As our five-week whole-school novel study came to a close, we wanted to celebrate as a community. So again this year we orchestrated a readers’ theatre of the final chapters. My third graders continue to amaze me. And I really challenged them this time! Not only was there acting and instruments, I also added shadow puppetry! We had 3 narrators, 12 musicians, 3 puppeteers, and 7 actors. The addition of the black curtains and frames helped hide the puppeteers and voice actors who played the beetles. I was able to purchase those thanks to a Thrivent Action Teams grant. Oh, and the music teacher and I collaborated on an original song for Masterpiece! I wrote the lyrics and she set it to a melody. Listen to it here. (My 6th-grade daughter played it on her guitar.) The kids played and sang this chorus several times during the play. And since the music teacher taught it to all of her classes the week of our performance, the audience was able to sing along. Our first sing-along play! This was a readers’ theatre with lots of new elements. I absolutely LOVED the challenge and chance to be creative! Finally, every student was surprised with a gift–their very own sketchbook and felt-tip pen, like James in Masterpiece, though he had an ink set. That would have been a little to messy and expensive for all 480 students. Again, a big thanks to a Thrivent Action Teams grant for the purchase of the sketchbooks. What a thrill!
Kristen Foley 