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I was digging around in the closet the other day and came across some things I had bought at Dollar Tree for Get the Egg! for next year. We already did a readers' theatre for it a long time ago, but I decided to put it in the library station this week. So they had two different readers' theatres to do. They had fun doing this one even though it's an old story. One of my students (who's had trouble all year) really was excited because he could read this one.
All the props came from Dollar Tree. They had this packet of kid cutouts and I was looking through them and I thought they looked like Brad and Kim from the story. Then later I found the fake nest with eggs and the bird in their craft section. I bought two so I'd have six eggs. They were excited about the nest.
This is the readers' theatre I typed up months ago. I'm going to have to redo it. That font! That clipart! What was I thinking? Remember when Comic Sans was cool? That's not comic sans but you get my point.
Next week, we will be on Tippy-Toe Chick, Go! which is one of my favorite stories of the whole Reading Street series.
I made a readers' theatre for it several years ago and we act it out. They have SO much fun with this. I have some little actors, let me tell ya. They put some attitude in it!
So anyway, I drew some clipart to go with it and uploaded it on TPT today. It also has masks.
This is how I do the play in my classroom. I am the tree the dog is tied to. What I do is- I tie one end of a long piece of rope to my belt loop and the other end to whoever is playing the dog. I hold the script in my hand (the dog doesn't really need it). I tap his foot when it's time to tug and bark. Trust me, they get into the barking. Then Little Chick runs around the tree and Dog chases her. The rope wraps around me until the kid gets stuck. By this time, the whole class is going crazy laughing. I also usually let Dog be a struggling reader because they don't have to read anything and they still get to be in the play. Plus, everyone else wants to play the dog. So it gives them a chance to be successful.
Last year, the boy who played Middle Chick was hilarious. He ad libbed quite a bit. After the dog barks at him, he went running back to Hen like he was supposed to. But then he started doing karate moves at the dog. I was like, "that's not how it goes!"
First person to comment gets it for free! Just leave me your email address and I will send it to you.
I just finished uploading a readers' theatre for Peter's Chair. I love this story. I made my own clipart for Willie and Peter. I am having so much fun drawing. I used to draw all the time when I was a kid. I didn't intend to spend so much time on it, but that's when the OCD kicked in. I drew the dog because finding clipart of a weiner dog is really hard. All of them were brown. Then I decided to try Peter. Now it's 12:40 and I'm still up blogging. I hope I don't sleep through church. Click on the link below for a copy!
My little girl is sick today so we are at home. She is taking a looooong nap, so it's given me a chance to work on my latest project which I just uploaded to TPT. My mom used to tell this version of The Three Billy Goats Gruff to me when I was little. I wanted her to tell it to me all. the. time. It has a song in it that the goats sing. Anyway, a few years ago, we found a record at her house and it was the Three Billy Goats Gruff. The troll had a song too. I wish I could find a link so you could hear the song. I wrote it up as a readers' theatre last week and have been working on my own clipart. I bought some from melonheadz illustrations and it was very cute. But I love to draw and wanted to make my own.
Whew! There has got to be an easier way to make clipart. I don't have any expensive programs like photoshop. I downloaded Inkscape (free) and tried to scan my handdrawn pictures in. That didn't really work. So I drew them on the computer which I had never tried before. It took a good while, but I finally finished. I think they turned out rather cute.
I want to make my own clipart to sell one day but I can't figure out how to get rid of the white background. Does anyone know how to turn your drawings into clipart without it taking forever? I'm sure there are programs out there.
Here is the link to Three Billy Goats Gruff: A Differentiated Readers' Theatre Station.
There are two versions- one on grade level and one for students who read on about a 1.3-1.4 level. My kids loved the Little Red Riding Hood one I made. I used it as a literacy station with only one or two kids. It was probably the only station where somebody wasn't playing. (Do your kids ever do that? Maybe it's just mine...) I'm thinking about making one for Peter's Chair. That's our story for this week. That one might have to be a freebie. I'm not sure about copyright laws on stuff like that. But if I make it, I'll post it on tpt.
