The Boxcar Children Theater Movie ' title='The Boxcar Children Theater Movie ' />Readers Theater Oral Language Enrichment and Literacy Development for ELLs. Drama is life with the dull bits cut out. Alfred Hitchcock. One of my favorite movies is The Princess Bride, which is based on the novel by William Goldman. For those of you havent experienced this classic, the movie begins with a little boy who is sick and home from school, and his grandfather, who offers to read the boy a fairy tale that he had enjoyed when he was young. The boy isnt very interested at first, but soon realizes that he has nothing better to do, and agrees to at least hear the beginning. The story that follows, of course, is an enchanting tale filled with unforgettable characters and exciting plot twists. Recently I read this book and really enjoyed it. The Animatrix Movie Photo. It was written in the style that made it seem as if she was sitting next to you and telling it directly to you. Despite his best efforts to resist getting drawn in, by the end, the boy is begging his grandfather to finish the story and even admits that he would be ready to hear it all over again if his grandfather returns with the book the next day. What resonates with me in the movie is the experience of a child falling in love with a good story. While that experience is magical in its own right, its also an important part of becoming a strong reader. Engagement is a critical piece of building reading and comprehension skills and plays an important part in reading motivation as well. When English language learners ELLs read, they may have difficulty engaging with a story if they lack the background knowledge to understand the plot, setting, and charactersthey have not had much practice putting themselves in the storythey only get one or two opportunities to read a text before the class moves on to something new. ELLs can benefit greatly from having opportunities to read a text many times because this helps them develop fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. David Carradine, Actor Kill Bill Vol. David Carradine was born in Hollywood, California, the eldest son of legendary character actor John Carradine, and his wife. Bridge Of Mercy Starring Paul MuniAired March 5, 1939 It aired under several different titles The Gulf Screen Guild Show, The Gulf Screen Guild Theater, The Lady. One way to reread a text while keeping it interesting for students is through Readers Theater. In a Readers Theater activity, students read stories that have been scripted like a play, and they act out the story together. Students may practice their parts several times before acting the story out in front of the class, which gets them thinking about their characters and the plot in a focused way. Rather than using elaborate props, costumes, or scenery, students can be encouraged to use vocal, facial, and physical expression to engage with the script and their character. As students continue their repeated readings of the script, they are improving their reading skills and comprehension. They also will have the opportunity to practice speaking skills, such as pronunciation, inflection, expression, and varied volume. Since the activity is meant to practice reading, students dont need to memorize their lines, which keeps the spotlight on the reading practice, not the performance. Readers Theater offers ELLs an opportunity to completely immerse themselves in a story, and it gives students the chance to think about how engaged readers interact with print, such as by seeing pictures in their heads very similar to watching a movie or play. Teachers can help ELLs make this connection by explaining how they can visualize the plot in their heads while they read and as they practice bringing stories to life. Readers Theater has something for all students, regardless of their language level. Beginning English speakers can have a small role with one or two short sentences, or if the student is at the silent period, he or she can be assigned a non speaking role such as an animal character. The more advanced a students speaking skills are, the more the student can focus on improving expression and clarity in their role. How to Get ELLs Started with Readers Theater. Video Vocabulary and Readers Theater. Take a look at the way Amber Prentice uses a concept sort for teaching vocabulary before starting a Readers Theater activity based on The Great Kapok Tree One of my colleagues in the St. Paul Public School District, Amber Prentice, frequently uses Readers Theater with her seventh and eighth grade ESL students. She explained to me how she does it from start to finish. Introduction. When she first introduces Readers Theater to her students at the beginning of the school year, she talks a little bit about what to expect and explains that this activity is meant to help them improve their reading and speaking abilities. Story Selection. Amber tends to get her scripts from Readers Theater books or websites. She notes that it can be difficult to find stories with enough parts for all students in a class while some teachers may choose different stories for different groups of students, Amber uses the same story for the entire class. If only a few roles are available in the story she has chosen, she breaks the class down into separate casts so that all students have a part. Amber thinks this is helpful for her ELL students because it provides them with maximum exposure to the plot. Students will understand the story very well by the end of the activity, and they will be able to laugh at all the right lines and be more involved in other groups performances. Vocabulary. After she has chosen a story, Amber goes through it and selects the vocabulary words students will need to know in order to understand the plot. She then previews the vocabulary with a variety of activities until she is confident that they have mastered the definitions. Read Through. Next, Amber reads the whole play out loud to her students and asks comprehension questions to make sure they understand the story. Roles. She then assigns roles or allows students to