Reader’s Theatre

2. Everything you need to know about incorporating, implementing, and expanding on Reader’s Theater in your classroom! Reader’s Theatre Dame Charlene Arboleda & Sir Mark D’Angelo With Your Hosts

3. You’ve Got a Show To Do! We’re going to divide you into two teams! An Upper Elementary Group of Readers and a Lower Elementary Group of Readers Mr. D & Mrs. A will assign parts – and then it’s time to rehearse! The curtain goes up in minutes!

4. The Little Red Hen

5. The Three Little Wolves & The Big Bad Pig

6. Reader’s Theater for Dummies What is it? •Students read aloud an original script, an adapted script from literature or one they’ve created themselves •Performers use voices, facial expressions and gestures to bring characters to life •Narrator conveys setting, commentary to aid transitions (in lower grades, a narrator may not be necessary – often times, all children want character roles) •Audience visualizes the action •Two “Camps” regarding final performance: • Camp Orthodox: No sets, costumes, or props! No fun for you! • Camp Unorthodox: Live it up! Props, Costumes, Music, Sets, Discoball, Live Animals, Michael Flatley & His River Dancers - the works! • But BOTH AGREE: NO MEMORIZED LINES!

7. Reader’s Research • An approved form of repeated guided oral reading ; in fact, the NRP certifies Reader’s Theater (a form of repeated guided oral reading) as THE MOST EFFECTIVE way to improve fluency – especially when it includes higher level role models • Students obtain fluency with high-frequency words and master new vocabulary words through repeated use and context clues. • As a result, students show improvement in vocabulary, comprehension and retention. • Multi-leveled and colorized Reader’s Theater is an improved form of Reader’s Theater that maximizes students’ learning, allowing students of varying reading abilities to practice and improve together. • Additionally, students using lessons from the text build reading comprehension skills as they make predictions, identify plot elements, recognize character and setting, recognize the main idea, and draw conclusions.

8. Additional Benefits • Boosts self-confidence • Fosters collaboration • Engages and motivates students • Connects oral reading, literature, writing and drama • Provides context for purposeful reading

9. Getting Started • Key is choosing the right texts • Scripts of varied levels of difficulty to meet range of reading abilities • Consider students’ interests • Scripts rich in vocabulary, lively dialogue, action • Predictable stories: repeated words, phrases • Series books: students get to know, follow characters

10. Where do we find scripts? Websites • www.readinglady.com • www.readers.org/ • http://hometown.aol.com/rcswallow/ • www.literacyconnections.com/ReadersTheater.html • www.tadatheater.com • www.readers-theatre.com • http://playbooks.com/ • http://www.readingrockets.org/ • http://scriptsforschools.com/ • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AMQDQS48qE • http://www.evsd.org/curriculum/tech/k5tech/teacher/readerstheatreintro.htm • http://www.readinga-z.com/book/scripts.php • http://aaronshep.com/rt/index.html • http://www2.scholastic.com/ • http://aesopfables.com/ Books • Break a Leg! The Kids' Guide to Acting and Stagecraft, by Lise Friedman (Workman, 2001). • 15 Easy-to-Read Mini-Book Plays (K-2), by Sheryl Ann Crawford & Nancy I. Sanders (Scholastic, 2001). • Folk Tale Plays From Around the World That Kids Will Love!, by Marci Appelbaum and Jeff Catanese (Scholastic, 2001). • 25 Just-Right Plays for Emergent Readers (K-1), by Carol Pugliano-Martin (Scholastic, 1998). • Readers Theatre for Beginning Readers (Grades 1-4), by Suzanne I. Barchers (Teacher Ideas Press, 1993). • Frantic Frogs and Other Frankly Fractured Folktales for Readers Theatre, by Anthony D. Fredericks (Teacher Ideas Press, 1993). • And THOUSANDS more!

