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" Abbey Storey

 " Fluency


" Readers Theatre is an activity in which students are assigned a story script to read

aloud and act out in front of the class. Students use this activity to develop fluency by practicing

the script before reading it to the class, by reading the words aloud and silently to prepare, and

reading it at home with their families and at school with their group members. The textbook

a
 



 
by Gail E. Tompkins notes the importance

of reader¶s theatre to fluency noting, ³researchers have found that practice reading using readers

theatre scripts results in significant improvement in student¶s reading fluency´ (211). The

students each take on a role in the story, prepare the script together in practice, and present it in a

dramatic interpretation to their classmates. An important aspect of readers theatre is that students

put their own inflection into the parts when reading, creating more effect with their voices than

with actions. Students are able to ³read good literature, engage with text, interpret characters, and

bring the text to life´ (458).

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 £hen planning a lesson, educators need to align the goals of their lesson with the

Illinois Learning Standards. Readers theatre satisfies many of these standards such as standard

CC.K-12.SL.1, ³Comprehension and Collaboration" Prepare for and participate effectively in a

range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others¶ ideas and

expressing their own clearly and persuasively.´ £hen students are paired with other classmates

into groups for this activity, they learn to view the story through the eyes of all of their group

members as well. It provides discussion for the students of how to best act out the scene to the

rest of the class. Standard CC.K-12.SL.2 says, ³Comprehension and Collaboration" Integrate

and evaluate information presented in diverse media formats, including visually, quantitatively,
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and orally.´ Students will be visually reading their scripts and orally practicing them aloud and

presenting them to the rest of their classmates showing how this activity promotes diverse media.

Standard CC.K-12.SL.3, ³Comprehension and Collaboration" Evaluate a speaker¶s point of view,

reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric,´ applies to readers theatre because students are

listening to other groups present scripts, either the same or different than their own, and

evaluating their stance on the students interpretations. Standard CC.K-12.SL.6 states,

³Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas" Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative

tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.´ Students are

using a variety of speech when presenting their scripts in both the language they are speaking

and the emotion they are adding to their voice to display character feelings, which shows

understanding of English. Standard CC.K-12.L.R.3, ³Knowledge of Language" Apply

knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make

effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening,´

applies to readers theatre because students are reading the script and applying the inflection of

their voice to give meaning and style of the passage to the audience who is listening. Standard

CC.K-12.R.R.7 states, ³Integration of Knowledge and Ideas" Integrate and evaluate content

presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in

words.´ Readers theatre allows students to use multiple formats of reading a script and

presenting visually and orally to their classmates. Standard CC.K.R.F.4, ³Fluency" Read

emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding,´ is applied to readers theatre because

students are reading emergent or age/grade appropriate reading material for their scripts, and

through their interpretations of presenting show their understanding of the material.

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" In my Curriculum and Instruction 475 class at the University of Illinois

we have practiced a wonderful example of readers theatre. The many different versions of the

story of d
d
a

  were used, such as d
d
a

  , d
d
 



d
a

  told from the wolf¶s point of view, and d
d
a

  adapting the

story to a desert setting. The class is split into groups by numbering off for the number of stories

there are. For example, if I used these three stories I would number students off 1-3 into groups.

Each group would be given a different story and told to meet with their group for fifteen minutes

to do an initial read through of their story. They would then be asked to discuss their feelings and

interpretations about the story and assign roles of who will read for what part. Students will be

given more time, depending on their age, to practice their interpretations. For example, my class

only needed roughly the fifteen minutes to prepare, however younger children may need to meet

for fifteen minutes a day for a few days before being ready to present. On presentation day

groups will be called up to present their story, the author and their reading of it one by one.

Following the end of the presentations the entire class will have a discussion about their opinions

of the different interpretations and praise students for their portrayals of the roles as well as tips

that would be helpful for the next readers theatre.



" For students who have vision impairments, their group members would need to

read the script aloud and at an easy to understand pace, and I would need to provide a copy of the

script in Braille for the student to use. For students who have hearing impairments, it will be

important for them to have an interpreter available in the classroom in order to understand their

assigned script, as well as the presentations given by other groups. Students may not be able to

memorize their parts, and scripts can be used, as long as inflection is still apparent in their voice.
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Many adaptations are available, as all are desired to be accommodated and able to participate in

this fluency activity.