READERS' THEATER UNIT: READING & SCRIPT WRITING grades 5 6 7 8

Want three weeks of fun, no-prep drama or ELA lessons? In this 30% off Readers' Theater activities unit, students read two humorous scripts, answer questions and activities, and watch a slideshow. After absorbing the tips in the 38 slide presentation, they write their own 4-6 page scripts and read them to their admiring fellow students. All you have to do is photocopy the PDFs, or post them to Google Classroom, and let the fun begin! A minimal prep skills development board game will add to the excitement and challenge.

READING TWO SCRIPTS STARTS THE UNIT

The Mystery of the Stolen Laptop readers’ theater script will entertain your students and require them to perform inference tasks to solve clues. The script is intended for 8 readers but the number of readers can be contracted or expanded depending on how many groups you wish to have.
PLOT
This funny and engaging story is about the theft of a laptop at school and the detective work that two characters use to track it down. The main character parts range in age from 10-14. Matt fears he isn’t as speedy at working things out as his clever friend Sophie is, but he manages to wow her in this story- and discover where his stolen laptop is!
STUDENT TASKS
-- Students read their individual parts aloud.
-- To track down the missing laptop, students unscramble anagrams.
-- They also work out clues using a numbers-to-alphabet code.
-- After solving the mystery, students discuss and write on six questions.
-- Students complete a journal entry.
-- Their final task is to design a ‘Where’s Waldo?’ style drawing for a fellow student.
Question sheets and answers are included.

Cindy Rella Fractured Fairy Tale Script
This Readers’ Theater fractured fairy tale script gives grades 5-8 students high interest practice in reading aloud, comprehension and writing. After completing the script they will write an additional scene, AND a ‘pitch’ to promote a fractured fairy story of their own. There’s even a quick mystery about a missing item for them to solve! The script is intended for 9 readers, but the number of readers can easily be contracted or expanded, depending on how many groups you wish to have.

PLOT
Cindy Rella is obviously based on the children’s tale. In this 21st century re-telling of the classic story Cindy does indeed live in an unhappy home where there is far too much concentration on cleaning, but it is the shoe obsessed Cindy (forever buying shoes from Amazon) who is the bully. Only her godfather knows the unhappiness and envy that causes Cindy to behave badly. Cindy goes to the ball and meets Hans Summ, singer of the best-selling band the Charmers, yet the tale ends differently from the way your students will anticipate.

STUDENT TASKS
-- Students read their individual parts aloud.
-- Students discuss and write on five questions.
-- Students complete a script writing task.
-- They write a fractured story plot pitch that they could use as the basis for a longer script of their own if you or they wish.
-- They perform a fun jokes activity.

Quick peer and self assessment forms are provided, and a reading rubric for easy marking.

WRITING A SCRIPT CONCLUDES THE UNIT

If your drama and ELA students love reading Readers' Theater scripts, imagine how much enjoyment they will derive from writing and reading their own! This colorful 38 slide detailed PowerPoint and PDF explains to students, step-by-step, how to write a 4-6 page script for themselves and their classmates to read aloud.
This writing assignment will take about two hours to write and proof-read. It will take a few hours for students to rehearse with their readers as students will be readers in several groups. The duration of the readings to audiences - in person or on-line - will depend entirely on how many students you had in your class. Two versions of the resource - a PowerPoint and a PDF - are included in the zip file. Pick whichever is most convenient for your use.

What is included

All the basics are explained:

-- How to pick a story.

-- How to develop the plot.
-- How to build the characters and the dialogue.

-- How to set out the script.

-- Advice about how to read parts.
-- A teacher rubric for the writing of the script.
-- A teacher rubric for the reading of the script.

This unit is part of a mega money saving 50% off Bargain Bundle: 50% OFF DRAMA BIG BARGAIN BUNDLE.
Students keen for another brain teaser mystery script with Matt and Sophie? READERS' THEATER- MYSTERY OF THE DRAMA CAMP THIEF

Want to combine a Readers' Theater mystery with elements of drama exercises? READERS' THEATER MYSTERY SCRIPT WITH ELEMENTS OF DRAMA EXERCISES
For oodles of drama fun, try Drama Games for Middle School

If your students liked the mystery script, they will love the 15 tales in Mini Mysteries grades 5-8. Matt and Sophie star in a few of these tales.

OR Try a poetry read aloud performance:

THE RAVEN: Readers' Theater Whole Class Or Small Group Read Aloud Poetry Performance

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions about this product - or any other product in my store - please write to me at brilliantlylit@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you!

Thanks so much for checking out my resources! Click HERE to make yourself a follower. You will receive notification of new resources and SAVE 50% off for the first 48 hours.

If you purchase the resource, I would be very grateful if you could review it afterwards and give me valuable feedback. Doing so will earn you TpT credits to spend on other resources, so it is a win-win.