choose parts in the play, depending on the level of the students. She makes sure students know how to read the script by highlighting their parts and helping them understand that reading cues such as Narrator or Woman enters the room should not be read. Practice. Amber gives her students ample time to practice their play and read their parts. She circulates through the room and gives feedback to students as they read. If students are reading without expression, she prompts them to try the line with more feeling. If students are stumbling with pronunciation, she models the correct pronunciation for them. Staging. Before students do their performance for their classmates, they practice the staging and create any simple props they think will be helpful to the story. Evaluation. Before the performance, Amber explains how the students will be graded. She reviews each element in the following list, making sure that students understand what each part means and showing examples of what she wants to see from the students as they are reading. Students are evaluated based on volumeclarity of pronunciationexpressionpostureeye contact. As students become more proficient at Readers Theater, they can use the list to evaluate each other, as well as give helpful feedback. Performance. Once the students have practiced their lines, prepared simple props, and understand how they will be evaluated, they are ready to perform Each group presents its version of the story, which also gives students an opportunity to compare how each groups interpretation is similar or different. Amber has found that students approach Readers Theater in a variety of ways. She had a group of boys that she thought might not like the activity because they would be afraid to look silly. Instead, the boys were very enthusiastic, found costumes, made masks, and gave animated performances to make the story a true dramatic success. Other students have taken Readers Theater a little more slowly and want specific instructions as to how to put their story together. Benefits of Readers Theater. From the start of the activity to the finish, students read through the story about 1. Amber acknowledges that her students would never want to read a story so many times if it werent for Readers Theater. IT Dont Expect to See Stephen Kings Controversial Sex Scene. New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Stephen Kings IT is on the way this fall but it will be boasting a major change. Earlier this week we told you that the film had received an R rating by the MPAA for violencehorror, bloody images, and for language. Notice theres no mention of sexual situations. This is important for one reason, and it goes back to Kings original source material. In Kings novel, The Losers Club find themselves arguing in the sewers below Derry after the defeat of Pennywise, Movie. Web notes. While the pre teens are lost, the character Beverly suggests that they all have sex, losing their virginity together. The scene goes on for pages while King describes whats going on in rather graphic detail. But its not as sinister and weird as one may think as King tells the story in a loving way, not in a malicious or disgusting manner. King uses the act as a way to bridge the two time periods together that readers jump back in forth between. King has spoken about the subject before I wasnt really thinking of the sexual aspect of it. The book dealt with childhood and adulthood, 1. Grown Ups. The grown ups dont remember their childhood. None of us remember what we did as children, we think we do, but we dont remember it as it really happened. King went on to explain that the act was meant to connect childhood to adulthood Intuitively, the Losers knew they had to be together again. The sexual act connected childhood and adulthood. Its another version of the glass tunnel that connects the childrens library and the adult library. Times have changed since I wrote that scene and there is now more sensitivity to those issues. Digressing, the Andrs Muschietti directed IT hits theaters on September 8, 2. MPAA rating is any indication of what to expect, we will not be seeing the controversial sex scene in this film. Whats interesting, however, is that Cary Fukunagas original script, which Muschietti was working off of, was even worse. Screen. Geek did some digging and shares the shocking scenes removed from Fukunagas adaptation when Muschietti eventually took over directing duties, including a scene in which eleven year old Beverly Marsh is raped by her father. Parents on a casting forum for child actors voiced their displeasure for the films script. One parent stated I dont remember it being anything more than suggested in the original either. But it goes farther than that in this script. Much farther in a couple scenes, the father kissing her bare stomach, hands up her skirt to slip off panties, in addition she describes being gang raped to another character. Add it all up and its just to much for us. We were so excited when we got it, but there was a pretty heafty email from agent to read script and approve before agreeing due to content. Another parent said This is just gross. And Im not talking about the content Im talking about directorsproducers who want to hire underage actresses to make out with creepy old men. As the site also notes, there was also reportedly one scene in the original script in which the bully character Henry Bowers raped a Hanlon sheep and masturbated onto a birthday cake. Another scene that was taken out of the early draft featured Stan Uris, one of the child protagonists, using a womans restroom at his Jewish temple and encountering a rotting naked woman. The woman tries to tempt Stan, going as far as touching herself in front of him. The site alleges that the studio wanted Fukunaga to edit these scenes out, and he refused, which could have led to some of the creative differences that caused his exit. Without the sex scene it will be interesting not really to see how Muschietti bridges his two films that connect the childrens battle with Pennywise to them having to reunite as adults in the sequel.