GRADE 8 LANGUAGE Readers Theatre

Why learn about plays/scripts? Plays are stories that give us new perspectives on everyday things. Scripts can take various forms: humorous, suspenseful, dramatic, horrifying, mysterious. Likewise, subjects can vary from very serious to light hearted. In grade 9 you will study Shakespeare…

Importance of William Shakespeare 1) Illumination of the Human Experience Shakespeare’s ability to summarize the range of human emotions in simple yet profoundly eloquent verse is perhaps the greatest reason for his popularity. 2) Great Stories William Shakespeare was the most remarkable storyteller that the world has ever known. Shakespeare told every kind of story – comedy, tragedy, history, melodrama, adventure, love stories and fairy tales – and each of them so well that they have become immortal.

Importance of William Shakespeare 3) Compelling Characters Shakespeare invented great characters – particularly his tragic heroes. Shakespeare’s great characters have remained popular because of their complexity.

Vocabulary/Terms : Play: the stage representation of an action or story Script: the written text of a play or broadcast Act: one of the main divisions of an act Scene: where, when, and the surrounding environmental details where the current action in the play takes place Characters: the people in the play Narrator: a character who tells part of the story line, but does not act in the play Dialogue: when characters are speaking Stage Directions: a description of what needs to be acted or directions for the crew

Readers Theatre What is Readers' Theatre ? Readers theatre is a joint dramatic reading from a text, usually with no memorization, no movement and a minimum of props. It involves children in oral reading through reading parts in scripts. Unlike traditional theatre, the emphasis in on oral expression of the part - rather than on acting and costumes. What does it look like:

Activity Form a group of 4. Using the script of Frankenstein create a readers theatre.