Playbooks Roleplay Reader

04/10/2022

Curious about using Reader's Theater in your afterschool program to teach reading? Watch how one Children's Trust grantee used Playbooks to engage students in their reading lessons!

Research shows that four repeated readings is one of the best ways to improve reading fluency. Reader’s Theater truly engages students and is the most popular form of “repeated guided oral reading.” Reader’s Theater provides an easy-to-implement dramatic text that does not require memorization, props, or a stage.

03/24/2022

From the DOI: "Secretary Deb Haaland made history when she became the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary. She is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and a 35th generation New Mexican.

Secretary Haaland grew up in a military family; her father was a 30-year combat Marine who was awarded the Silver Star Medal for saving six lives in Vietnam, and her mother is a Navy veteran who served as a federal employee for 25 years at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. As a military child, she attended 13 public schools before graduating from Highland High School in Albuquerque.

As a single mother, Secretary Haaland volunteered at her child's pre-school to afford early childhood education. Like many parents, she had to rely on food stamps at times as a single parent, lived paycheck-to-paycheck, and struggled to put herself through college. At the age of 28, Haaland enrolled at the University of New Mexico (UNM) where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in English and later earned her J.D. from UNM Law School. Secretary Haaland and her child, who also graduated from the University of New Mexico, are still paying off student loans.

Secretary Haaland ran her own small business producing and canning Pueblo Salsa, served as a tribal administrator at San Felipe Pueblo, and became the first woman elected to the Laguna Development Corporation Board of Directors, overseeing business operations of the second largest tribal gaming enterprise in New Mexico. She successfully advocated for the Laguna Development Corporation to create policies and commitments to environmentally friendly business practices.

Throughout her career in public service, Secretary Haaland has broken barriers and opened the doors of opportunity for future generations."

03/16/2022

From womenshistory.org, Mary McLeod Bethune was "one of the most important black educators, civil and women’s rights leaders and government officials of the twentieth century. The college she founded set educational standards for today’s black colleges, and her role as an advisor to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave African Americans an advocate in government." Highly encourage reading her whole bio, she led such an impressive and interesting life!

03/14/2022

For Women's History Month, we're highlighting past and present women who have created positive change as well as our own fictional heroines in our Playbooks® stories! Today, we're featuring our character, Princess Kristina. "The Littlest Princess and the Butterfly" are part of our Character Education series. Follow the littlest princess on her journey of self discovery and accepting differences. You can download a virtual version or order a print of this story on our website: readerstheater.com

03/10/2022

Today, we're uplifting the two female finalists of the 2022 National Teacher of the Year Award: Whitney Aragaki and Autumn Rivera.

From EdWeek:
"Aragaki, a National Board-certified teacher who is pursuing a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction, teaches biology and environmental science in the same high school from which she graduated. She also works with the Hawaii Virtual Learning Network to ensure that students across the state have access to environmental science and computer science courses.

Aragaki’s instruction is rooted in an exploration of identity and is informed by place-based and anti-oppression pedagogy, a form of social justice teaching. For example, about half of Hawaiian adults will have diabetes or pre-diabetes in their lifetime, so Aragaki teaches students about the disease, its risk factors, and environmental and societal challenges. Because some Asian and Pacific Islander students have negative connotations about body size during these lessons, Aragaki also teaches about the feast-and-famine cycles of Indigenous communities before Western colonization to provide more context and cultural appreciation.

Rivera, who has been in the classroom for 17 years, wrote in her application that she considers her role as a teacher to be a facilitator in her students’ learning as they discover the answers themselves. Through hands-on experiments and group work, her students are encouraged to ask questions and be curious.

In her application, Rivera referenced a moment two years ago, when the nearby Sweetwater Lake was slated to be closed to the public and put into private ownership. Her students wanted to do something about it—so Rivera had them research all sides of the issue and then fundraise for a local conservation organization that wanted to purchase the land for permanent public use. The students raised more than $600 from bake sales and T-shirt sales, and Sweetwater Lake ultimately became a state park.

'The message the students received? You have worth. You have a voice. You can stand up for your values and opinions,” Rivera wrote. “Education as a profession can guide students into discovering their self-worth.'"

See the whole article: https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/meet-the-four-finalists-for-the-2022-national-teacher-of-the-year/2022/01

03/08/2022

For Women's History Month, we'll be highlighting past and present women who have created positive change in the education space as well as highlighting some of our fictional, female trailblazers in our Playbooks® stories! Today, we introduce Namid and Abequa: Two sisters on a path to find their place in the world, defying expectations. This month, "An Unexpected Path", is our free script download when you sign up for our newsletter! Subscribe on our website: readerstheater.com

03/03/2022

Who better to highlight for our first female role model in Women's History Month than former First Lady, Michelle Obama?! She is a champion for girls' education and started the Let Girls Learn initiative which aims to help girls reach their full potential through their education. From the White House website, here's a full description:
"To educate a girl is to build a healthier family, a stronger community, and a brighter future. Unfortunately today, more than 62 million girls around the world are not in school—half of whom are adolescents. We know that countries with more girls in secondary school tend to have lower maternal mortality rates, lower infant mortality rates, lower rates of HIV/AIDS, and better child nutrition."

03/02/2022

What are you reading today? Let us know in the comments! 👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

03/01/2022

Did you know that Playbooks® is a woman-owned company? Follow our channels as we highlight !

02/28/2022

02/24/2022

Follow Trent as he learns about different modes of transportation!