11. PopularScripts • Around the Water Cycle from www.teachingheart.net/readerstheater.htm • “Boa Constrictor” from Where the Sidewalk Ends by ShelSilverstein, 1974 • Chicken Little retold by Jenny Giles (Rigby, 1997) • The Christmas Santa Almost Missed by Marian Frances (Troll, 1970) • CLICK, CLACK, MOO: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin,2000 • “Code” from Lunch Money and Other Poems about School by Carol Diggory Shields, 1995 • “The Crocodile’s Toothache” from Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, 1974 • Don’t Let Ted Have BUBBLE GUM! by Phyllis Sibbing, 1999 • “A Faster Fox” from Fox Outfoxed by Edward Marshall, 1996 • “Fox the Famous” from Fox Be Nimble by Edward Marshall 1994 • “Fox in Luck” from Fox in Love by Edward Marshall, 1994 • “Fox on Stage” from Fox at School by Edward Marshall, 1993 • “Fox in Trouble” from Fox and His Friends by Edward Marshall, 1994 • The Gingerbread Man retold by Annette Smith (Rigby, 1997) • “Life-Size” from Santa’s Time Off, 1997 • The Little Red Hen retold by Jenny Giles (Rigby, 1997) • “Pizza Time” from Fox on the Job by Edward Marshall, 1995 • “Pledge” from Lunch Money and Other Poems about School by Carol Diggory Shields, 1995 • Pum, Pum, Pum, Pum, Pumpkin Pie from www.night.net/tucker/thanksgiving/pumppum.html-ssi • Santa Claus Is Coming to Town by Carolyn Quattrocki, 1995 • The Tale of the Turnip retold by Jenny Giles (Rigby, 1997) • The Three Billy Goats Gruff retold by Annette Smith (Rigby, 1997) • Time to Hibernate from 25 Emergent Reader Plays Around the Year (Scholastic, 1999) • “The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven” from Something Big Has Been Here by Jack Prelutsky, 1990 • Two Crazy Pigs by Karen Berman Nagel, 1992 • “What Is That?” Said the Cat by Grace Maccarone, 1995 • You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Stories to • Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman, 2001

12. Tips for Discerning Script Levels • Pay close attention to sight words present • Review vocabulary present in the scripts • Do a class silent reading/read aloud first • assess students’ reactions to difficulty level • make adjustments accordingly • Make use of key resources/level texts • Most pre-made scripts will indicate grade levels • Adapt a script from a level text • Websites feature a plethora of appropriately leveled scripts

13. Differentiation &Scaffolding ~Role Assignments vs. RoleChoice ~ • Assign roles/steer students towards roles that fit their reading level • No risk of a student struggling and/or feeling incompetent • Can build week to week; go up (or maybe down) the ladder of roles accordingly • All students feel like stars! Each has a part they can master! • ZPD/Modeling – they learn more difficult parts by following along as fluent readers perform/recite/rehearse their roles • Let students choose their roles • Since so much rehearsing/repetition will take place, that all students will eventually become fluent with their lines • All students will feel like equals! Not to mention reading levels don’t indicate performance ability. • All students feel like stars! Each has a part that they will master! • ZPD/Modeling – they learn more difficult parts by following along as fluent readers perform/recite/rehearse their roles *Adapted scripts from leveled texts or leveled scripts lend themselves perfectly to choice of roles

14. Implementation - Daily Pre-Day 1 • Teacher and/or students select story. • Teacher and/or students prepare or write script. Day 1 • Teacher reads aloud the story. • Students read script independently, in small groups, or as a whole class multiple times. • Teacher and students discuss story. • Students take home unmarked scripts for practice. Day 2, 3, and 4 • Students practice script in small and large groups, taking turns with different parts until later in the week when permanent parts are chosen. • Students give each other compliments and suggestions. • Teachers provide mini-lessons or coaching that explicitly teaches an aspect of fluency or prosody. • Students highlight parts for specific characters. • Students select permanent parts. • Students take highlighted scripts home for practice. Day 5 - Performance

15. Implementation - Weekly Mondays •Scripts go out • Students read scripts independently • Highlight parts/Assign Parts • Students take home highlighted scripts for a nightly 10 minute practice read • Students record practice log (usually rehearsing with parent/sibling) • Scripts easily identifiable in groups by highlighter colors Fridays • Performance Day! • Students work together for 15-30 min before lunch • Call together scripts by color • Survey the room – assist groups as needed • Performances after lunch • “Dinner Theater” atmosphere – every Friday do Snacks, Refreshments & Shows Beginning Weeks: All getting the same scripts; they can see their parts reinterpreted in many different ways Middle and Later Weeks: Different scripts & different performance troupes

