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Unit 1/Week 3 at a Glance

Day Mini-Lessons

ONE • Build Background and Introduce the Original Song

• Introduce the Reader’s Theater Script

• Front-Load Vocabulary

• Read Aloud the Script: Model Fluent Reading

TWO • Retell the Script: Analyze Story Elements

• Reread the Script

• Build Comprehension: Analyze Characters

THREE • Introduce Fluency Skills: Speed/Pacing—Varied

FOUR • Practice and Self-Assess Fluency Skills: Speed/Pacing—Varied

• Apply Fluency Skills to Reader’s Theater

FIVE • Prepare for and Manage Student Performances: Audience and Performer Expectations

• Show Time!

• Assess and Reflect

Ask Questions/Identify Main Idea and Supporting Details

Nursery Rhymes and Songs

Old MacDonald’sNoisy Farm

An adaptation of a traditional song

by Jeffrey B. Fuerst • illustrated by Bill Greenhead

TM

LiteracyB e n c h m a r k

Teacher’s Guide Grade 1 • Unit 1 3Week

Benchmark Literacy • Grade 1 • Unit 1/Week 3 ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC2

Day One

Read-Aloud (10 minutes)

Select a favorite fiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library with which to model the metacognitive strategy “Ask Questions.” Use the sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles provided in the Getting Started Guide.

Mini-Lessons (20 minutes)

Build Background and Introduce the Original Song

Ask: Has anyone heard the song “Old MacDonald”? Raise your hands if you know this song. Allow responses.

Invite individual students who have heard the song to tell you what the song is about.

Invite volunteers to recite or sing the original song lyrics, if they can.

Read Aloud the Original Song Lyrics: Old MacDonald

Display the inside front cover of the big book Old MacDonald’s Noisy Farm, or use the interactive whiteboard version.

Read aloud the original song, or play the modeled reading using the interactive e-book.

Invite students to echo-read the song with you one line at a time. Point to each word as you read it.

Invite students to choral-read or choral-sing the entire song with you for repeated oral reading practice.

Discuss the setting, characters, and story line of “Old MacDonald” and create a simple Story Map (BLM 1) to summarize these story elements. Use the following question prompts only as needed:

• Who are the characters in “Old MacDonald”?• Where does the song take place?• What does Old MacDonald have on his farm?

Post the Story Map to use as an anchor chart.

Lesson Objectives

Students will:

• Review or learn a traditional song.

• Ask questions.

• Identify main idea and supporting details.

• Analyze story elements.

• Analyze character.

• Listen to a fluent reading of the script.

• Build oral language and vocabulary through whole-group and partner discussion.

Related Resources

• Story Map (BLM 1)

• BenchmarkUniverse.com

ILLUSTRATION BY BILL GREENHEAD©2008 BENCHMARK EDUCATION COMPANY, LLC • 629 FIFTH AVENUE • PELHAM • NY 10803 • www.benchmarkeducation.com

Old MacDonaldOld MacDonald had a farm.

E, I, E, I, O.

And on his farm he had some ducks.

E, I, E, I, O.

With a quack quack here

And a quack quack there.

Here a quack, there a quack,

Everywhere a quack quack.

Old MacDonald had a farm.

E, I, E, I, O.Repeat with other farm animals and the sounds they make, such as a pig (oink), cow (moo), and horse (neigh).

Reader’s Theater Big Book Inside Front Cover

Day One

3©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Benchmark Literacy • Grade 1 • Unit 1/Week 3

Make Content Comprehensible for ELLs

BeginningDisplay the inside front cover of the big book. As you introduce the original song, point to and name Old MacDonald and the animals. Ask a student to show the sound the animal makes. Invite ELLs to share the equivalent animal sounds in their language.

Beginning and IntermediateAs you front-load the script vocabulary, allow time for students to practice using the words in sentences.

If you have students whose first language is Spanish, share these English/Spanish cognates: animals/los animales; narrator/el narrador.

Intermediate and AdvancedModel the use of academic sentence frames to support ELLs’ vocabulary and language development. (See suggested sentence frames provided.)

