Reader's+Theater

 **Puppet Pals** is a great app to help students build fluency as well as to internalize story elements. Students can either write their own stories with the help of the Story Mountain graphic organizer and then record the dialogue and animations in Puppet Pals. Or students can record familiar picture books and use Puppet Pals to animate the story. Both options provide students with the opportunity to practice reading while focusing on speed, accuracy, and expression.

In the clip below, second grade students wrote and performed a shorter version of a book written by Patricia Polacco. First the group read the story, then they retold the story in their own words. Finally they performed and recorded this on the iPad with the apps and **Puppet Pals and iMovie.**

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 * Steps to creating an animation: **
 * 1) Storyboard - quickly sketch out the scenes on a graphic organizer.
 * 2) Draw characters or backgrounds if necessary.
 * 3) Write the dialogue. Assign roles to students. Practice reading and the voices that will be used.
 * 4) Practice the actions within the clip such as moving characters around the screen, turning characters around, making them bigger or smaller, etc)
 * 5) Practice the actions between the clips such as changing scenery, moving characters out of the scene, etc.