[Pam4]

Help! I am using Reader's Theatre as a part of my action research for my graduate studies this fall. I am searching for books or articles that talk about the results it has had on reading comprehension. I am also interested in some input from anyone who uses it in their classroom. I'd love to be able to use a quote from another teacher in my paper. Also, does anyone know of great sites online for resources?

[tbsrwilson]

Pam,
If you go to my I Keep Bookmarks site I have a bunch of Reader's Theater sites marked. Hop this helps!
Teresa
http://www.ikeepbookmarks.com/browse.asp?account=112680

[imalith]

I've never used Reader's Theater for reading comprehension. I've used it for fluency. Usually the kids pick a play and they have to practice it by switching around the roles. For the performance, they all choose a role and practice it again.

My end of the year activity is for kids to write their RT scripts with a partner. This is a difficult task that requires the ability to condense a story to mainly dialogue. I encourage kids to choose a "favorite book". This can be a picture book or a chapter book. My really high kids love the challenge of a chapter book.

The last week of school we read all the student scripts and perform them in front of a video camera. They love to watch themselves.

I use reader's theatre, usually at the end of the year, after the curriculum is finished but I still have a few weeks with them. I am a lang. arts teacher in a middle school, with four rotations of lang. arts. Each class does a couple of plays, and gets to come watch the other classes do theirs. Next year, I may do it before the end of the year, as my schedule will be somewhat different. This is the (authentic) way that I assess speaking and listening, two of our standards. I could make everyone give a one-minute speech about their family instead, which my content partner does, but that sounds so BORING.

Every year I give a questionnaire at the end of the year, asking what worked for them and what didn't in lang. arts. RT is one of the activities they always say they LOVE--but it does come right at the end of the year, so maybe it's just that it's fresh in their minds.

Easy to put together, easy to grade....

[Jalon]

You might look on the Int'l Reading Asso. web site. They may have something in their archives of articles. I attended a great Reader's Theater workshop a couple of years ago while at an IRA conference, so am guessing you could find something on the site. Wish I could remember the presenter's name...he was great.

Personally, I use it for fluency and my reluctant readers love it. All the kids do, actually, so I use it as much as I can or time allows.

[pamnpr]

Heres a link to Reader's Theatre from the Reading Lady. "SMILE"

http://www.readinglady.com/modules.p...ads&file=index

[Pam4]

Thanks for the link. It's great. I put it in my Favorites so I can look back a it. I can already see many scripts I want to use.

[Ilvtching]

readinga-z.com also has many Reader's Theaters scripts... you may need a membership though!

[pamnpr]

This is a great site. Our school paid for the site last year. It has mini books at all levels that you can print out - just tons of things! I hope they are going to do this again. I think it's under 30.00 a year to subscribe. "SMILE"

[smile&wave]

I, too, am doing my action research on Readers' Theater and I would love to know how yours panned out. I am having difficulty with my literature review because I can't fnd any action research conducted on this reading strategy. Can you point me in the right direction and let me know if you considered your research project a success. I appreciate your time!!