16. Implementation - Stations Monday – Thursday • Integrate Reader’s Theater into your regularly occurring station set-up • Have one station be the “Reader’s Theater” station • One troupe at a time can perform weekly after working on their script all week while the other students work on their normal stations -OR- Each station is a different troupe & script Fridays • Performance Day! • Rotating weekly performances from different troupes (more time to add extras – props/sets/costumes) -OR- • Several groups perform the scripts they’ve been working on all week • “Dinner Theater” atmosphere? – every Friday do Snacks, Refreshments & Shows

17. Reader’s Theater in Primary Classrooms Day 1 of Weekly Routine • Teacher models expressive reading – read aloud books on which scripts are based • Class discussion of stories’ content, meaning • Mini-lesson on aspects of fluency • Repeated independent, partner reading of all parts of scripts in groups • Two sets of scripts: one for school, one for home

18. Primary Classrooms Days 2 & 3 • Each group gets scripts with specific parts highlighted • Rotate scripts, practice different roles • Feedback from teacher & peers • End Day 3 with a specific part

19. Primary Classrooms – A Note on Parts • Respectable parts for all readers: • Teacher differentiates roles based on reading abilities, complexity of parts, personalities • Larger parts for higher readers (Hen, narrators) • Lower readers may follow higher readers who model (Dog in Little Red Hen) • Students negotiate roles within groups • Split up longer parts

20. Primary Classrooms Day 4 • Continued practice, rehearsals • Students strive to do their best in anticipation of a new audience Day 5 • It’s show time! Students perform before their classmates, principal, librarian, and/or invite parents in to see the show

21. Encore Performance We’re going to divide you into FOUR teams! TWO Upper Elementary Groups of Readers & Writers and TWO Lower Elementary Groups of Readers & Writers Mr. D & Mrs. A will describe your task – and then it’s time to get to it! Be creative, be collaborative, and be cooperative – And have fun!

22. Extra, Extra – Reader’s Theater All About It! What goes into writing your own script? • Reading Comprehension • Attention to story elements – setting, characters, plot, central conflict • Writing out the parts – coming up with the right number of roles – casting • Careful attention to characters – inferring of character traits • Practice reinterpreting descriptive text/narratives as a script • Expanding on existing dialogue • Narrator role? Or just “stage description”? • Practice writing – proper punctuation, grammar, syntax, dialoguing • Creative - Free – Fun – Inventive • Collaboration - Cooperation – Fairness – ZPD – Modeling – Peer Sharing • Just like when books are turned into movies (Harry Potter, Shiloh, Lightning Thief), they too can turn mentor texts or favorite books into scripts/plays/movies – then they can see which is better or worse!

23. Extra, Extra – Reader’s Theater All About It! Lower Elementary (K-3) Mini Lessons/Lessons Can be Taught on The Following: • Target skills: sight words, rhyming, sequencing • Write and illustrate scripts based on read-aloud • Guided-Reading activity: group performance based on leveled reader • Complete character and/or story maps • Compare/contrast different versions of story

24. Extra, Extra – Reader’s Theater All About It! Upper Elementary (3-5) Mini Lessons/Lessons Can be Taught on The Following: • Sight words, sequencing, metaphors, similes, alliteration, onomatopoeia • Write scripts based on read-aloud, or mentor text • Change scripts – add characters, alter endings, change story elements • Complete character and/or story maps/story mountains • Write sequels to stories/scripts • Compare/contrast different versions of story • Drawing conclusions, making predictions, inferring character traits • Make movies using Movie Maker with the finished scripts (either original or adapted – which is just like the real thing! This process is a 2-3 week process all by itself and offers many opportunities for learning)

25. Extra, Extra – Reader’s Theater All About It! All Grades Coaching: (like mini-lessons, but more casual and on an as needed basis) • Punctuation • Phrasing/Pacing • Intonation • Pitch • Inflection • Stress • Juncture (“a name” vs. “an aim”)

26. The Science of Reader’s Theater

27. Reader’s Theater & Social Studies

28. Interdisciplinary In Action

29. This has been a comprehensive look at Reader’s Theatre With Your Hosts Dame Charlene Arboleda & Sir Mark D’Angelo