Reader’s Theatre
A presentation and activity brought to you
by Nick Iammatteo for EDU 314
Alright so what is Reader’s Theatre?
A definition from Education.com (no author listed)
The performance of a literary work by an
individual or group, wherein the text is read
expressively; but it is not fully staged or acted
out performance.
How about another definition?
This one is from Quizlet.com (once again, no author)
A dramatic presentation of a written work in a
script form. Readers read from a “script” and
parts are dived amongst the readers; no
memorization, costumes, blocking or special
effects are required.
First a history of…
It is almost as old as the printed word…
You could say it started with radio…
Actors held the scripts in front of them while
they performed various shows; oftentimes
they were in front of an audience.
The first “official” Reader’s Theatre
performance was done on Broadway…
…in 1945 by a group who called themselves
Readers’ Theatre Inc.; they did a production of
Oedipus Rex, which is an old Greek tragedy by
Sophocles.
Then came the 1960’s…man
Readers Theatre started becoming more
popular in colleges during the 1960s; those
students would go on to teach in grade
schools and use it in their
classrooms…groovy.
So what purpose can it serve in the
classroom?
Learn how to break down a story
Instead of reading a story once or twice the
student will instead read it 20 to 30 times
Can help those with reading difficulties
Teamwork
Bonus: it is very inexpensive
(Prescott, 2003)
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/instructor/readerstheater.htm
What kind of stories can we use?
Does not have to be a play
Can be any story, any type of story, fiction or
non-fiction
The type of story depends on the grade you’re
teaching, whatever you feel your students can
handle
Plus many websites offer free “RT” scripts to
help you out, otherwise you’ll have to break
down the story yourself
How long should the project last?
Most of the anecdotes I have read suggest one
week because students can get bored after that.
Can get away with doing it a little longer if you’re
planning a more fleshed out performance, like a
night for parents and general public.
Guess what, now it’s your turn
I have three scripts…
“Kings Wish” (6 characters)
“Turkey Trott” (7 characters)
“Miss Nelson is Missing” (6 or 7 characters)
Courtesy of a website by Mr. J. Chase Young, a teacher at McGowen Elementary School in McKinney, TX.
The scripts are either originals from other teachers or adaptations. He offers them on his website for free.
http://www.thebestclass.org/rtscripts.html
References…because I didn’t just know all this stuff
Cornwell, Linda. (2012). What is Reader’s Theatre? In Scholastic. From
http://scholastic.com/librarians/programs/whatisrt.htm
Lohman, George (2008). Readers’ Theatre for Literacy and Presentation. In
Readers Theatre Help Blog. From,
http://readerstheatrelp.blogspot.com/2008/03/brief-history-of-readerstheatre.html
Prescott, Jennifer O. (2003). Teaching and Learning: the Power of Reader’s
Theatre. In Scholastic. From,
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/instructor/readerstheater.htm
Reader’s Theatre Definitions. (2012). In Quizlet. From,
http://quizlet.com/dictionary/reader’s-theater/
Young, J. Chase (2011). Readers’ Theatre Scripts. In Mr. Young’s Second Grade
Class Site. From http://www.thebestclass.org/rtscripts.html