Reading can come alive when you read with a group (classroom reader's theatre)

Reading can come alive when you read with a group (read a play with your class for a fun literature experience).

Hook (Anticipatory Set): As a class, discuss the following questions: What are some of the students' favorite movies? Are they dramas or comedies?

Part 1: Divide the classroom up in to small groups. Have the student groups discuss if they like a serious story (drama) or a funny one (comedy). As a group, they will decide on which one they like better. (optional: maybe students will want to change groups to join a comedy group or a dramatic one)

Part 2: Have students go to freedrama.net and search the website for scripts that match the size of their group. From these scripts, did they find a dramatic one or a comedy?

Part 3: The students will print out enough copies of the script for each member of the group. Each student picks a part. They will read the entire play aloud in a small group.

Part 4: The students will pick a short scene from the script and practice that scene. Conclusion: The groups will summarize the script for the class. Then they will perform the short scene for the entire class and discuss why they picked the script and that scene. (Optional: students can say which famous actors they would cast in the script as a fun way to engage the class)

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