Book+Acting+&+Reader's+Theater

This section of the Wiki gives reasons why Reader’s Theater is a great way to encourage readers of all ages. It includes comprehension, fluency, speed, accuracy and word recognition skills as things that can be improved by adding Reader’s Theater. It can be encouraging to struggling students because all students can have a part and be successful in the classroom, even if it is a small part. This is what is so appealing about Reader’s Theater. Reader’s Theater allows students who are not the best readers to feel involved and boost their confidence in terms of reading, comprehension, and in the academic world, in general. Furthermore, it makes reading and literature more fun and enjoyable for students because it encourages creativity and expression. Moreover, the addition of Reader's Theater activities in the classroom improves oral reading skills, which helps students learn how to ‘actively listen’. The main difference between Reader’s Theater and Book Acting is that Book Acting is based on students retelling a text, not simply reading a script as in Reader’s Theater. Both have their place in their classroom and can be used to benefit all students.

One wonderful aspect of Reader’s Theater is that it brings the students together as a class. Not only are all students involved in the process, but they show support for each other within their groups and when they are watching their peers perform. In //Teaching New Literacies in Grades K-3: Resources for 21st Century Classrooms//, Barbara Moss and Diane Lapp state that “working with a small group helps students take ownership of their learning. It [also] provides them with an opportunity to learn to work and cooperate with others” (60). This makes group work meaningful and can be a beneficial skill that students can use throughout the rest of their lives. Group and teamwork is a large part of the work, community, and educational endeavors that the students will face in the future. Thus, we feel it is important to include these activities in the classroom.

Shared and guided reading are important components for literacy development in young children. This process starts at home, hopefully, with adults or older siblings reading aloud to the child. Over time, the child becomes a more active participant in the read aloud, eventually taking over as an independent reader. As teachers, we need to foster this process in the classroom as well. We can facilitate shared readings using Big Books, which allow all students to see the picture and print. Campbell stresses, however, that the main priority in a shared reading is the pure enjoyment of reading a book. Instruction can occur with a particular book after several re-readings. With guided reading, the teacher usually has a small group of students reading one particular book. Here the main focus is on developing reading strategies that students can then take and use during independent reading time. Students, as at home, slowly take over the reading process becoming independent readers.

We have included a PowerPoint in this portion of the Wiki for you to use as a resource. The PowerPoint includes information on Reader's Theater in the early childhood education classroom. There is a link to a useful video from TeacherTube that offers advice and gives examples of a Reader's Theater, as well as a lesson plan for this type of activity.



 In addition to our PowerPoint, please view our other useful resources below.

**Articles & Books** -Young, C., & Rasinski, T. (2009). Implementing Readers Theatre as an approach to classroom fluency instruction. //The Reading Teacher//, //63//(1), 4–13.

 -Carrick, L. (2001). Internet resources for conducting Readers Theatre. //Reading Online//, //5//(1). Available: http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/carrick/

**Websites** -Aaron Shep: Reader's Theater scripts. (http://www.aaronshep.com/)

-Reading Lady: A link for more reader's theater scripts. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">(http://www.readinglady.com/index.php?module=documents&JAS_DocumentManager_op=viewDocument&JAS_Document_id=9)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">**Videos** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">-Video of a teacher describing how she uses Reader's Theater in her classroom: http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=170015

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">-Video of students performing several Reader's Theater scripts Grades 2-5: http://schoolwires.henry.k12.ga.us/43702052915433380/blank/browse.asp?A=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&C=91507

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">**Lesson Plans** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">-ReadWriteThink: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/reading-idol-bringing-readers-30621.html

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> -ReadWriteThink: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/readers-theatre-with-brett-420.html