The Shooting of Dan McGrew Reader's Theatre Script -Questions & Rubric

Lou Maxwell

It's all a lie, of course, but I… don't understand.

The cynical exultation in Dan's smile grew. At last, he was bold enough to bring the affair to a crisis.

Dan McGrew

Do you dare to ride with me to the town, to test the thing for yourself?

Lou Maxwell

Do I “dare?” What do you mean?

Dan McGrew

I mean just that. You've begun already to be afraid of the truth. Do you dare to ride to town with me, and so test the truth with your own eyes?

The taunt provoked her to a new anger, to a new strength. Once again, the slender form grew tense, the head was raised proudly. Her voice came harshly. There was no note of fear in it now, only a great disdain and something of cruelty.

Lou Maxwell

I will ride with you, Dan McGrew, to find my husband, and I shall tell him what you've said, and he will kill you. Now, do you dare?

Dan McGrew

I dare.

Included in The Shooting of Dan McGrew Reader's Theatre Unit:

181 page script based on the 1915 film of the same name and the Robert Service poem

Divided among 24 chapters.

Chapter One

7 pages with 4 characters + the narrator

Chapter Two

7 pages with 4 characters + the narrator

Chapter Three

9 pages with 3 characters + the narrator

Chapter Four

11 pages with 4 characters + the narrator

Chapter Five

6 pages with 3 characters + the narrator

Chapter Six

7 pages with 3 pages + the narrator

Chapter Seven

8 pages with 2 characters + the narrator

Chapter Eight

7 pages with 4 characters + the narrator

Chapter Nine

10 pages with 2 characters + the narrator

Chapter Ten

4 pages with 1 character + the narrator

Chapter Eleven

8 pages with 4 characters + the narrator

Chapter Twelve

6 pages with 4 characters + the narrator

Chapter Thirteen

7 pages with 3 characters + the narrator

Chapter Fourteen

6 pages with the narrator.

Chapter Fifteen

6 pages with 2 characters + the narrator

Chapter Sixteen

9 pages with 3 characters + the narrator

Chapter Seventeen

5 pages with 2 characters + the narrator

Chapter Eighteen

11 pages with 3 characters + the narrator

Chapter Nineteen

7 pages with the narrator

Chapter Twenty

8 pages with 5 characters + the narrator

Chapter Twenty-One

9 pages with 2 characters + the narrator

Chapter Twenty-Two

7 pages with 2 characters + the narrator

Chapter Twenty-Three

9 pages with 5 characters + the narrator

Chapter Twenty-Four

6 pages with 5 characters + the narrator

50 questions that range from easy to challenging

Student Reader's Theatre Evaluations based on 4 levels and 5 criteria.

Student Success Criteria

Student Friendly Goals

Reader's Theatre Checklist

Looking for more material about The Shooting of Dan McGrew?

Check out the 91 page slide-show

The Shooting of Dan McGrew synopsis:

In this extended adaptation of the Robert Service poem, Jim Maxwell's best friend, Dan McGrew, has deceived Jim's wife, Lou, into believing him unfaithful. Their elopement completely unnerved him for a time. But finally he resolved to forget about it, until the next met Dan McGrew. Years afterwards, while prospecting, he meets his daughter, Nell, now grown to womanhood and married to a man named Jack. Nell's husband has been arrested for a murder committed by Dan McGrew. Jim and Nell assist Jack in his escape. Just previous to the miner's entrance, Nell's husband had been captured in the Malamute saloon by the local sheriff. Meanwhile, inside the saloon, Dangerous Dan McGrew and the lady that's known as Lou are seen seated at a table in one corner. A dog-sleigh stops outside, and its owner, a tired-looking, bedraggled miner, named Jim Maxwell stumbles through the door. After treating the house, he sits down at the piano and begins to play. Into the soulful, stirring music he pours his pent up feelings of hatred, sorrow, love and regret. As Jim Maxwell finishes playing, he turns about, faces Dangerous Dan McGrew, and tells him, in uncomplimentary language, what he thinks of a man of his type. The lights go out, two guns blaze in the dark, and both men fall. Who will survive? Does Dangerous Dan McGrew continue to have Lou? Did Jim achieve his vengeance? Or did both men get shot down in the dark?

Mr. Marvel's Musings:

If you were like me the first time you heard the poem of The Shooting of Dan McGrew, you read it over again long after the teacher/librarian finished reading and discussing it. I always wondered, who were these two guys? What kind of person is Lou? What kind of town and culture do they live in? This extended story gives great detail into what kind of person Dan McGrew is and how Lou's family was torn apart by his coming into town and visiting her.

Do not fear the reader's theater format. Students love these adapted stories because they are listening to the story and they are a part of the story by playing a character within the story.

Reader's theatre inspires reluctant readers to join in the fun. The strongest and most advanced readers in your class will encourage other students to raise their hand and participate in the story. I also use reader's theatre to add to my drama marks.

If the reader's theatre format did not work for my students and I, then I would have stopped creating and adapting them years ago.

Reluctant readers sometimes feel anxious looking at pages of text, whereas a reader's theater script is broken up into narration and different characters speaking, thus making the story more accessible to those students who have not discovered the incredibly fun activity of reading for entertainment.

I use shorter stories with minimal characters in literature circles.

When can one make time for a reader's theatre story in class?

When I am not reading a reader's theatre unit with my class, I usually reserve Friday's for the reading of a one-off story. It is an event that the class looks forward to, since they do not know which story I will choose. Great for Librarians. I project the stories on the screen and assign characters in class. Some characters only have 1 line. A character like that is perfect for a reluctant reader.

I have read these stories remotely/online and in class/in-person.

I encourage teachers and instructors to allow students to practice their parts at home before they read in front of the class. They can try different voices and tones when they practice.

I hope you, and your students enjoy reading and discussing The Shooting of Dan McGrew!

Excelsior!

Mr. Marvel: The King of Reader's Theatre