When I was a little girl, we didn't have a TV. Sooo, I did a lot of reading. I also listened to a lot of stories on records. Let's Pretend was my favorite. Let's Pretend is an OLD series of fairytales on record. I think it actually was a radio show.
Some of the stories were a little macabre. Jorinda and Joringle was really dark. It was about a stepmother who accidently kills her stepson and then buries him underneath the juniper tree. He comes back to life, but still. Creepy.
So anyway, I also had this old record of The Three Little Pigs. I don't remember the name of it but it's still at my momma's house. I typed it up (which was fun) a few years ago. I had to keep stopping the record and write down what I thought it said. The wolf actually sings his lines. I made it into a Readers' Theatre and we performed it for the parents. The kids did a fantastic job.
All that to say, I just uploaded it to TPT! However, there are three versions so it can be differentiated. The first version is straight from the record. It's for more advanced readers. Although I had a struggling reader play the part of the wolf. It took some practice though. But if you use it as an independent station, it's definitely for advanced readers.
The second version is like the first, but I took out some of the more difficult words and shortened it a bit.
The third version has been totally modified for readers who are on a lower level.
There are also character cutouts you can use to make puppets. Just laminate, cut out, and tape a Popscicle stick on the back.
I just finished uploading a differentiated literacy center- Little Red Riding Hood Readers' Theatre scripts. My kids LOVE this station. I try to change it out once a week- sometimes I don't quite make it. I wrote the script myself (first time attempting that). I wrote two different versions- one for my on-level and advanced students and an easier one for my strategic level students.
Here is the link for anyone who wants to buy a copy.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Little-Red-Riding-Hood-Readers-Theater-A-Differentiated-Literacy-Activity
The easier version is probably somewhere in the 1.3-1.5 range. The on-level version is probably 1.7 or so. I use pictures to tell which character is talking. I find that they keep up better that way.
I also did 2 versions of the puppets. After I printed the first version, I thought, "Whoa! I'm not going to have any ink left." So, I made a more color friendly version. The puppets are smaller and on a white background. This is a picture of the first version. If you have plenty of ink, knock yourself out. But that stuff gets expensive after a while.
I taped pencils on the back. Couldn't find any popscicle sticks.
The first person who comments gets a free copy! Just leave your email address. I don't think there will be any major fight over who wins seeing as how I've only had like 3 comments since I started this blog. But you gotta start somewhere, right?
Now, I've gotta get back to this sweet baby of mine before she figures out how to unlatch the baby gate.
Speaking of my darling baby girl (and she is precious), when do they get to the stage where you can go to the bathroom or anywhere else for that matter without them? This is what I saw when I came out of the bathroom yesterday. And she was hollering,"Momma!" the whole time I was gone.
Ignore all the clutter in the background. You didn't see it.
Also, just randomnly, I got the SWEETEST present from one of my little boys. My birthday is Saturday, but this week is our Spring Break, so the kids knew we wouldn't be there on my birthday. First graders are all about birthdays. So I got a couple of homemade presents. One little boy "wrapped" his present in a diaper case with a whistle. Inside was an orange for me and a little toy "for Baby Joy." Melt. my. heart. :)
We have been working on our seasons unit in science. We've finished winter and are starting spring next week. We should have been about halfway through by now, but you know how that goes. I had four absent today, so I let the kids help me finish my anchor charts.
I drew the trunks and the kids glued on the leaves. I love scrapbook paper.
To introduce the unit, we watched this video from Harry Kindergarten. The kids LOVE it. Here's the link if you've never seen it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWF8Su78xik
I typed it up so I can put it in a center later. Plus I can't remember the words. I'm going to put it on TPT for free. I would just put it on here but I don't know how to upload it.
We've also been busy writing in our seasons' journals I got from Today in First Grade. Here's the link to the freebie. It's a great addition to our study on seasons. http://todayinfirstgrade.blogspot.com/2011/09/learning-about-seasons.html
