Year 3 - English
Reading and performing a script based on 'The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark'
Reading and performing scripts
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils read, engage with, analyse and act from play scripts for the first time. They learn about the conventions of scripts, directors and actors' roles within a cast and how to improvise at the end of the unit. Pupils also build their performance and oracy skills.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to read and respond to a play script based on 'The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark' and perform it in front of an audience.
Key Notes
- A play is a written text that is intended to be read aloud and acted out by actors in a live performance.
- A play script is written by a playwright.
- Plays are most often performed in theatres.
- Actors read play scripts to bring them to life; directors tell actors how to speak, move and look when saying lines.
- There are certain conventions that are always written in play scripts that help the actors and the director.
Vocabulary To Learn
- play: a written text intended to be performed in front of an audience that is divided into scenes of dialogue and action
- play script: the written text of a play that includes dialogue, stage directions and setting descriptions so that actors and directors can bring it to life on a stage
- playwright: the person who writes a play
- audience: a group of people who watch and actively listen to a play
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Pupils may think that plays are put on quickly without much preparation or work.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
A play is a written text that is intended to be read aloud and acted out by actors in a live performance. A play script is written by a playwright.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'play'
a written text intended to be performed in front of an audience that is divided into scenes of dialogue and action.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: Pupils may think that plays are put on quickly without much preparation or work. Correction: Ensure that pupils understand how much work from a dedicated team of actors, directors and stage crew goes into putting on a play. You could tell pupils that professional theatre companies take, on average, between 8-16 weeks to put on a play.
More Lessons In This Unit
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