All LevelsPair ELLs with fluent English speakers during partner discussions and activities.

Model sentence frames. Support ELLs by modeling how to use the following sentence frames to discuss the song:

The characters are .The setting is .Old MacDonald has .

Introduce the Reader’s Theater Script

Display the big book Old MacDonald’s Noisy Farm on an easel, or use the interactive whiteboard version.

Read aloud the title and the author’s name on the cover. Invite students to identify and discuss what they see in the cover illustration.

Explain to students that throughout the week they will be reading a new version of “Old MacDonald” as a group.

Say: A new version is called an adaptation. Writers change parts of the story in an adaptation. They may change the characters. They may change what happens, too. Sometimes writers change the story into a play by writing a script.

Tell students that at the end of the week they will perform this reader’s theater adaptation.

Say: We will perform a script in front of an audience. You will get to be characters from the script. You will not have to remember your lines like actors in movies or on TV shows, though. Instead, you will read your parts out loud while the rest of the class watches and listens.

STORY ELEMENT

OLD MACDONALD

OLD MACDONALD’S NOISY FARM

Characters Farmer, animals

Setting Farm

Plot (What happens?)

Old MacDonald’s animals make noises

Sample Story Map Annotations (BLM 1)

Reader’s Theater Big Book

Day One


Activate metacognitive strategies. Use some or all of the following prompts to help students use strategies to think and make predictions about the script they will read.

Ask questions. Ask: Based on the cover information, what questions can you ask yourself?

Make connections. Ask: What connections can you already make between this script and the “Old MacDonald” song?

Make inferences. Ask: What clues on this cover could you use to predict what will happen in this script?

Read aloud the title page, including the title and author, cast of characters, and setting.

Invite students to explore the layout, text, and illustrations.

Point out the color coding of the characters’ names and the image icons, and explain how these help readers know when to read their part.

Discuss the anchor chart of the original and go over the concept of an adaptation. Ask: If you were to write a new version of this song, what would it include?

Front-Load Vocabulary

Turn to the picture, sight, and enrichment words on pages 2–3, or display these pages using the e-book on the interactive whiteboard version.

Say: We will find many kinds of words in this script. The words you see here are all in the script. Let’s read these words together before we start reading.

Point to each picture word and read it with students. Then ask students to use each picture word in a sentence.

Invite volunteers to read any sight words they already know. Invite other students to repeat each word and suggest a meaningful sentence using the word.

Point to each enrichment word as you say it. Use the following prompts to encourage students to incorporate these words into their oral vocabulary.

• What animals do you know?• Do you think a farm is a quiet or a noisy place? Why?• Would you see animals everywhere on a farm?• Tell me something you might see on a farm.

2

Picture Words

Sight Words

here I many the

Quack!

farm

ducks

3

Enrichment Words

animals everywhere

quiet something

Neigh!

hear

horses

Old MacDonald’s Noisy Farm, page 2

Old MacDonald’s Noisy Farm, page 3

©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Benchmark Literacy • Grade 1 • Unit 1/Week 3 5

Day One

Support Special Needs LearnersThroughout the week, use the following strategies to help students who have learning disabilities access the content and focus on skills and strategies.

Support visual learners and students with attention issues by projecting the whiteboard version of the big book. Allow students to come to the whiteboard and circle, highlight, or label key vocabulary.

Support auditory learners by playing the e-book readings of the song and script.

During independent workstation time, pair special needs students with more fluent readers for partner-reading practice of the script.

Group students heterogeneously for small-group reading of the script so that struggling students benefit from working with more fluent readers.

Assign multiple students to specific roles so that they can support one another.

Fluency Quick-Check Throughout the week, refer to the Fluency Rubric provided in the Benchmark Literacy Ongoing Assessments to help you informally assess where students are in their development of key areas of fluency.

Read Aloud the Script: Model Fluent Reading

Have students listen and follow along as you read the whole script aloud to model fluency and expression. Be sure to emphasize the exclamations and accentuate the animal sounds. (As an alternative, play the talking e-book on the interactive whiteboard version, and instruct students to listen and follow along as the text is read and highlighted.)

