It's Valentine's Day, Charlie Brown! Reader's Theatre Script -With Rubric

After school, Linus walks by Charlie Brown’s house, and sees Charlie Brown standing beside his mailbox.

Linus

What’s wrong, Charlie Brown?

Charlie Brown

I think I could spend my whole life standing here and still never get a Valentine’s card.

Included in the It's Valentine's Day, Charlie Brown! Reader's Theatre Unit:

15 page script

6 characters + the narrator

Reader's Theatre Evaluations based on 4 levels and 5 criteria.

Student Success Criteria

Student Friendly Goals

Teacher's Reader's Theatre Checklist

It's Valentine's Day, Charlie Brown! Synopsis:

Charlie Brown cannot wait to get Valentine's card from his friends. He expects his mailbox to be filled to the brim with them. Meanwhile, Linus is in love with his teacher, and is planning on buying her the most expensive Valentine's gift that he can afford. Sally sees Linus with the expensive gift and she assumes that Linus bought it for her. Lucy tries to bully Schroeder into being her Valentine date, while Sally does her best to make a card that is comparable to Linus's gift. On the day of the Valentine's Day party, Charlie Brown brings a suitcase to school in anticipation of all of the Valentine's cards he will receive.

Will Charlie Brown have a joyful Valentine's Day?

Will Sally's card make Linus forget all about his teacher, and fall for her instead?

Will Linus's expensive gift impress his teacher?

Will Lucy be able to convince Schroeder to be her Valentine?

Find out in It's Valentine's Day, Charlie Brown!

Do not fear the reader's theater format. Students love these adapted stories because they are listening to the story and they are a part of the story by playing a character within the story.

Reader's theatre inspires reluctant readers to join in the fun. The strongest and most advanced readers in your class will encourage other students to raise their hand and participate in the story. I also use reader's theatre to add to my drama marks.

If the reader's theatre format did not work for my students and I, then I would have stopped creating and adapting them years ago.

Reluctant readers sometimes feel anxious looking at pages of text, whereas a reader's theater script is broken up into narration and different characters speaking, thus making the story more accessible to those students who have not discovered the incredibly fun activity of reading for entertainment.

I use shorter stories with minimal characters in literature circles.

When can one make time for a reader's theatre story in class?

When I am not reading a reader's theatre unit with my class, I usually reserve Friday's for the reading of a one-off story. It is an event that the class looks forward to, since they do not know which story I will choose. Great for Librarians and small groups. I project the stories on the screen and assign characters in class. Some characters only have 1 line. A supporting character like that is perfect for a reluctant reader.

I have read these stories remotely/online and in class/in-person.

I encourage teachers and instructors to allow students to practice their parts at home before they read in front of the class. They can try different voices and tones when they practice. It is also good for family bonding time. The student's parent/guardian can play another role and they can read together.

I hope you, and your students have a fun time reading It's Valentine's Day, Charlie Brown!

Happy Valentine's Day and Excelsior!

Mr. Marvel: The King of Reader's Theatre