The Magic Babushka: A Russian Easter Legend -Reader's Theatre Story -Pysanky
- PDF
Description
Included in The Magic Babushka Reader's Theatre Unit:
10 page story
6 characters + the narrator
1 page explaining the Pysanky
1 page glossary of Russian words used in the story, with definitions and phonetical spelling. e.g. Babushka (bah-BOOSH-kah)
31 analytical questions
Reader's Theatre Evaluations based on 4 levels and 5 criteria.
Student Success Criteria
Student Friendly Goals
Teacher's Reader's Theatre Checklist
*Thank you Nadine for recommending this story :)
The Magic Babushka synopsis:
A gentle, nearsighted peasant girl named Nadia rescues the legendary Baba Babushka from a spider, and is rewarded with a magic babushka that enables her to create beautiful "pysanky," or decorated eggs by wrapping the babushka around them. Baba Babushka warns Nadia that if she tells anyone about her magic babushka, then the babushka will lose it's power. When the Prince visits Nadia and steals one of her eggs, the Prince's Tsar aunt wants to invite the artist over to her palace to create more pysanky. When Nadia is tasked with creating more beautifully designed pysanky, she is unable to do so with her new magic powers. The enraged Tsar places Nadia in the tower dungeon as punishment. Will Nadia be able to create her pysanky in front of the Tsar without letting her magic powers be known? Find out in The Magic Babushka: A Russian Easter Legend!
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.
Saving Paper
My administration team does not allow many paper copies to be made from the photocopier, and we are subjected to a quota every month. I usually project the story onto a screen so everyone can see it. Paper is saved that way. Every school board is different, so do what is best for you and your students. :)
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 and small groups. I project the stories on the screen and assign characters in class. Some characters only have 1 line. A supporting 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. It is also good for family bonding time. The student's parent/guardian can play another role and they can read together.
I hope you, and your students enjoy reading and discussing The Magic Babushka.
Happy Easter and excelsior!
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