Reader’s Theater, © Karen Haag, www.LikeToRead.

com 3/12 for use in classrooms only

   
 
THANK  YOU  for  downloading  Reader’s  Theater  
I  created  FREE  for  you.  
 
In  return,  I  ask  that  you…  
(1) Have  fun!  
(2) Give  the  lessons  more  than  one  chance.  
(3) Give  me  credit  for  my  work.  
(4) Refer  others  to  my  websites  www.LikeToRead.com,    
www.LikeToWrite.com,  and  www.Facebook.com/LikeToWrite  
 
I  also  ask  that  if  you  see  any  editing  or  content  errors  
that  you  let  me  know  
by  emailing  me  at  
[email protected]  
 

Sincerely,  
Karen Haag
 

I give permission to classroom teachers to use

Reader’s  Theater  
Readers  Theater  is  an  effective  fluency  activity  that  helps  struggling  readers  
comprehend  AND  decode  better!  The  advantage  to  reader’s  theater  is  that  
students  practice  by  repeating  the  same  reading  many  times.  By  preparing  for  
an  audience,  students  experience  a  true  purpose,  which  makes  the  reading  
asignment  authentic.      
 
To  make  getting  scripts  easy,  you  can:  
1. Go  to  Aaron  Shepard’s  Website:  www.aaronshep.com.  
2. There  you  will  find  several  scripts  for  legends  and  fairy  tales  and  other  public  domain  books.    The  books  are  
listed  by  genre,  theme,  and  reading  level.  He  tells  you  how  many  readers  are  needed  for  the  script  but  
that’s  easily  adaptable.  He  tells  you  how  many  minutes  the  play  should  last.      
3. Start  with  an  easy  play  first.    I  recommend,  “Which  Shoes  Do  You  Chose?”  for  3rd  graders.  For  4th-­‐5th-­‐grade  
students,  “A  Frog  Went  to  Heaven”  seems  like  a  good  choice.      
4. Download  the  scripts.  When  you  make  copies,  make  an  extra  for  each  child    -­‐  one  to  practice  at  school,  one  
to  practice  at  home.  
5. You  might  also  download  the  Aaron  Shepherds  tips  for  teaching  kids  to  read  the  scripts  and  stage  the  
plays.  The  packet  provided  is  priceless.  (These  readers  theater  is  usually  kept  pretty  simple.  No  props  are  
required  unless  you  want  to  get  more  elaborate.)    
 
Get  Started  
1. On  the  first  day,  each  child  reads  all  the  parts  the  first  time  through,  silently  or  chorally.  
2. After  reading,  the  kids  ask  questions  about  things  they  don’t  understand.  
The  teacher  can  ask  questions,  too:  What  audience  would  enjoy  this  play?  What’s  the  main  idea  
of  the  play?  What  is  the  author’s  purpose  for  writing  the  play?  Who  can  summarize  the  story  in  
one  sentence?  Let’s  see  if  we  can  use  3  descriptive  words  to  characterize  (character  x).    
Discussing  the  structures  of  stories  and  literary  devices  grows  naturally  from  deciding  how  to  say  
each  line.  (If  you  know  your  line  foreshadows  things  to  come,  you  must  say  it  clearly  or  maybe  
even  use  a  different  voice.)  (Characterization:  How  would  your  character  say  that  line?  Why?)      
3. Then,  divide  the  script  so  that  each  student  reads  one  part.  Highlight  parts  in  different  colors.  The  
next  day  the  group  meets,  rotate  the  scripts  so  everyone  tries  a  new  part.  Rotate  the  third  and  
fourth  day,  also.  On  the  final  day,  decide  who  will  read  each  part  and  actually  perform  the  play.  
4. Before  the  group  performs,  tape-­‐record  or  videotape  the  reading.  Ask  students  to  critique  their  
fluency.  You  may  need  them  to  tape  recorder  or  videotape  several  times  before  the  readers  
improve  their  fluency:  paying  attention  to  punctuation,  reading  with  expression,  reading  with  
voice  that  can  be  heard,  phrasing  the  words,  etc.  
5. When  the  readers  are  ready  to  perform,  write  an  introuction  together.  A  one-­‐sentence  summary  
will  help  the  audience  “get  into”  the  play.  The  exercise  will  also  help  the  performers  learn  
author’s  purpose,  main  ideas,  characterization,  and  many  other  end-­‐of-­‐year  test  skills.  Choose  
one  student  to  read  the  introduction.  
Example…  Today  we  will  perform  Readers  Theater  called  “Which  Shoes  Do  You  Choose?’    It  is  a  
play  about  a  character  who  has  so  many  shoes,  she  can’t  decide  what  to  wear.    You  should  enjoy  
the  play  since  we  think  it  is  a  very  funny  one.    While  you’re  enjoying  it  though,  listen  for  the  lesson  
the  main  character  learns  at  the  end.    
6. Make  arrangements  to  perform  the  readers  theater  in  another  classroom,  preferrably  for  
students  younger  than  the  performers.  
 
In  this  way,  the  children  read,  comprehend,  prepare  for  tests  and  have  fun  at  the  same  time.