Common Core Spotlight

Connecting Between Genres:
A fun and skill-building approach to classic literature!

The Common Core Standards emphasize cross-genre connections—and so do we! In this issue’s Readers Theater play, we present a delightful adaptation of “Rip Van Winkle,” and we pair it with an original comic that imagines the tale with a different ending. Your students’ job is to turn that ending into an epilogue to the play, demonstrating their mastery of the play genre. To take this activity further, have students read Washington Irving’s original classic short story and compare all three genres: short story, play, and comic.

Your students will:
• identify key ideas and details in the play and the comic
• compare the two genres
• analyze tone, structure, mood, and character
• complete our activity, “Play vs. Comic”
• demonstrate mastery by writing an epilogue to the play

Common Core ELA Anchor Standards for grades 6-12 this activity supports:
R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R9, W3, W4, W5, W9, SL3, SL2, L1, L4

More Common Core resources:
To learn how the rest of the February 20, 2012, issue supports the Common Core Standards, see pages 2-3 of your Teacher’s Edition, or click here.

To learn more about how Scope aligns to the Common Core, click here.

Have a question or a comment about this activity? E-mail Editor Kristin Lewis at KELewis@Scholastic.com.