Reading and Role Playing: Fiction, Folktales, and Fairy Tale

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Reading Curricular Calendar, Second Grade, 2012-20136independent reading books where the main character has a strong feeling with which theyempathize. When partners meet, one of the things they can do is to talk about the places wherethe character felt something especially intensely. They can read aloud passages they found inwhich the character went through intense feelings. Encourage them to read in a way that conveyshow the character’s feelings are growing with intensity over the course of the passage. Thepartner who located a passage should read in such a way that her voice rises and falls in tunewith the emotional valence. If she discovers that a character is feeling angry, she can read that bitof text with a sneer on her face and with a harsh tone of voice. Reading with purpose andexpression not only allows children to empathize with a character—to step into that person’sshoes—it also supports accuracy and fluency (CCSS RF 2.4).It may be that the listening partner questions the idea that the character is angry. If so, that childcould reread that part of the text, trying on a new facial expression or tone of voice, one shebelieves better represents the character’s frame of mind. Perhaps this child decides the characteris nervous, not angry. If so, the child could read the text with a shaky, worried voice (thissupports reading with expression outlined in RF 2.4b). Of course, evoking the character’sfeelings in a passage will require practice. Multiple, multifaceted readings and coacheddiscussion can make a tremendous difference. Prompt children to support their idea withexamples from across the text. Ask them to think of more precise words that more accuratelydescribe the character—“Is he mad or frustrated?” you might ask. This is important work, andyou will want to lead into it, helping children notice and describe the nuances of a strong reactionby a character to a major event or challenge. This is a major skill that the Common Core StateStandards address.As you do this work, you will want to think about ways to provide extra support for yourstruggling readers. To begin, make sure these children are in same-book partnerships even ifothers are not. It will be much more helpful if children can work together in a familiar book toidentify passages that brim with emotions or notice when a character’s emotion begins to change.Together the two partners can decide on the mood with which a passage should be read.Encourage students to use Post-its to capture thoughts they have as they read. Tell them that inthe rush of reading people often have thoughts that occur to them—but just as quickly as thesefly in to readers’ heads, they fly out. In those instances, then, when ideas occur, it helps toquickly jot them—that way, later, when you want to expand on it and share it with a readingpartner, it’s easy to simply retrieve the note. you may want to suggest that as they listen to youread aloud, if they notice the character feeling something or if they have ideas about why thecharacter is doing or feeling something, they might jot down a word or two about that on a Postit.They could then use those Post-its as prompts when they talk with their partner about thepassage you read aloud. (You probably wouldn’t want children to listen, talk, and then jot on aPost-it; jotting first lets them rehearse their partnership conversations.) Here, you also convey toreaders that they are in charge of their reading observations. One child’s observations may differfrom another’s. When children put their thinking together, building upon each other’s ideas(CCSS RL 2.1b), they stretch and deepen their thinking.As the unit unfolds, continue to angle your read-alouds to encourage readers to put themselves incharacters’ shoes, to speak in characters’ voices. “Partner A, pretend you are Junie B. Jones. TalkUnit Six – Reading and Role Playing: Fiction, Folktales, and Fairy TalesReading and Writing Project, 2012 ©DRAFT
Reading Curricular Calendar, Second Grade, 2012-20137to Partner B as if she’s your teacher. Tell your teacher that you don’t want to go on the bus.”Then, after a few minutes, say, “Partner B, you are the teacher. You are looking at Junie B. Whatare you thinking? Say your thoughts aloud.” Partners could also predict together what mayhappen next based on what they know about their characters so far. Of course, this needn’tinvolve one partner being one character and one the other. You might say, “Your right fingerpuppet is Junie B. Junie B., tell your teacher—your left finger-puppet—why you don’t want toride the bus! Then have your teacher finger-puppet talk back.” This work could lead to little bitsof improvisational drama: “Pretend you are Junie B. You are standing at school, getting ready totalk to your teacher. Your Mom is right beside you. What are you thinking right now? What areyou doing? Turn and act.”Bend Two – Directing Ourselves and Our Club MatesWe suggest you move children from partnerships to clubs in this second bend of the unit. Notonly will children’s foundational skills (fluency, accuracy) be supported by a larger groupdiscussion, but the additional (sometimes opposing) viewpoints will challenge them to thinkmore critically about books and characters. This is integral work to becoming a moresophisticated reader and thinker. Now that readers have had practice coming to understandcharacters through deep empathy and envisionment (and a little inference), they’ll be ready to liftthe level of their enactments and bring out even more emotion. The work they will have done upto now will have been largely close-in role-playing. They will have examined characters byworking their way into one role or another. Now you’ll invite your children to step out of thecharacter’s shoes and put on the hat of the director. “Readers, you know how there’s a bigceremony each year that gives out prizes to people who work in movies?” you might say. “Haveyou ever noticed how the director (that’s the person who guides all the actors and camera people)gets his or her prize toward the end of the Oscars? That’s because being a director is a really,really big job. So winning best director is a huge deal. Directors have to understand not just howone character feels but how all the characters feel. Directors have to understand the setting, too,and the sound and visual effects, and how the plot twists and turns, and the ways in which allthese different components come together. Directors have to see the big picture.” Pause for amoment to let this sink in. Then issue an invitation: “Do you know what I think? I think all ofyou are ready to be directors. I’ve watched you these past days and noticed how, even as you’redeep into the role of the bully, you’re able to step back and say to your partner, ‘I think she’smore scared than that. Try putting your hands over your eyes and shaking a little.’ That’sdirecting! You’re noticing not only how different characters feel but also how they might movetheir bodies and say their lines—and then you’re giving each other little directions or cues. Forthe next week or so, we’re each going to have a turn doing more of this big-picture work.”If you haven’t done so already, you may want to read some fairy tales or folktales aloud. Youcan model how you go about viewing the scenes and characters through director’s eyes. “Oh Isee it!” you might exclaim after reading, “Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your housedown!” the third time the wolf in The Three Little Pigs calls it out. “The wolf is getting a bit tirednow. He’s trying to be the same intimidating guy he was earlier, but he’s losing steam.” Thenyou might show kids what that looks like and maybe say, “I bet his cheeks are about ready toburst by now. That’s a lot of huffing and puffing he’s been doing!” Then you might say, “I bethe’s feeling pretty fed up—and hungry, too. If you were directing someone to play the wolf,what would you say to that person? What cues might you give? Turn and talk to your partner.”Unit Six – Reading and Role Playing: Fiction, Folktales, and Fairy TalesReading and Writing Project, 2012 ©DRAFT
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