Overview of Reader's Theater in Language Arts.

1. Strategy Presentation:
Reader’s Theater
EEX 4066
Dr. Marcey Kinney
By: Kelly Holland Wooten

2. Researchers:
Martinez, Roser, and Streckler
• Martinez, Roser, and Streckler’s research was published in
The Reading Teacher in 1999.
• The study was conducted on second grade students and
produced the following results:
– After the 10 weeks, the students who had practiced scripts
gained 17 words per minute, twice that of the control
group, who did not use Reader’s Theater scripts.
– The experimental group also gained twice as much
progress in comprehension and overall reading as the
control group, and when used regularly, Reader’s Theater
typically helped the students improve their reading skills
by a year.

3. Reading
• Reader’s Theater engages students in “Repeated Guided Oral
Reading”.
• “Repeated Guided Oral Reading” improves:
– Reading fluency
– Comprehension
– Vocabulary
• The acting out of story dialogue compels readers to work more
closely with the text to interpret and project meaning into the
experience.
• Research also shows four repeated readings sufficiently
improve reading fluency. Most traditional texts are unable to
hold students’ attention for up to four separate readings.

4. Applying the Strategy
Reader's Theatre is a valuable tool for any classroom. It allows students to take
virtually any piece of literature, analyze it and adapt it into a script. This script
can then be performed with a minimum of preparation, props or scenery.
• There are two ways to implement this strategy in your classroom.
– Have your students rehearse, read and perform a previously prepared reader’s
theatre script in class. Discuss the story and invite students to give each other
constructive criticism on their acting. You might use this as a kickoff to other
language arts-based activities.
– Have your students find a piece of literature and then adapt it into a reader’s
theatre script. Students will then rehearse, read and perform their script in class.
Feedback will be given not only on students’ performances, but also on the
creativity that went into their script adaptation.