I never thought I could be a star” A Readers Theatre ticket.pdfVIP

Miriam Martinez___________________________________ Nancy L. Roser Susan Strecker “I never thought I could be a star”: A Readers Theatre ticket to fluency Five second graders make their way, scripts in hand, to the front of the classroom. They giggle with an- Readers Theatre is a great way to ticipation as they turn their backs to the audience. “Ladies and gentlemen,” their teacher announces, develop children’s meaningful and “The Readers Theatre of Room 313 proudly presents an adaptation of Edward Marshall’s Fox in Love !” fluent reading. Here’s the story of two Five performers turn on cue, and Juanita begins: “Well, wait until the girls hear about this!” She reads classrooms that took Readers saucily, and the narrator’s words follow to explain that Raisin (played by Juanita) has just seen her Theatre to new heights. boyfriend, Fox, with another girl. The second-grade audience frowns disapprovingly; the performance promises to be yet another success for the repertory group. As always, Fox’s cunning is trumped, and laughter and applause close the reading. ngaged and fluent reading performances, Unlike conventional theater, Readers Theatre Elike the one in which Juanita participat- requires no sets, costumes, props, or memo- ed, came from children who weeks be- rized lines. Rather, the performer’s goal is to fore read haltingly and without confidence. For read a script aloud effectively, enabling the au- 10 weeks, their language arts instruction in- dience to visualize the action. Besides the char- cluded daily Readers Theatre experiences acters, the narrator has a special role in Readers aimed toward increasing the children’s oral Theatre. Narrators provide the cementing de- reading fluency. Because their practices were tails an