02/22/2022

Looking for more Black History Month stories for kids? We're loving this list from Reading Rockets:
https://www.readingrockets.org/booklists/celebration-and-remembrance-children-s-books-about-black-lives

This collection includes a comic-book re-telling of real Wild West characters, plus picture book biographies of a young boy who shipped himself to freedom during the Civil War, a teenage Civil Right activist, a trailblazing pilot, a brilliant writer — and a sensitive but honest retelling of the Tu...

02/21/2022

02/17/2022

Meet Kelly! The main character of "The Great Rhyme Travel Machine: African-American Heroes". She's got some questions about what it takes to be a leader 🌟

02/15/2022

Having troubles or trepidations about talking to your students or kids about race with Black History Month? We invite you to check out this special of Nick News hosted by Alicia Keys 📢📢📢📢📢📢

Hosted by Alicia Keys, Nick News talks with founders and leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement, offer tools for families to have constructive conversati...

02/14/2022

One of our favorite love stories at Playbooks® is this modern take on "The Princess and the Pea". A very fun one to read with any grade 4-8. ❤️ Download the virtual version of this story on our site in time for Valentine's Day! Link below: ❤️
https://readerstheater.com/collections/all-products/products/princess-and-the-pea-modern-twist?variant=40287303794894

02/10/2022

Here's a sneak peek of one of our titles, "Send Me a Sign". Join Shanti, Faith, Buddy, Logan, Miss Sybil, and Miss Jennifer in this story about learning sign language!

02/08/2022

Unfortunately still timely, is this script for grades 1-5 on catching viruses, like coronavirus. One of our everyday heroes of Playbooks® in this title is Cody! Read about Cody and his friends' journey in learning about germs and healthy practices. 🧤🧴🧼

02/03/2022

The theme of 2022 Black History Month is Black health and wellness! Our Playbooks script, "Water Works", deals specifically with this theme. Join Mrs. J as she teaches her students the importance of water and hydration 💧

02/01/2022

Today is the start of ! Stay tuned as we share excerpts from some of our scripts featuring African-American heroes and introduce you to some of the everyday heroes of our Playbooks® 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

01/30/2022

Looking for activities to do with your kids for Black History Month? We're loving this comprehensive list that highlights different historical figures through fun games as well as their crafting and book lists!
https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/132853/12-black-history-month-activities-for-kids/

These games, books, and activities are sure to capture your kids' imaginations as they learn about Black History Month inspired by all the...

01/27/2022

Once you've purchased your Playbooks®, it's time to implement the reader's theater program! We have the full breakdown in our Teacher's Guide and more tips and resources on our website. 🙌

01/25/2022

The evidence speaks for itself. Check out more research on the efficacy of reader's theater and in particular, Playbooks® patented format of reader's theater on our website: https://readerstheater.com/pages/research-based

01/20/2022

Wondering if Playbooks Reader's Theater is for you? Don't worry, we made it simple with this chart 😎

01/18/2022

We hope everyone enjoyed their day off yesterday! At Playbooks, we strive to include character-building and topic-based lessons in our scripts as part of our work in improving reading literacy and making sure kids have fun. 🎉🎉🎉

01/11/2022

With Playbooks, we take all the guessing out of reader's theater and choosing scripts. Trust the industry professionals!

The reader's theater strategy blends students' desire to perform with their need for oral reading practice. Reader's Theater offers an entertaining and engaging means of improving fluency and enhancing comprehension.

01/07/2022

Kick off 2022 with a title!
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and you will have access to a free script every month. For January, we are going places with "Follow Your Feet". This grade 1-4 title is all about transportation!

"Trent travels to New York and rides on all sorts of vehicles: a plane, a taxi, a subway, a boat, and a bike, and he learns how they work! After using different forms of transportation, which one does Trent like best of all?"

Grade:1-4
Playbooks Reading Levels: Stages 2-4
Topic: Social Studies/Transportation

01/05/2022

New Year, New Us! Allow us to introduce ourselves to our new followers and get re-acquainted with our audience that has followed our products for a while now. We are Playbooks® Reader's Theater: The premiere reader's theater company with patented format and one-of-a-kind reading enrichment materials. Playbooks® are stories that are read aloud, like a play, but don't require memorization, a stage, or props. Although, costumes are encouraged if you have them! We specialize in creating multi-leveled, color-coded dialogues in stories for students aged, K-12. Our Playbooks® stories are effective in maintaining and increasing reading levels, while creating an environment that is fun and inclusive for readers of all levels! The secret to our success is creating character roles in stories that are tied to different reading levels. All students can participate, grow their reading fluency, all while having fun. Students are unaware that they are reading at different levels but have the opportunity to participate equally and meaningfully. Our patented, color-coded dialogue does not correlate to reading level but is research-based and proven to improve reading fluency. Furthermore, students are able to take more ownership over their character role when associating that dialogue with color. Our products have been created by national reader's theater experts and we continue to strive to give you the best quality in all of our reading enrichment materials! Kick off 2022 with reading enrichment activities that are sure to have your students engaged and enjoying. Visit our website: readerstheater.com

01/01/2022

#2022- We have some exciting things in the works for this year, stay tuned! 🌟

12/30/2021

With our titles, you get a color-coded script and one that has also been leveled to meet student's reading levels using our proprietary leveling algorithm. We also provide access to many other resources to provide you with the best outcomes. With each purchase, we provide a Teacher's Guide, which includes:
- Quick-Start Steps
- Step-by-Step Weekly Implementation Instructions
- Reading Level Correlation to Fountas & Pinell, Reading Recovery, DRA, and Lexile
- Pre and Post-Program Assessments

Additionally, you can access on our website:
- Recommended Reader Assignment Forms for Each Story
- Supplemental Activities for Each Story
- Award Certificates for Students
- Staff Training Webinars

And even more online tools....