Connect and transfer. Say: Today we asked questions to analyze the story elements in the song “Old MacDonald.” Tomorrow, we will use this strategy to retell and analyze the story elements in the script. Remember that good readers ask themselves questions to help them understand what they are reading.

Small-Group Reading Instruction (60 minutes)

Based on students’ instructional reading levels and comprehension needs, select titles that provide opportunities for students to continue to practice identifying main ideas and details (see the Leveled Text Titles chart provided at the back of this Teacher’s Resource System), or select titles that enable students to review previously taught comprehension strategies.

Use the instruction provided in the Teacher’s Guide to introduce the texts.

Individual Student Conferences (10 minutes)

Confer with individual students on their text selections and application of strategies. Use the Individual Reading Conference Form on page 32 of Informal Assessments for Reading Development to help guide your conferences.

Phonics Workshop (20 minutes)

Use the Day 1 instruction provided in Benchmark Phonics BuildUp Unit 3.

Fluency Rubric


Day Two


Select a favorite fiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library with which to model the metacognitive strategy “Ask Questions.” Use the sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles provided in the Getting Started Guide.


Retell the Script: Analyze Story Elements

Say: Yesterday we read Old MacDonald’s Noisy Farm. Let’s take a few minutes to retell what we know about the characters, setting, and plot in this script. Raise your hand if you would like to share something that happened in the script, and I will call on you.

Lead a discussion about the story characters and events. Allow students to recall as much information as they can without prompting. If necessary, use the following questions to guide students’ retelling:

• Who were the characters in this script?• Where does the action take place?• What happened at the beginning of the script?• What happened in the middle of the script?• How does the script end?

Support ELLs in retelling information by providing the following sentence frames to help them produce academic language:

The characters are .The [animal] says [animal sound].At the end of the story, .

Shared Writing. Record students’ retelling on the Story Map (BLM 1) that you started on Day One.

Lesson Objectives

Students will:

• Retell story elements.

• Reread to build fluency.

• Analyze characters.


Related Resources

• Story Map (BLM 1)

• Old MacDonald (BLM 2)


STORY ELEMENT

OLD MACDONALD OLD MACDONALD’S NOISY FARM

Characters Farmer, animals Farmer, his wife, narrator, animals

Setting Farm Farm, early in the morning

Plot (What happens?)

Old MacDonald’s animals make noises

Old MacDonald tells about his animals. They make a lot of noise. Finally the farmer tells them to be quiet.

Sample Story Map Annotations (BLM 1)



Day Two


BeginningInvite ELLs and other students to role-play their characters’ personalities.

Beginning and IntermediateReread the picture, sight, and enrichment words on pages 2–3 of the big book. Provide opportunities for ELLs to use the words in oral sentences.

All Levels Pair ELLs with fluent English speakers during discussions and activities.

Model the use of academic sentence frames to support ELLs’ discussion of main ideas and supporting details. (See suggested sentence frames provided.)

Comprehension Quick-CheckNote students who have difficulty analyzing the story characters. Support them with the following explicit instruction.

Create character webs for each character and list the adjectives students contribute.

Then look for evidence in the big book text to support students’ character analysis.

Reinforce the fact that readers pay attention to characters’ actions, words, thoughts, feelings, and expressions.

Say: Remember, in order to read with the correct expression you need to understand who your character is.

Reread the Script

Conduct a shared reading of the entire book, inviting students to chime in when they know the words. You might want to assign specific students to help you read certain parts of the script. For example, some students could be the chorus and make the animal sounds. Other students could help read Mrs. MacDonald’s repeated line, “I hear the .”

Next, choral-read the script as a group. Encourage students to read with as much expression as they can.

Build Comprehension: Analyze Characters

Turn to the cast of characters on the title page.

Say: When you perform a reader’s theater script, you need to understand your character well. If you understand how your character feels, thinks, and acts, you can play that character convincingly. Let’s take some time and think about the characters in this script.

