Day 8: Readers Theater Performance

There was lots of energy when I walked into their classroom on Performance Day! They were more than excited to show their peers what they had learned and be a part of a Readers Theater for a book many of them had read and loved previously.

My objective was to "Provide students will an opportunity to showcase what they have learned about voice, facial expression and gesture to their peers in a fun way".

Materials: Colored T-shirts, two musical instruments, each students’ part of the Readers Theater

Warm up:

"Zip- Zap-Zop"
We will revisit an old favorite game just to get the kids warmed up and concentrated.

OR "The Princess Pat" - a repeat after me song

The princess pat, (the princess pat)
Lived in a tree, (lived in a tree)
She sailed across, (she sailed across)
The seven Seas, (the seven seas)
She sailed across, (she sailed across)
The channel two, (the channel two)
And she took with her, (and she took with her)
A rick-a-bamboo, (a rick-a-bamboo)
A rick-a-bamboo, (a rick-a-bamboo)

Now what is that? (now what is that?)
Its something made, (its something made)
By the princess pat, (by the princess pat)
Its red and gold, (its red and gold)
And purple too, (and purple too)
Thats why its called, (thats why its called)
A rick-a-bamboo, (a rick-a-bamboo)
A rick-a-bamboo, (a rick-a-bamboo)

Now Captain Jack, (now captain Jack)
Had a mighty fine crew (had a mighty fine crew)
He sailed across, (he sailed across)
The channel two, (the channel two)
But his ship sank, (but his ship sank)
And yours will too, (and yours will too)
If you dont take, (if you dont take)
A rick-a-bamboo (a rick-a-bamboo)
A rick-a-bamboo, (a rick-a-bamboo)

Now what is that? (now what is that?)
Its something made, (its something made)
By the princess pat, (by the princess pat)
Its red and gold, (its red and gold)
And purple too, (and purple too)
Thats why its called, (thats why its called)
A rick-a-bamboo, (a rick-a-bamboo)
A rick-a-bamboo, (a rick-a-bamboo)

Activity: Practice Silently

Because there will not be enough time to run through all the parts of our Readers Theater, I will have each group form a giant circle around the room, standing next to their partner and when I say go, each group will present silently (Partner 1 reading in their head but mouthing the words and Partner 2 making facial expressions or showing us how the crayon feels through body language). Then they will be able to switch.

*This was a little confusing in practice. Next time, even if it uses a little bit more time, I would just run through the whole performance to allow them to practice one more time!

I will then give them a Pep talk about how they are going to do great and how proud of them I am of their hard work this semester!

Performance:
We will perform our readers Theater for another 3rd grade class.

Wrap-up:

I sat down with students and had a small debrief about the experience of performing. Many expressed being nervous and having fun so we talked about how no performance ever is perfect and we can learn each time we perform something we can improve. The students expressed feeling more confident with partners.

Small Evaluations: 

Ask each student the following question: “How would you rate my teaching on a scale from 1-10 and why?” Most of the students kindly gave high ratings and said that I was a fun teacher and they liked learning drama.

This was an incredible experience, not only for me but for the students as well. I was able to teach a few theater concepts, but they also were able to learn about how to work with others, be creative, speak up and concentrate. I learned first hand how important it is to establish well-defined behavior expectations from the beginning and find new ways to get their attention to keep the class period moving along. I learned how smart each child is and how helpful theater can be for students in learning social studies, science patterns or stories in literature. I hope to continue to integrate drama into the classroom!