Batesville Middle School seventh-grade students spent approximately two weeks reading,
analyzing, and “performing” an adaptation of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. The version
shared with the students came from our literature series (Savvas Realize). The adaptation was
entitled A Christmas Carol: Scrooge and Marley by playwright Israel Horovitz. While working on
this piece, students learned new vocabulary words, made inferences based on dialogue and stage
directions, and learned various drama terms. For many years, the culminating experience has been
a trip to the Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT) in Indianapolis to see the piece come to life on stage.
This is followed up by a informative piece of writing (compare/contrast).
This year, for a variety of reasons, we were unable to attend the production in Indianapolis.
For a reduced rate, the IRT provided a link with a videotaped performance of the piece.
Approximately half of the students attended the production in the morning while the other half
attended a viewing in the afternoon. Students followed this up on Tuesday with a discussion of the
similarities and differences in the piece. We also discussed live theater vs. a taped performance.
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