Think/Pair/Share. Ask pairs of students to discuss one character from the script (Narrator, Old MacDonald, or Old MacDonald’s wife) and to list at least three adjectives that describe this character. Have pairs share their adjectives with the class. Record their adjectives on a three-column chart with each column representing one of the characters. Discuss how each character might speak and act, based on students’ characterization of him or her.

Connect and transfer. Say: Tomorrow during small-group reading, each of you will be assigned a role in this script. We will practice reading the script. At the end of the week, you will get to perform the script. Remember to use all the strategies we’ve practiced to help you comprehend. You can retell, reread, and put ideas into your own words to help you.


Day Two


Based on students’ instructional reading levels and comprehension needs, select titles that provide opportunities for students to continue to practice identifying stated main ideas and details (see the Leveled Text Titles chart provided at the back of this Teacher’s Resource System), or select titles that enable students to review previously taught comprehension strategies.

Use the instruction provided in the Teacher’s Guide to introduce the texts.


Confer with individual students on their text selections and application of strategies. Use the Individual Reading Conference Form on page 32 of Informal Assessments for Reading Development to help guide your conferences.



Home/School ConnectionHave students take home Old MacDonald (BLM 2) and read it with a family member. Have students draw a picture to illustrate the song.

Oral Language Extension Display the big book during independent workstation time. Have pairs of students retell and make connections to the script using the prompts and pictures on the inside back cover. Students should be prepared to discuss their ideas during independent conferencing time.

Old MacDonald (BLM 2)

Name Date

Benchmark Literacy • Grade 1 • Unit 1/Week 3 ©2010 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

BLM 2

Old MacDonaldParent Instructions: Read the song to your child. Point to each word as you read. Then read the words together. Finally, invite your child to draw a picture about the song.


E, I, E, I, O.

And on his farm he had some ducks.

E, I, E, I, O.

With a quack quack here

And a quack quack there.

Here a quack, there a quack,

Everywhere a quack quack.


E, I, E, I, O.


Day Three


Select a favorite nonfiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library with which to model the metacognitive strategy “Ask Questions.” Use the sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles provided in the Getting Started Guide.


Introduce Fluency Skills: Speed/Pacing—Varied

Explain: We read different kinds of texts at different speeds. For example, we read things like tongue twisters and rhymes quickly to keep the rhythm going. We read things like directions slowly to make sure we don’t miss any steps. Sometimes we read different parts of a text at different speeds. We read the easy parts faster, and we read the hard parts slower. This is called pacing. Good readers use pacing to help their reading sound right and make sense to themselves and others.

Display the fluency poster “Things I Like to Do” and read aloud the title. (Note: The poster is also available as BLM 3.)

Say: This is a dialogue. Notice how it has parts for Speaker 1 and Speaker 2. It reminds me of the reader’s theater script we have been reading. As we practice reading our reader’s theater script today during small-group reading, we need to pay attention to pacing. So I’m going to model how I vary my pacing to reflect the characters’ personalities and voices and to help me read difficult words. Speaker 1 in this dialogue likes to do slow, relaxing activities, so I’ll read those parts slower. Speaker 2 likes fast, lively activities, so I’ll read those parts faster. I’ll also look for easy and hard words and pay close attention to the punctuation to know when to speed up or slow down.

Ask students to listen and follow along as you read the passage aloud, varying your speed to match what the speakers are saying and utilizing punctuation cues.

Say: Now I will read part of the dialogue again. This time, I will read every word at the same speed.

Read the first few lines of the dialogue in a slow, word-by-word manner.

Ask: Which reading makes the dialogue sound better? Why?

Fluency Poster

Lesson Objectives

Students will:

• Practice reading a passage with varied speed and pacing.

• Compose a class Fluency anchor chart.


Related Resources

• Things I Like to Do (BLM 3)



Day Three


Beginning and IntermediateOrally demonstrate fast and slow pacing. Invite students to vary their pace, too, and tell you whether it was fast or slow.

Develop the concept of “Things I Like to Do.” Invite ELLs to talk about their favorite activities using the sentence frame: I like to . Write their sentences on chart paper and reread them together.

