Why use Readers Theater in history classes? The format gives students a sense of involvement with the human dramas that make up history. Performers can feel the excitement as Archimedes discovers the displacement of water. They can relate to the terrors of a slave s passage from Africa to the Americas. They can imagine the tension of wading through the water at Omaha Beach as bullets strike their buddies. Each script (12 15 per book) is accompanied by background information, literature connections, extension activities, and discussion questions.

Why use Readers Theater in history classes? The format gives students a sense of involvement with the human dramas that make up history. Performers can feel the excitement as Archimedes discovers the displacement of water. They can relate to the terrors of a slave s passage from Africa to the Americas. They can imagine the tension of wading through the water at Omaha Beach as bullets strike their buddies. Each script (12 15 per book) is accompanied by background information, literature connections, extension activities, and discussion questions.

"Original scripts based on historic events and highlights; introductory background information to set the stage for each script; reader's response and extension activities; convenient, reproducible pull-out scripts for each student."

This book, focusing on active, engaging material, will fill a void in the literature that currently exists for these students, their teachers, and literacy coaches. Readers theatre for boys and particularly middle school boys is a publishing gap that needs to be filled. Selections have been chosen to tempt middle school boys interest (the blood and gore in Masque of the Red Death for example). Literacy remains a major topic of concern in all academic circles, especially the inadequate performance of reading and writing by boys. These scripts will entertain as they build reading fluency. Grades 6-8.

All your students can shine thanks to the flexible casting options provided in Readers' Theater, Grade 5. To support struggling readers, cast two or more students in each role; the extra support of choral reading can make an important difference for many students. Refer to the Readers' Theater Table of Contents to see how you can connect each of the 15 read-aloud scripts to key content from the Grade 5 curriculum. Some of the scripts included are: - "Demeter and Persephone"--based on the classic Greek myth - "SOS Titanic"--a rescue on the high seas based on true events - "Getting the Scoop on UFOs"--a high school journalist learns a lesson about objective reporting - "The Montgomery Bus Boycott"--Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and other historical figures take the stage in this script based on historical events - "All the Rice in India"--this version of a folktale from India involves students in an intriguing mathematical challenge - Many more

This is an utterly original and completely beguiling prose novel about a boy who has to write a poem, and then another, and then even more. Soon the little boy is writing about all sorts of things he has not really come to terms with, and astounding things start to happen.

Challenge students to explore several important unexplained events that helped shape history. Students use primary source materials, posters, and simulations to find clues and to make informed decisions about these events. There are no right or wrong answers. These real-life mysteries encourage students to research, think, debate, and form conclusions.