Valerie Long

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Readers Theatre The Watsons Go to Birmingham -
1963

• Presented by
• Valerie Long
• Daina Cannon
• Jaret Shank

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• Step 1
• Standards for English Language Arts
• Sponsored by NCTE and IRA
• 1. Students read a wide range of print and
  non-print texts to build an understanding of
  texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the
  United States and the world to acquire new
  information to respond to the needs and demands
  of society and the workplace and for personal
  fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and
  nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

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• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to
  comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate
  texts. They draw on their prior experience, their
  interactions with other readers and writers,
  their knowledge of word meaning and of other
  texts, their word identification strategies, and
  their understanding of textual features (e.g.,
  sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure,
  context, graphics).
• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written,
  and visual language (e.g., conventions, style,
  vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a
  variety of audiences and for different purposes.

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• 8. Students use a variety of technological and
  information resources (e.g., libraries,
  databases, computer networks, video) to gather
  and synthesize information and to create and
  communicate knowledge.
• 9. Students develop an understanding of and
  respect for diversity in language use, patterns,
  and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups,
  geographic regions, and social roles.

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• 11. Students participate as knowledgeable,
  reflective, creative, and critical members of a
  variety of literacy communities.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual
  language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g.,
  for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the
  exchange of information).

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• Step 2
• Georgia QCCs
• Ninth Grade Language Arts
• Language Arts Ninth Grade Principles of
  Literature and Composition
• 28. Varies reading speed and methods according to
  the type of material and purpose of reading.
• 29. Identifies the structural elements of
  literature (e.g., plot, characterization,
  setting, mood, tone, and point of view).

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• 41. Engages critically and constructively in
  discussion by speaking and listening.
• 42. Follows multipart instructions and asks
  questions for clarification.
• 43. Adapts words and statements to various
  situations and audiences.

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• Language Arts Oral/Written Communications Speech
• 28. Uses voice effectively (volume, rate,
  clarity, and inflection).
• 29. Uses nonverbal signs appropriately (gestures,
  eye contact, facial expression, and posture).

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Step 3Class Profile

• 14.5 students in grades K-12 are LEP students.
• LEP students may require a paraprofessional to
  assist with their complex integration.
• LEP students work best in groups, particularly
  small peer groups.
• The class consists of 14 males, 11 females, and 3
  LEP students and 3 with a learning disability.

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• Step 6
• Lesson Objectives
• Comprehension
• Students learn skills of summarization, editing
  and adapting texts. They will also interpret the
  text into their own creation.
• Application
• Students will create an expanded concept of voice
  in the novels they read. They will illustrate how
  actors deal with space, props, and gestures to
  convey certain feelings and actions.

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• Analysis
• After the students have completed their skit, the
  audience will be asked what they thought of the
  groups performance and offer suggestions to
  enhance the scene and give words of praise. The
  students will compare what they initially thought
  of the scene when they first read the passage to
  when it was performed.
• Evaluation
• Students will be measured based on participation
  of the skit and by the evidence of knowledge
  analysis through the writing assignment.

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• Step 7
• Lesson Introduction
• I will ask students if they have any questions
  regarding the first chapter of The Watsons Go To
  Birmingham - 1963. Before beginning the lesson we
  will discuss briefly the various characters and
  establish setting.
• Do you feel sometimes that your family is like
  the weird Watsons? Do you have younger/older
  siblings that think they are cool like Bryon?
  What have they done in the past?
• Introduce the concept of Readers Theatre by
  showing a small clip of Romeo Juliet.

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• Step 8
• Lesson Procedures
• (A) Identifiable Teaching Method and Learning
  Activity
• This lesson will be a student centered teaching
  and learning activity. The teacher will give
  instructions on Readers Theatre and the students
  will perform the rest the of the class period.

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• (B) Implementation Procedures
• 1) After the brief introduction, divide the
  students into three groups. There must me at
  least seven students per group.
• 2) Distribute the handout titled Readers
  Theatre The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963

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• 3) Read the instructions stated on the handout
  and answer any questions the students may have.
  If a student does not want to perform in front of
  the class, that student should consider the role
  of the narrator or director.
• 4) Give the students twenty minutes to meet with
  their groups and plan their skit. The teacher
  will walk to each group answering questions, and
  maintain the noise level as it could become
  noisy.
• 5) Tell the students (this is also stated on the
  handout) that as each group performs, write two
  concepts they liked about the skit and two
  concepts they would have changed on a separate
  piece of paper.
• 6) After all of the groups perform, ask the
  students why certain skits were different from on
  another. Ask them compare what they initially
  thought of the scene when they first read the
  passage to when it was performed.
• 7) Close the lesson by asking for any further
  questions and tell them to read chapters two
  through four for homework.