All LevelsBefore reading the poster to model fluency, read and support comprehension of unfamiliar words and concepts through explanation, gestures and role-play, or the use of props as needed.

Comprehension Quick-CheckThe goal of fluency practice is to increase comprehension. Use the following questions to check students’ comprehension of the passage.

• What was this dialogue mostly about?

• What did Speaker 1 like to do? What did Speaker 2 like to do?

• How were the characters different?

Home/School ConnectionInvite students to take home Things I Like to Do (BLM 3) and choral-read it with a family member to build fluency.

Shared Writing. Invite students to help you create a class anchor chart to remind them how good readers use speed and pacing. (See the example below.) When you are finished, ask students to echo-read the entire chart. Then post the chart in the classroom for future reference.

Connect and transfer. Say: Today during small-group reading, pay attention to pacing as you read. Slow down when you are having trouble with a word. Vary your pacing depending on what is happening in the script.


Use the small-group reading time to read Old MacDonald’s Noisy Farm.

Use the Day 3 instruction provided in the Nursery Rhymes and Songs Teacher’s Guide to assign roles and guide students’ reading of the script.


Confer with individual students to discuss their script roles and how they plan to read their parts. Use the Individual Reading Conference Form on page 32 of Informal Assessments for Reading Development to help guide your conferences.



Sample Anchor Chart

Speed/Pacing• We read different kinds of texts at

different speeds.

• We read easy parts faster and hard parts slower.

• We match our pacing to what the author is saying.

• Reading too fast makes the reading hard to understand.

• Reading too slowly does not sound natural.

• No matter what speed we use to read, we pay attention to punctuation.


Day FourRead-Aloud (10 minutes)

Select a favorite nonfiction read-aloud from your classroom or school library with which to model the metacognitive strategy “Ask Questions.” Use the sample read-aloud lessons and suggested titles provided in the Getting Started Guide.


Practice and Self-Assess Fluency Skills: Speed/Pacing—Varied

Distribute copies of Things I Like to Do (BLM 3).

Divide students into Speaker 1 and Speaker 2 groups and ask them to choral-read their parts with you one or more times.

Next, allow the groups to choral-read their parts without your assistance.

Distribute the Fluency Self-Assessment Master Checklist (BLM 4) and review the assessment criteria for speed/pacing and integration (see the checklist on the far right). Ask students to give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on each question based on the group’s choral-reading. Discuss their responses.

Partner reading. Pair students, and then put two pairs together. Assign one pair as Speaker 1 and one pair as Speaker 2, and invite them to read “Things I Like to Do” together one or more times.

Monitor students’ partner-reading practice and provide responsive feedback using the appropriate prompts from the list on page 12.

Ask students to rate themselves on specific fluency skills covered in this lesson using their Fluency Self-Assessment Master Checklist (BLM 4).

Connect and transfer. Ask students to reflect on their fluency practice, using the following prompts:

• When is it helpful to read slowly?• When is it important to read more quickly?• How will you use what you have learned as you practice reading Old MacDonald’s Noisy Farm?

Fluency Poster

Lesson Objectives

Students will:

• Read a dialogue at a varied pace.

• Utilize punctuation cues.

• Demonstrate understanding of the text through purposeful pacing.

• Use effective pacing to make their reading sound like talking.

Related Resources

• Things I Like to Do (BLM 3)

• Fluency Self-Assessment Master Checklist (BLM 4)



Day Four


BeginningAllow ELLs to participate through active listening while other students demonstrate varied speed and pacing. Invite them to indicate when the pacing is fast or slow.

Intermediate and AdvancedAllow ELLs to read parts of the script chorally with you or other students as they demonstrate their varied speed and pacing.

Responsive Prompts for Speed and Pacing

As students work together, observe those who demonstrate understanding and those who struggle. Use appropriate responsive prompting to provide additional support or to validate students who demonstrate mastery.

Goal Oriented• Listen to me read. Can you read it like I do?• Listen to how I read this. I am going to read this faster.• Listen to how I read this. I am going to read this slower.• Listen to my voice as I read the next sentence. Am I reading

at a fluent pace?

