to clarify and extend knowledge.
    • Objective 3.03: Associate target words with prior knowledge and explore an author's choice of words.
    • Objective 3.04: Use speaking and listening skills and media to connect experiences and text
      • listening to and re-visiting stories
      • discussing, illustrating, and dramatizing stories
      • discovering relationships.
  • Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
    • Objective 4.02: Use words that name and words that tell action in a variety of simple texts (e.g., oral retelling, written stories, lists, journal entries of personal experiences).
    • Objective 4.03: Use words that describe color, size, and location in a variety of texts: e.g., oral retelling, written stories, lists, journal entries of personal experiences.
    • Objective 4.04: Maintain conversation and discussions:
      • attending to oral presentations
      • taking turns expressing ideas and asking questions.