Our First Readers' Theater

This week students enjoyed bringing the story of Henry and Mudge to life through Readers’ Theater. 

First, students were given highlighters to identify their lines. 

 

Next, students read over their parts individually. 

Soon they were ready to rehearse in their groups.

And here are the finished products!

Group 1: Henry and Mudge from Justine Forrester on Vimeo.    Group 2: Henry and Mudge from Justine Forrester on Vimeo.    Group 3: Henry and Mudge from Justine Forrester on Vimeo.  

Readers’ Theater is a fun way to bring our reading to life through cooperative learning.  It is similar to acting or performing in a play in that students are encouraged to speak fluently and naturally, and use expression in their voices.  They can even emote with their faces and can gesticulate for added drama.   However, unlike a play, the emphasis is not on memorization, props and costumes, or stage direction.  We rely on our expressive reading to bring the story to life for the audience.

In addition to being motivating and engaging, the benefits of Readers’ Theater include developing students’ fluency and comprehension skills through repeated exposure to the text.  Equally important, students build confidence in reading and speaking in front of a group in an authentic context.  Initially we will be using pre-written scripts, but the goal is to collaboratively compose our own scripts adapted from literature as we become more familiar with this practice.