Map Skills Readers Theatre Script

This product contains three versions of the same brief (2 pages long) script on Map Skills. It is written for 16 solo speakers and many parts for ALL so that teachers can use it with a whole class. (Note: You may add or subtract solo speakers to customize the script for the size of your group.)

Using a school bus field trip context, this script provides a brief overview of information about the basic features of a map and other information, including the terms: cardinal direction(s), cartographer, continents, compass rose, Global Positioning System, globe, key, legend, North, South, East, and West, and scale of miles.

The text of the script appears in three formats:

1. The 2-column 2-page complete script.

2. A 1-column version of the same complete script—for ease in reading when projected onto a screen.

3. A 2-column 2-page “fill-in-the blanks” version of the same script to involve students in researching or recalling terms.
(A look at the Preview copy will give you a strong idea of the total script, the information it contains, and the varying formats.)

Reading and rehearsing the script familiarizes students with some basic facts while also increasing reading fluency and engaging students in a dramatic approach to learning facts. The use of gestures (that the students themselves create) during the script reading reinforces the retention of information in a kinesthetic way that researchers call “embodied cognition” - When people see and use gestures, they activate more memory systems.

Students enjoy creating and performing gestures and sound effects where indicated in the stage directions. And—because it is a script—they do not mind reading and re-reading the information. A fluent and expressive read-through/performance takes about 7 minutes.

For more details and tips about using these scripts with students, you may want to download the FREE copy of "CURRICULUM-BASED READERS THEATRE: A Guide to the Classroom Use of this Strategy" available in my store.