My First Acting Series Smith and Kraus Publishers: February 2009

Friday, February 6, 2009

Florida teacher uses the series to teach inferences

Mrs. Poole's classroom is busy using the My First Acting Series in a variety of ways.

"I LOVE book two (Famous and Historical People Monologues) and use it to teach how stories make inferences. I read the story out loud and ask my students to listen carefully to the clues the speaker gives. Then they guess who the person is. We have had so much fun doing this exercise! The children really look forward to it. Inference, a difficult concept to teach, is now understandable for all the students."

When asked if he liked the series, Michael said,
"I LOVE it!"

Michael (grade one), Callie (grade three), and Allysa (Kindergarten) wanted to read their own!

Mrs. Poole plans to use the series during the fourth quarter to teach Character Education.

"This series will be fun to use and the questions in the books will help the students understand compassion, respect, responsibility, being trustworthy, and honest. I hope to have some great discussions! My team has already asked if they can use the My First Acting Series, too. I think by the end of the year, these books will get a real workout."

Amazing Success with the My First Acting Series

First of all, thank you for allowing me to implement the “My First Acting Series” by Smith and Kraus in my classroom. My students, this year and in the past, have always been motivated by Readers Theater, but your series has even further increased their eagerness.

The teachers guide suggestions and information were helpful as they gave me a guide to go by when considering the differentiated needs of my students. Since my students are on so many different levels and have so many different needs, it was a helpful resource when deciding how to use it to fit my needs, their needs, and our goals.

My students have enjoyed some of the books included in the series because we have been able to relate some parts or characters in them to content we are covering in class. This has been especially beneficial because they are more excited to learn through the active literature, and the information is also better retained.

We have also used them based on the student’s interests. They absolutely love using it as a guessing game, and they also like to read their previously used familiar parts (good for fluency!).

As a teacher, it has been positive because it has made teaching some areas more fun. The students are always very inquisitive about the people and scenarios presented, and the discussions we have as a result go beyond the discussions we would have with the readers theaters and short plays that we were doing before. The students were able to relate more and were more interested, so that has been a definite positive.

An obvious struggle for most teachers is timing, but once the students are familiar with the way the series operates, it is a little easier. I still struggle to use it as often as I would like, but since the students are gaining familiarity with doing more individual reading parts, using voice, expression, and personality, I know they and I will continue to grow and improve.

Again, I thank you for your help and materials. We have had so much fun, learned so much, and I plan to continue to use them year after year.

My students really enjoyed "Famous and Historical People" Volume 2. While reading about famous people, the students also learned many historical facts. The students found that they narrow their choices, and we discussed facts about all the choices.

My two students in second grade read their monologues last week. Now all of the other second graders want to do a monologue. I did not use the T.E. yet. I am

using the monologues to help the students with their reading fluency. My ESOL students can be shy and very quiet, so when they want to read to the whole class

it is GREAT. Thanks for this great resource.

“I just have to tell you what success we had sharing monologues as part of our student-led conferences. The kids were really proud to take on the role of another child - use a different voice, tone, attitude, and present their reading. Parents loved hearing their kids read with great expression and fluency. The surprising piece was how much parents enjoyed listening to the kids explain what the monologues were and why their children picked the 'role' they played.”

I use the monologues with my mid-high level reading groups to work on fluency and reading with emotion. My students struggle to read with the correct emotions, so reading short, easier to read, monologues is great for them. It helps them have a true understanding of someone or someone's feelings. It is great for character development!!

I recently had auditions for my 4th and 5th grade Drama Production and decided to have each student select a monologue at random to read for their audition. I

explained that it was their expression, intonation, interpretation, fluency, etc. that would enable me to see how they portrait a character. I wasn't sure what to expect but it turned out fabulous!

The first several students were a bit shy about reading these however, some suggestions from their peers on how they might have said something or what they felt the character meant by their choice of words, turned an audition into a fabulous interactive lesson. Even after everyone was finished, the students begged to do their readings again and continue to ask if we can save time after rehearsal to practice several scenes. I've also noticed as we rehearse that the students have really added a lot of expression and energy into

their dialogue.

In my Third Grade Classroom, we have established, "You're On Stage". Several students will select a monologue they would like to share with the class and they ask to be the "Stars of the Day!!

They share their monologue and then the remainder of the class discusses what was inferred in their speech and could there be another meaning. We also have someone join the star and see if they can add how another character would

respond to the original dialogue. They love doing this, as all young children want to act.

If my class had their way, we would use the monologues every day and have no other reading activities.

These are just several of the activities we have done in class. Thank you so much for allowing me to participate in this introduction for the books. They are extremely age appropriate and the topics are relevant to the children.

Great Job.

We plan to use My First Acting Series with our Talented and Gifted class to promote fluency, increase vocabulary and enrich comprehension.

We are using the extended service time of a retired teacher to offer two weekly drama classes using the materials you provided. We selected the participants based on their EL levels and reading scores. Our plan is to help develop language and reading skills with this particular group. We have ten students in the 5th grade girls group and ten boys in the 4th grade group. We have only had two sessions so far, but the students and the teacher are really enjoying it.

Right now I am using My First Acting Series more as an independent small group activity. I am finding it useful for my ELL students to practice speaking in English while feeling comfortable being able to do so in front of others. Because we are in the middle of preparing for our State Tests I have not done anything quite major with the series, although I do plan to do so after our tests are over in April. As for now I will continue to use it as somewhat of an ELL supplement for oral skills and class discussion basis since it does have great points that my students can relate to. My students find the monologues to be entertaining although it will take them a while to fully feel comfortable performing it as such.

I think that the TEACHER'S GUIDE is very easy to follow. I plan on using the books as a part of my language arts 4th Quarter. I am really enjoying reading through them and know that my students are going to enjoy the drama!

I work Saturdays teaching acting to 8-18 yr. olds at the local children's theater. When we start classes, we always audition children to make sure they are in the right level class. These monologues were perfect for our younger auditioners who we often have a hard time finding something appropriate for them to read. These also were a perfect length when you're trying to audition 30-plus children in just over an hour's time...

I am a Reading Specialist and I have been using the 1^st book, My First Monologue Book, with a small group of 3^rd graders to work on fluency. They have been practicing some of them and have presented them to their entire class. I will probably use them intermittently throughout the year. They enjoy the short text and they are very connected to the content.

I used Mrs. Poole’s idea of using the monologues to teach inference. It was very effective and engaging.

The Teacher’s Guide is excellent. I really like the sample lesson plans in particular. We will begin using the My First Acting Series in the next two months in the Lorain City School district, in 3 of their elementary schools.

My First Acting Series
Smith and Kraus Publishers

Friday, February 6, 2009

Florida teacher uses the series to teach inferences

link to Smith & Kraus Publishers

Free Lesson Kits for My First Acting Series

Amazing Success with the My First Acting Series

Maureen Brady Johnson

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