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• (C) Required Materials
• The Watsons Go To Birmingham 1963 by
  Christopher Paul Curtis
• Computer
• White Board Markers
• Pen/Pencil Paper
• Anything in the classroom may be used as props

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• Step 9
• Implementation of Technology
• (A) Teacher Technology (5 Minimum)
• Teachers can implement technology in this lesson
  by using Word, video clips of Romeo Juliet,
  DVD/VCR, television, internet, overhead
  projector, and PowerPoint.
• (B) Student Technology (3 Minimum)
• Students can implement technology by choosing a
  picture from the internet to use as a backdrop,
  using the overhead to draw a backdrop, and typing
  their final skit in Microsoft Word.

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• Step 10
• Use of Ancillary Resource
• (A) Teacher (5 Minimum)
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963
• Several links for Readers Theatre
  www.webenglishteacher.com/rt.html
• Article from Reading Today entitled Performance
  Literature
• Handout from Dr. Weavers class entitled
  Readers Theatre
• Example of a script http//www.humboldt.edu/jmf
  2/floss/323rt.script.example.html
• Romeo Juliet, VCR/DVD, television

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• (B) Student (3 Minimum)
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
• A guest speaker could be a teacher who teaches
  drama to suggest tips when acting
• Students could watch a play at school where
  their peers perform

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• Step 11
• Identifiable Motivational Strategies
• 1. All students will get full credit for
  participating in the skit.
• 2. Try to make the skit a type of competition
  between the groups.
• 3. Cooperative learning working in small groups
• 4. By creating a role where a student may not
  have to perform, he/she can still add to the
  skit, but not feel singled out.

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• Step 14
• Assessment Methods
• (A) Informal and Formative
• Students will be assessed by participating in the
  skit, giving feedback to the groups, and by
  following instructions. This portion will be
  fifty percent of the total grade. If a student is
  absent, he/she will not receive points for
  participation.
• (B) Formal and Summative
• After the students have written their suggestions
  on each of the groups performances, they will be
  graded on completion of the assignment. This
  portion will be fifty percent of the total grade.

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• Step 15
• Post Lesson Reflection
• 1) Our classroom has a combination of Field
  Dependent (trait for Hispanic and Africa-American
  learners) and Field Independent (trait for Anglo
  learners) students.
• 2) Ability levels are diverse this is addressed
  by groups being assigned to make learning level
  and fair.
• 3) 45.5 of school population is Hispanic,
  which may mean Spanish is the language they are
  speaking in their homes. Once again, groups will
  be assigned so that all Hispanic and ESOL
  students are evenly distributed within groups for
  this project.

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• 4) All learning styles present are addressed in
  lesson plans. Both Field Dependent and Field
  Independent learners will benefit from the group
  collaboration and presentation structure.
• 5) The various ability levels were addressed with
  the pre-planned specific groups. Each ESOL
  student has a high-achiever in their group to
  assist with translation and teacher instructions.
  
• 6) In planning this assignment, teacher accounted
  for all learning groups present. School
  enrollment shows 45 Hispanic, 42 White, 9
  Black, 3 American Indian, and less than 1
  Multi-Racial (rounded up to the nearest whole).

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• 7) Motivational strategies used are appropriate
  for the learners. They will respond to a grade
  for participation, especially since the teacher
  will be actively supervising to account for each
  learner.
• 8) For this assignment, learners will be
  recalling information (Knowledge) and they will
  also be translating and interpreting it into
  their own words to present to their teacher and
  peers (Comprehension).
• 9) Though 9th grade students may not be able to
  write a complete research paper on a piece of
  literature, this assignment will be a helpful
  building step leading up to that type of work.
• 10) Student participation is encouraged by the
  introduction of this lesson. The students will
  have read the assigned chapters, and ESOL
  students will benefit from the discussion and
  questions other students may have about the
  reading.

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• 11) The lesson is a student-centered learning
  activity. All learning types represented will
  benefit from this type of activity.
• 12) The learning activities meet the needs of
  the students in this classroom by allowing them
  to take part in the lesson in many different
  ways.
• 13) By using a variety of technological
  resources, the students will be encouraged to
  take part in the project.
• 14) The resources selected for the project are
  varied but not difficult to incorporate.
• 15) The Informal and Formative assessments will
  be used to grade participation in the skit,
  giving opinions about other groups skits, and
  ability to follow instructions.