Directive and Corrective Feedback• Read these words faster.• Read these words slower.• Try that again and read slower.• Try that again and read faster.• Try moving your eyes quicker so you can read more words together.• Read the text again and make it sound like you are talking.

Self-Monitoring and Reflection• How did you pace your reading?• Did you read that too fast or too slowly?• What did you do to read that faster/slower?• How did you vary your pace in that passage?• What did you notice about your reading?• What made you read slower or faster?• Where did you read too fast/slowly?• Where did you read at the right pace?

Validating and Confirming• I liked the way you read it faster that time.• I liked the way you slowed down your reading that time.• Good job at varying your pace in the passage.• You read at an appropriate rate. Great job!

Fluency Self-Assessment Master Checklist (BLM 4)

Name Date


BLM 4

s S

Speed/PacingDid my speed and pacing match the kind of text I was reading? Did my speed and pacing match what the character was saying? Did I read with a natural talking voice?Did I slow my reading down when appropriate?Did I pay attention to punctuation? PausingDid I pause to keep from running all my words together? Did I pause in the correct locations?Did I pause for the appropriate length of time?Did I pause to help my reading make sense? Did I use punctuation to help me figure out when to pause? Inflection/IntonationDid I make my voice rise at a question mark?Did I make my voice fall at a period?Did I think about what the author was saying so I would know when to read louder or softer? Did I think about what the author was saying so I would know when to stress or emphasize words? Phrasing Did I notice the phrases?Did I read all the words in each phrase together?Did I think about what the words in the phrase mean when they are together?ExpressionDid I look for clues so I could anticipate the mood of the passage? Did I use my tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language to express what the author or characters were thinking or feeling?Did I change my reading when something new was about to happen?IntegrationDid I read the words right? (accuracy)Did I read the words at the right speed? (rate)Did I read with expression? (prosody)Did my reading sound like talking?Did I understand what I read?

Fluency Self-Assessment Master Checklist


Day Four

Oral Language ExtensionHave pairs of students practice fluency during independent workstation time by reading the passage in the following ways:

• choral-read the passage together• partner-read, each taking one role• partner-read again, this time switching roles

Remind students to support each other’s fluency development by providing support as needed and by giving positive feedback.

Home/School ConnectionHave students take home Things I Like to Do (BLM 3) and read it with a family member to practice fluent reading. Tell students to have their family member sign their paper.

Apply Fluency Skills to Reader’s Theater

Display the Old MacDonald’s Noisy Farm big book and turn to page 4.

Say: Let’s take what we have learned about pacing and use it as we reread a few pages of the script. Listen as I read. After I finish, I want you to tell me how I varied my pacing, and how that helped the story be more exciting for you as listeners.

Read pages 4–7. Vary your pacing. Use the suggestions below or interpret the text in your own way:

• Narrator: slow and measured, to help readers understand• Chorus of animals: loud, slow, and exaggerated to entertain• Old MacDonald: fast, excited about his animals• Mrs. MacDonald: slow and deliberate

Ask students to comment on your reading and how it affected them as listeners. Then invite volunteers to read aloud and vary their pacing in their own way.


Practice reading Old MacDonald’s Noisy Farm.

Use the Day 4 instruction provided in the Nursery Rhymes and Songs Teacher’s Guide to help students rehearse for their performance.


Confer with individual students on their fluency development. Use the Individual Reading Conference Form on page 32 of Informal Assessments for Reading Development to help guide your conferences.



Old MacDonald’s Noisy Farm, pages 4–5

Old MacDonald’s Noisy Farm, pages 6–7

6

Old MacDonald: I have ducks.

Mrs. MacDonald: I hearthe ducks.

Chorus: Quack quack.

Quack!

Quack!

7

Old MacDonald: I have pigs.

Mrs. MacDonald: I hearthe pigs.

Chorus: Oink oink.

Oink!

Oink!

4

Narrator: The sun comes up.A rooster calls out.

Chorus of Animals: Cock-a-doodle-doo!

Narrator: It is a new day onE-I-E-I-O Farm. Old MacDonaldowns this farm.

