An ABC Book on Reader's Theatre By Twila Harger

is for ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT Reader's Theatre allows students to actively participate in their learning. Struggling readers often assume that reading is something "done to a text" rather than "with a text." ​ This shift in perspective can be a critical component in the success that children can eventually enjoy in reading.​

B is for Benefits The repeated and assisted practice involved in rehearsal will improve accuracy and automaticity in word recognition. This is why Reader's Theatre benefits students-it is an authentic means of achieving repeated reading while engaging the students in a fun activity.

C is for COMPREHENSION Because the repeated reading of a script promotes fluency development, and fluency development enhances comprehension, RT is perfect as a fun activity that also helps further reading comprehension.

is for DIVERSITY OF INSTRUCTION Diversity of instruction is necessary for struggling readers. Systematic decoding instruction, guided reading, and sight word practice do not a balanced reading curriculum make. Add in Readers Theater as an alternate reading strategy.

E is for ENGAGEMENT Readers Theatre requires active participation with peers and may be more engaging than other traditional types of of reading activities. Where do your students fall on this continuum?

F is for FLUENCY “Fluency is the ability to read the words in a text with sufficient accuracy, automaticity, and prosody to lead to good comprehension.” -Dr. Timothy V. Rasinski

is for GARDNER'S MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES Not only does Reader's Theatre provide a meaningful context in which students read, write, speak, listen, and view, it also includes the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence as a physical aspect of learning.

is for HIGH SCHOOL-AGE STUDENTS Secondary teachers, don't despair. Reader's Theatre is an excellent strategy to use with high school age students as well as younger students. Consider Reader's Theatre scripts that focus on stories from Greek Mythology. Better yet, have your students write their own scripts based on typical teenage issues or a favorite book they have just read.

I is for INTEGRATION Reader's Theatre allows for integration of ALL aspects of language arts- reading, speaking, listening, and writing.​

is for JUST IGNORE A SLIP-UP One of the best pieces of advice that you can give your Reader's Theatre student if he or she makes a mistake while reading is to “just ignore it and move on.” Most of the time the audience has no clue of the slip-up, and you don't want your student to focus on a little mistake and not be able to concentrate on the remainder of the script.

is for KIDS LOVE AN AUDIENCE Reader's Theatre is a great way to get kids to learn through reading and performance. They can perform in front of the rest of the class, another class of students, other teachers, or even parents and grandparents.

L is for LITERATURE Reader's Theatre is the perfect way to introduce students to good literature. This can be done either prior to or after reading a RT script. ​

M is for MOTIVATION Many teachers report an increase in motivation to read by students who have routinely practiced Reader's Theatre in the classroom.

is for NO ONE GETS LEFT OUT Lesser skilled readers sometimes feel like they are “excluded” from understanding what is read. Reader's Theatre is a great strategy for the struggling reader who has many opportunities to practice his or her part.

O is for ORAL READING Oral reading lets students and teachers observe, examine, reflect on, and respond to a reader's actual real- time reading (Rasinski & Hoffman 2003). Immediate feedback is a benefit of Readers Theatre.

P is for PROSODY Prosody is the feature of oral reading that addresses tonal quality, pace, and the rhythmic aspects of language that should be present when reading. ​ ​ Reader's Theatre allows students to develop prosody in their oral reading through the repeated readings that are indicative of this activity.​

Q is for QUOTES ABOUT RT “An encounter with a theatre production has the potential to emancipate students who may not participate in their own educations in any other areas.”-Jane Gangi “ Readers Theatre gives the same suggestive push to the imaginations in the audience that the act of silent reading gives to the imagination of the perceptive silent reader.”-author unknown

is for REPEATED READING Readers Theatre allows teachers to incorporate repeated readings within meaningful and purposeful context.

S is for SELF CONFIDENCE As students who formerly had difficulty with oral reading continue to practice reading their scripts, self confidence can increase due to the repeated reading and subsequent increase in fluency.

T is for TEAMWORK Utilizing Reader's Theatre in the classroom promotes teamwork amongst students, who work together to support each other, ensuring that the performance is the best it can be.

is for UNEXPECTED BENEFITS Don't be surprised if students practice a Readers Theatre based upon a work of literature and then want to read the book it was based upon.

is for VISUALIZE THE ACTION One of the performer's goals in Reader's Theatre is to read a script aloud effectively, enabling the audience to visualize the action. This “shared happening between performers and audience” gives each individual a vital part to play.

w is for WRITING After students have practiced reading and performing Reader's Theatre have them write their own script. Perhaps they could choose their favorite book or story the class has read and create a RT script from a chapter or portion of the story. Students derive much enjoyment from performing scripts that they have created!​

X is for EXPERIMENT Be sure to eXperiment with Reader's Theatre in the different content areas: science, social studies, literature, language arts, and even math!​ ​

Y is for YOUNG READERS Kindergarteners and first graders are not too young to enjoy RT. Scripts can be developed from picture books or existing scripts can be modified for length or content.

Z is for ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT The interaction of readers with others while interacting with text, as experienced while preparing for readers theatre, provides the frames and supports for independent thinking. The concept of interaction in social environments is congruent with Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development that suggests that students need guided practice in social situations to increase independent learning.