The opening chapters of Mark Twain's masterpiece, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, can be daunting for some readers. A reader's theater assignment divides the second chapter of the novel into a seven-role script, allowing readers to work through the plot and understand the basics of the characterization before they continue reading Twain's prose.

Concepts

the adventures of tom sawyer, reader's theater, reading comprehension, reading aloud, american literature

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Have individuals create scripts for additional chapters of the novel, or for short stories or novels in your other literature units
• Assign the discussion questions at the end as short writing prompts
• Encourage learners to turn their graphic organizer notes into an essay with evidence from the text
• Use as an activity for Read Across America Day

Classroom Considerations

• There are seven roles in the reader's theater exercise; if you'd like more class members to participate, consider multiple readings or small group readings

Pros

• Comes with additional tips for instruction, as well as a list of procedures
• Includes discussion questions and a graphic organizer for brainstorming
• Provides a version of the script without additional lesson plans, and a reading passage of the original text

Cons

• None

Common Core

RL.6.1 RL.6.3 RL.7.1 RL.7.3 RL.8.1 RL.8.3 SL.6.6 SL.7.6 SL.8.6