[LM_NET] Reader's Theater Script

[Debbie Reese <debreese@UIUC.EDU>]

Posted to AMERICAN INDIANS IN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE yesterday (April 2, 2007):

http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2007/04/readers-theater-cynthia-leitich-smiths.html

Reader's Theater: Cynthia Leitich Smith's Indian Shoes

"Reader's Theater" is growing in popularity in school classrooms. In one form, a 
story from a favorite book is written up like a script. Children are assigned 
parts, and they read from the script. It adds to their experience with the story.

Over the weekend, I read Cynthia Leitich Smith's blog Cynsations and saw that a 
colleague, Sylvia Vardell, has written a reader's theater script based on a story 
in her book, Indian Shoes. The script is called "Don't Forget the Pants." It has 
three speaking parts: Ray, Grampa Halfmoon, Jonah, Best Man, and the Narrator.

I love Indian Shoes. It is actually six short stories about Ray, a 
Cherokee-Seminole kid who lives in Chicago with his grandfather. Smith weaves in 
things that will have special appeal to kids in Chicago. Ray and Grampa, for 
example, "rode the rattling elevated train to Wrigley Field and watched the Cubs 
take on the St. Louis Cardinals," but it also tugs on kids who know life in 
Oklahoma, where Ray's Aunt Wilhelmina is.

And, it provides the opportunity to talk about why Ray lives in Chicago instead of 
Oklahoma... For readers unfamiliar with Native history, there was a program in the 
50s, designed to break-down Native culture by moving families to the big city. They 
were promised job training and "the American dream." But like most government 
programs designed to assimilate American Indians, it feel short. Families were more 
or less on their own. Support was non-existent, conditions were harsh. As a result, 
Native families came together in all the major cities where they were relocated, 
forming American Indian Centers. There's one in Chicago. You can visit their 
website and learn about it here.

(Note on Sylvia Vardell: She is a professor at Texas Women's University. Her blog, 
"Poetry for Children" is a great resource for poetry for children and young adults. 
Her entry on March 24th, for example, included teaching strategies. (Note: she 
doesn't blog specifically about American Indian poetry.)
Debbie A. Reese, (Nambé Pueblo)
Assistant Professor
American Indian Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
1206 West Nevada
Urbana, IL 61801

Email: debreese@uiuc.edu 

Internet Resource & Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature, located at 
http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com

UIUC's Native American House http://www.nah.uiuc.edu
TEL 217-265-9870
FAX 217-265-9880

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