and making and performing their own meaning of it (Kieff, 2002). Kieff also stated that the wide range of literature that can be adapted into scripts for Readers’ Theatre has no boundaries
Participation
Annarella (1999) stated that students who are not interested in what is being taught, do not learn. Readers’ Theatre is not teacher-centered; it is student-centered (Annarella). Students are able to choose the script . Students able to decide what role they would like to read and once they have experience with the activity, they may even write their own scripts (Annarella). Here, they have control over what and how they learn. They are in a safe environment, provided by the teacher, where they can be reading scripts with students who are on different reading levels. (Annarella). For instance, “because students read different parts within a script, roles can be assigned based on interest . Struggling and more advanced readers can participate in the same performance with equal opportunities for success” (Moran, 2006, p. 319).
Implementing Readers’ Theatre into a classroom is painless and both teachers and students reap the benefits (Kieff, 2002). Readers’ Theatre is more than just a play or a performance. Readers’ Theatre gives struggling readers the limelight where they grow to become more confident and more in love with reading (Kinniburgh & Shaw, 2007).
References
Annarella, L. A. (1999). Using readers' theatre in the classroom. Retrieved from ERIC database (ED434377)
Garrett, T., & O’Conner, D. (2010). Readers' theatre: "Hold on, let's read it again." Teaching Exceptional Children, 43(1), 6-13.
Kieff, J. (2002). Voices from the school yard: Responding to school stories through
readers' theatre. Journal of Children's Literature, 28(1), 80-87.
Kinniburgh, L., & Shaw, E. (2007). Building reading fluency in elementary science
through readers’ theatre. Science Activities, 44(1), 16-22.
Moran, K.J. (2006). Nurturing emergent readers through readers theatre. Early
Childhood Education Journal, 33(5), 317-323.
Vasinda, S., & McLeod, J. (2011). Extending readers theatre: A powerful and purposeful
match with podcasting. The Reading Teacher, 64(7), 486-497.
Worthy, J., & Prater, K. (2002). “I thought about it all night:” Readers’ theatre for reading fluency and motivation. The Reading Teacher, 56(3), 294-297.
Young, C., & Rasinski, T. (2009). Implementing readers theatre as an approach to classroom fluency instruction. The Reading Teacher, 63(1), 4-13. doi:10.1598/RT.63.1.1
Michelle Mayne Nichols teaches second grade in Rogers, AR. She graduated from Missouri State University where she played four years of soccer for the Lady Bears. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in literacy from Missouri State University.
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How Readers’ Theatre Can Motivate the Unmotivated
Michelle Mayne Nicholls