Fall Family Theater Night

What You Need:

• Copies of the Reader’s Theater: Fall Festival Fun for second graders or copies of the Reader’s Theater: Fall Festival worksheet for 3rd-4th graders
• Highlighters

What You Do: 

1. Invite the family to participate in a fun activity of Reader’s Theater. Share that this will be a way to practice reading out loud in front of other people. It will also be a fun way to use some creative acting skills!

2. Choose the appropriate script based on participants’ ages and reading levels. Make sure each participant has their own script.

3. Assign parts based on the Cast of Characters. If you have more than four participants, consider doing some additional performances of the Reader’s Theater.

4. Have each reader highlight their parts and give them time to rehearse. Allow 5-10 minutes for everyone to find their dialogue and practice their parts.

5. Gather everyone together in a common space and perform! Do the performance 2-3 times and then talk about how the performance changed each time. Did it improve? Did everyone feel more comfortable “on stage”?

Extension Ideas: 

• Write your own seasonal script. Using the same format as the Reader’s Theater worksheets, work together to come up with a new story. You could use the same characters or come up with some fresh ideas for characters and their adventures.

• Turn your home into a stage. Take your theater night to the next level by turning your home into a scene from the Reader’s Theater. Decorate with props and even dress one of your readers up as a giant pumpkin!