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Commedia: Masks and Make-Believe in the Square

6th grade nonfiction passage about commedia dell'arte theater: 208 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction commedia dell'arte theater 208 words

Commedia: Masks and Make-Believe in the Square

Hundreds of years ago in Italy, traveling actors set up a simple wooden stage in a town square and began to perform. Their style is called commedia dell'arte, which means comedy of the profession. It became popular in the 1500s, and its ideas spread across Europe.

The actors did not memorize every word. Instead, they were given a rough outline of the plot, and they made up the lines as they went. That meant the troupe had to be quick, and the performers had to listen closely to one another. If one actor invented a joke, the others had to catch it and toss something back.

The characters were stock types that audiences already knew. Pantalone was an old and stingy merchant. Harlequin was a clever servant in a patched, colorful costume, always scrambling to get out of trouble. Many of the characters wore half masks made of leather, so the crowd could tell who they were from far away. Since a mask hides the face, the actors told the story with their bodies, using big gestures, leaps, and tumbles.

Later playwrights and comedians borrowed these ideas. The lovable fool, the sly helper, and the grumpy rich man are still common figures in plays, cartoons, and comedies today.

Questions

  1. Where did commedia dell'arte begin? in the text

  2. Did the actors memorize every word? in the text

  3. What kind of character was Harlequin? in the text

  4. What did many characters wear on their faces? in the text

  5. Why did the actors have to listen closely to one another? think about it

  6. Why did the actors use big gestures and tumbles? think about it

Words to know

troupe
a group of actors who perform together
stingy
unwilling to spend or share money
merchant
a person who buys and sells goods
gestures
movements of the hands or body that show meaning
playwrights
people who write plays
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One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 189 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2

Long ago in Italy, traveling actors set up a plain wooden stage in a town square. Then they began to perform. Their style is called commedia dell'arte. It means comedy of the profession. It grew popular in the 1500s. Its ideas spread across Europe.

The actors did not learn every word. They had a rough outline of the plot. They made up the lines as they went. So the group had to be quick. Actors had to listen to each other. If one made a joke, the others had to catch it and toss something back.

The characters were types that people already knew. Pantalone was an old, stingy merchant. Harlequin was a clever servant in a patched, colorful costume. He was always trying to get out of trouble. Many actors wore half masks of leather. The crowd could tell who they were from far away. A mask hides the face, so the actors used their bodies. They made big gestures, leaps, and tumbles.

Later writers and comedians borrowed these ideas. The lovable fool, the sly helper, and the grumpy rich man are still in plays, cartoons, and comedies.

▲ This passage · 208 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.4

Hundreds of years ago in Italy, traveling actors set up a simple wooden stage in a town square and began to perform. Their style is called commedia dell'arte, which means comedy of the profession. It became popular in the 1500s, and its ideas spread across Europe.

The actors did not memorize every word. Instead, they were given a rough outline of the plot, and they made up the lines as they went. That meant the troupe had to be quick, and the performers had to listen closely to one another. If one actor invented a joke, the others had to catch it and toss something back.

The characters were stock types that audiences already knew. Pantalone was an old and stingy merchant. Harlequin was a clever servant in a patched, colorful costume, always scrambling to get out of trouble. Many of the characters wore half masks made of leather, so the crowd could tell who they were from far away. Since a mask hides the face, the actors told the story with their bodies, using big gestures, leaps, and tumbles.

Later playwrights and comedians borrowed these ideas. The lovable fool, the sly helper, and the grumpy rich man are still common figures in plays, cartoons, and comedies today.

■ Harder · 224 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.5

Several centuries ago in Italy, troupes of traveling actors assembled a simple wooden stage in a town square and began to perform. Their style is known as commedia dell'arte, which means comedy of the profession. It rose to popularity in the 1500s, and its ideas eventually spread across the continent of Europe.

The performers did not memorize every word of a script. Instead, they were handed a rough outline of the plot, and they invented their lines as they went along. This meant that the troupe had to think quickly, and each performer had to listen very closely to the others. If one actor invented a joke, the rest had to catch it and toss something back.

The characters were stock types with whom audiences were already familiar. Pantalone was an old and stingy merchant, while Harlequin was a clever servant in a patched, colorful costume who was forever scrambling out of trouble. Many of the characters wore half masks made of leather, which allowed the crowd to recognize them from a long distance. Since a mask conceals the face, the actors told the story with their bodies, using sweeping gestures, leaps, and tumbles.

Later playwrights and comedians borrowed freely from these ideas. The lovable fool, the sly helper, and the grumpy rich man remain familiar figures in plays, cartoons, and comedies even today.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put troupe, stingy, merchant, gestures and playwrights on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 2 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Commedia: Masks and Make-Believe in the Square"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 208 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.4. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 2 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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