5

Old MacDonald: I likemy farm.

Narrator: Old MacDonald hasmany animals on his farm.


Day Five


Revisit the week’s read-alouds to make text-to-text connections and provide opportunities for reader response. Use the suggested activities in the Getting Started Guide, or implement ideas of your own.


Prepare for and Manage Student Performances: Audience and Performer Expectations

Prepare students for their reader’s theater performances by sharing your expectations of audience members and performers.

Audience expectations. Say: While you are listening to the other groups perform, I expect you to do the following:

• Give your classmates your full attention.• Do not speak to your neighbors or make any noise.• Enjoy their performance and show your appreciation by clapping when

they are finished.• Be prepared to give your feedback on the script, and always remember

to put your feedback in a constructive, or helpful, way.

Performer expectations. Say: While you and your group are performing the script, remember to do these things:

• Read in a loud, clear voice and act out your role.• Use expression and fluency to help everyone listening to understand

your character.• Remember to vary your speed and pacing.• When it is not your turn to read, follow along in the script so you know

when to come in.• If one of your group members gets lost or forgets to come in, prompt

him or her quietly.• Accept both suggestions and praise from your audience.

Show Time!

Invite students to perform the script for an audience such as members of the class, students from other classes, school staff members, or parents.

Continue your performances during small-group reading time, giving each group the opportunity to perform.

Lesson Objectives

Students will:

• Demonstrate their level of fluency development through an oral reading interpretation of the script.

• Demonstrate active listening skills.

• Reflect on and assess their own fluency development.

Related Resources

• Reader’s Theater Self-Assessment (BLM 5)




Day Five

Assess and Reflect

After all groups have completed their performance, use the following self-assessment activity (also available in the Nursery Rhymes and Songs Teacher’s Guide) to help students reflect on their performance, identify how they have improved as readers and performers, and determine what they will focus on as they participate in future reader’s theater experiences throughout the year.

Draw a three-column reflection chart on chart paper. Include a column for Reflection Questions and columns to answer Yes or No in response. Use the following questions to guide the group’s assessment of their performance, or use the Reader’s Theater Self-Assessment (BLM 5). Place a check mark in the appropriate column, noting their responses.

• Did we make our reading sound smooth like talking?• Did we make our characters sound and feel like real people

(or animals/objects) with feelings?• Did we act out our parts with our voices and body language?• Were our parts at “just right” reading levels?• Did we practice our reading many times before performing?• Did we vary the pacing to support listeners’ understanding of the

characters and events?

Connect and transfer. Discuss ways to improve future performances based on the self-assessment and reflections.


Use the small-group reading time to continue students’ performances of Old MacDonald’s Noisy Farm.

After all groups have performed, use the Assess and Reflect activity above.


Have students use their self-reflection to discuss how they would read differently next time. Discuss how students plan to apply what they learned to future performances and independent reading.



Home/School ConnectionYou may wish to print copies of the script from BenchmarkUniverse.com and encourage students to perform the script at home with family members.


BeginningAllow beginning ELLs to participate as active listeners. Do not overwhelm students with the entire script. Instead, make sure they know when to contribute to the chorus lines. You may wish to post their lines on a language chart.

Intermediate and AdvancedPair ELLs with more fluent readers to chorally read their parts in the script.

Assessment TipDuring student performances, record anecdotal notes that focus on how students are developing fluency skills and how they are meeting performer and audience member expectations.

Reader’s Theater Self-Assessment (BLM 5)


Name Date

BLM 5

Reader’s Theater Self-AssessmentDirections: Answer each question by coloring the face that best shows how you feel about your reading.

1. Did my reading sound like talking?

s S ß

2. Did I use my voice to show the character’s feelings?

s S ß

3. Did I say the lines like the character would say them?

s S ß

4. Did I use the punctuation marks to help me know how to say the words?

s S ß

5. Did I read with a good speed?

s S ß

6. Did I fix my mistakes when I read?

s S ß

7. Did I act like the character?

s S ß

8. Did I listen carefully to the other readers?

s S ß

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