Rachel Carson: A Reader's Theater Script

WOMEN in SCIENCE: Rachel Carson, a Biography!

A Biologist and marine zoologist, Carson’s books shared her love of nature, especially the ocean and its inhabitants. Her book, Silent Spring, sparked concern in how chemical pesticides were harming our environment. Carson helped to start the environmental movement in our country, which led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This Reader's Theater Script could be used as a STEM biography any time of year or especially during the time of Earth Day.

Other plays in the Ms. Bie Ografee’s Talk Show Series: Dr. Seuss, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Bessie Coleman Sacagawea, George Washington Carver, Thomas Edison, Martin Luther King, Sequoia, Michelangelo, DaVinci, Tuskegee Airmen, Susan B. Anthony, Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, an interview with a groundhog, an interview with a leprechaun, an interview with Simon, victim of the Black Death, An Interview with Agent 355, a female agent in the Culper Spy Ring(Revolutionary War), Interview with a 49er from the California Gold Rush and more.

Check out my website for teachers/kids:Gail Hennessey's Website for Teachers/Kids My website for teachers/kids has lots of geography activities, short reads, factoids on different topics, news, career surveys, bell ringers and more.

Check out these additional resources on the topic of the environment

1. Studying the ocean? Looking for a resource for Earth Day or World Ocean Day? Introduce your students to Jacques Cousteau with this informative Reader's Theater Script. Oceanographer, photographer, scientist, inventor, writer and filmmaker, Cousteau spent his life studying the oceans and the marine life that lived in the oceans. His books and films on his studies sparked much interest in our oceans and created an awareness about the need for marine conservation. Part of my Ms. Bie Ografee Talk Show Series where Jacques Cousteau is a guest on her talk show and answers questions of her studio audience. There are 10 audience questioners, a Did You Know? section, comprehension questions, a teacher section with extension activities, links and the key: Jacques Cousteau: A Reader's Theater Script

2. Exploring the Ocean Blue: A Web quest, will introduce students to our oceans. There are nine informative web questions. Fun Facts, comprehension questions,extension activities and links are also provided as is the key. Can be used as part of a unit on oceans, for Earth Day, World Ocean Day or as an activity for a Friday, before a vacation break or as an end of the year activity. This can be a one day class resource or used for a couple of days depending on whether the activities(creative writing/art work/online simulation games, etc.) are used with the students: Exploring the Ocean Blue: A Webquest

3. Learn about Earth Day and our planet Earth, with this informative web quest! In 2017, the theme for Earth Day is “Environmental and Climate Literacy” Although this resource could be used for Earth Day, it really could be used throughout the year. Learn about the history of Earth Day and, our planet, EARTH, with this informative web quest. There are 15 web questions as well as comprehension questions and a Did You Know? fun fact section. The teacher page includes extension activities, the key, and additional links. Do you know the largest desert in the world? Do you know the longest river in the World? Who organized the first Earth Day? How long does it take for a styrofoam cup to decompose? What does extinct mean? These topic and more are included in the web quest: Earth Day: A Webquest

4. In 1923, English mountaineer George Mallory was asked,”Why do you want to climb Mt. Everest?” His response, “Because it’s there.” Thousands have been trying to summit the world’s highest mountain peak since this time. Learn about Mt. Everest, Nepal and the Yeti with this webquest! May 29th,2013(60th anniversary of the first successful climb)Lots of extension activities,interesting facts and comprehension questions are included. Mt. Everest: A Webquest

5. WOMEN in SCIENCE: Share biographies of women who have made contributions in science: Marie Curie, biography.

A Ms. Bie Ografee Talk Show Reader's Theater Script.

Use this informational and fun script for students to learn about Marie Curie, the Polish scientists who was a pioneer in the area of radioactivity.

*Students will find some of the uses of radioactive materials in the 1920s most interesting(as did I). Radium was placed in toothpaste to make teeth whiter, it was placed in shampoo, face creams, even chocolate! Even Marie and Pierre kept a glass jar with radium salt on their night stand because they were fascinated by its glow. People didn't realize the harmfulness of radioactivity.

A "studio" audience asks questions of Ms. Bie Ografee's guest, Marie Curie. There are comprehension questions, a Did You Know? section, a Teacher Page with extension activities, key and additional links:Marie Curie, A Reader's Theater Script

6. Learn about Katherine Johnson, a physicist, space scientist and mathematician, who played a very important role with NASA’s early space missions. The movie Hidden Figures highlights the role of NASA's "computers" such as Katherine Johnson and their contributions. Part of my Ms. Bie Ografee Talk Show Series of Reader's Theater Scripts, there are comprehension questions, a Did You Know? section,a Teacher page with extensions/links and key. A great STEM biography!Katherine Johnson, Reader's Theater Script

7. An English primatologist, Jane Goodall, has helped to change the attitudes people had toward animals, specifically the chimpanzee. Her method of studying chimpanzees involved living amongst them, for over 55 years. She is also known as an anthropologist, humanitarian and writer. She has worked for better treatment of animals in zoos and protection of the habitat of animals in the wild. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Jane-Goodall-A-Readers-Theater-Script-4836410

Mrs. Bie Ografee Talk Show Reading Theater Scripts:

Vikings

Ferdinand Magellan

Marco Polo

Christopher Columbus

Leonardo da Vinci

Michelangelo

Visit with a Crusader

Visit with a Victim of the Black Death

Martin Luther King Jr.

Rosa Parks

Harriet Tubman

George Washington Carver

Katherine Johnson

Tuskegee Airmen

Marian Anderson

Marie Curie

Galileo Galilei

Sir Isaac Newton

Albert Einstein

Jane Goodall

Moon Landing: Interview with first astronauts to walk on the moon

Rachel Carson

Jacques Cousteau

Thomas Edison

Visit with a Pilgrim

Revolutionary War Female Spies

Revolutionary War Tory

Thomas Jefferson

James Madison, Father of the Constitution

Pioneer Woman, Narcissa Whitman

Civil War Women Soldiers

Sacagaewa

Sequoyah

Lewis and Clark

Abraham Lincoln

California Gold Rush: Visit with a ‘49er

Wright Brothers

A Road trip Across the USA for Women’s Suffrage

WW 2: Women Pilots

Elizabeth Blackwell

Susan B. Anthony

Sonia Sotomayor

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Louisa May Alcott

Edgar Allen Poe

William Shakespeare

Charles Dickens

Johnny Appleseed

Visit with a Leprechaun

Visit with a Groundhog

To Tell the Truth Plays:

Hans Christian Andersen

Elizabeth Blackwell

Amelia Earhart

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt

Elizabeth Blackwell

First Lady Edith Wilson

First Lady Florence Harding

King Tut

First Lady Hillary Clinton

First Lady Michelle Obama

First Lady Abigail Adams

First Lady Martha Washington

First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln

First Lady Dolly Madison

First Lady Lady Bird Johnson

My website for teachers/kids has lots of geography activities, short reads, factoids on different topics, news, career surveys, bell ringers and more.

* I also have web quests on elephants, giraffes, polar bears, rhinos and leopards.

NOTE: Photograph of Rachel Carson is from the Rachel Carson Collection, Chatham University Archives & Special Collections, Chatham University

Clipart of wave from openclipart.org

Eagle from wpclipart.com

Key words: STEM, Science, Women in Science, biographies, trees, environment, pesticides