The Curious Case of Reader Theater Mike Fatbat

The Curious Case of Reader Theater 曾任教育部中央級諮詢輔導教師英語科輔導員 現任屏東縣國小英語輔導員 屏東縣潮州國小教師 林鈺城 Mike Fatbat ashadow 6@ms 48. hinet. net http: //blog. yam. com/fatbat 666

RT… Righteously Trendy? Really Tiring? Rotten Topic? Reader Theater. Reading a play out loud without costumes, props, settings or make-ups. Voices do the trick.

Reader Theater is… 1. Somewhere between a radio drama and graduation speech. 2. A play without 3. fancy “decoration”, requiring reading skills, cooperation and passion. 4. 3. Reading with comprehension, fluency, imagination and fun. 5. 4. An incentive to motivate students to learn and to focus on the content material.

Why Reader Theater? - 1 ü It enhances reading skills and confidence of THE READER. ü It motivates low achievers and slow learners, giving them opportunities to hear… their OWN VOICES! It turns SLUMDOG of words into MILLIONAIRE of reading.

Why Reader Theater? - 2 ü It aids learners to practice LISTENING and SPEAKING new words. ü It helps learners to… play and have fun with new words. ü It allows learners to experiment and feel comfortable with new words. It looks like a CURIOUS CASE, but have no DOUBT. You ain’t THE WRESTLER on REVOLUTIONARY ROAD.

Reader Theater – What to teach ü Predictable stories or fairy tales. ü Rhymes, songs, and… chants with simple words or phrases. ü Textbook content with… repeated words or phrases. ü Brand-new scripts created by yourself. ü Of course, the AWARDED SCRIPTS that can be found EVERYWHERE online…

Reader Theater – How to start it – 1. a PLAYING WITH WORDS ü A: Yo! What’s up, Good morning and dude? how are you? B: Fine, fine. I’m just fine. Rise and shine and feel so right. GREETING ü Hey! What do you say? Let’s play and shout hooray! PLAYING GAMES

Reader Theater – How to start it – 1. b PLAYING WITH WORDS ü Go! Here we go! We are going to… rock and roll~~~ TEAM CHEERS ü Cool! You’re so cool! I think I can learn from you~~~ DOING A GREAT JOB ü Shame! Shame on you! Talking in class is not so good! NAUGHTY KIDS

Reader Theater – How to start it – 2. a SENTENCE SEGMENTATION & LINKING ü Use to… and connect words. Ex 1. Ex 2. break the sentence

Reader Theater – How to start it – 2. b R & B – RHYTHM AND ‘BEATS’ ü Use … FLOW of the sentence. Ex 3. Ex 4. to create the

Reader Theater – How to start it – 3. a GAMES to EASE THE PAIN… ü Same sentence… different tone. Ex 5. What do you really want to say, Peter? What do you really want to say, Peter? gestures & facial expression

Reader Theater – How to start it – 3. b GAMES to EASE THE PAIN… ü “Voice” in the ______. Ex 6. In a dark, dark forest… We can hear many sounds… Ex 7. When Savannah arrived in TPE city, all she could hear was… memory & creativity

Reader Theater – How to start it – 3. c GAMES to EASE THE PAIN… ü Reading Relay: 4 Levels – (1) 1 sentence… for each group. (2) Point to the group, then read (3) Sentence 1 st, 3 rd, 5 th… read (X 2); sentence 2 nd, 4 th, 6 th… read (X 1) Ex 8. (4) 3 words for each group Miss Yang: We have Chinese, PE, and music on Wednesday. Willy: Yeah! We have PE on Mon. and Wed. Do you like PE, Bella? Bella: No, I don’t. I like music. reflexive & team work

Reader Theater – How to start it – 4 GROUPING ü Tutor-Pupil System – a class divided into 2 halves; the better half helping the other half. A group of 4~6 can be formed then, making 5~8 groups. ü Number – ü Choosing Rhymes – each S reads a word. The class claps on circled words, whoever reads them forms a group. Ex 9. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. I got a fish alive. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. I let it go again. reading preparation

Reader Theater – Practice Time – 1. a PRIMARY READING ü Choose, rewrite or… Copy and give it to create a script. all students. ü Read the script aloud to students. dramatize it! ü Encourage students to read the lines marked ALL. ü Help students underline the ALL words or phrases. ü Discuss with students what should be acted out or stressed in their scripts. pronunciation & intonation

Reader Theater – Practice Time – 1. b PRIMARY READING ü Assign characters, highlight his/her own and help students lines. ü Read through the script together by group. 3 S: Slow, Smooth, Show-like ü To make a character sound REAL, let students think about: voices, loudness, emotions…etc. ü To make a play look VIVID, allow students to try: facial expression, poses, movements…etc. process > show time

Reader Theater – Practice Time – 2 READING, WRITING & DRAWING ü To save money and… learn new words: make sure students 1 copy for each group, and group members write in their notebooks. ü To prompt students to look up and familiarize with new words: FANCY WORKSHEET for everyone. ü To impress students with the story: get them draw pictures from the scenes on the margin of script or blank sheets.

Reader Theater – Practice Time – 3 OVER & OVER AGAIN… ü Round Robin Reading reading in a circle for small-sized class ü Change roles: for everyone to read different parts of the story. ü One for all and all for one: one person playing many roles or one role played by many. ※ If possible, videotape each group’s rehearsal, then play the better ones of OTHER CLASSES in next class meeting healthy competition

Reader Theater – Rehearsing PASSION & PATIENCE ü Script holding – (1) Be… brave! Don’t hide! (2) music stands as a show ü Eye contact – look up, look around, look at the audience ü Volume – loud enough to MOVE the audience ü Characterizations – method acting ü Pace – 3 C: Controlled, Comfortable, Confident

Reader Theater – Performing STAGING & EQUIPMENT ü Script binders ü Music stands ü Chairs or stools ü Props or masks ü Costumes or uniforms ü Music and sound effects ü Entrances and exits

Reader Theater – Scripting – 1. a RIGHT MATERIAL, RIGHT DIRECTION ü learner’s level – not “too high to get them … high”! ü RT Map – When, Where, Who, What, Why, How ü Roles - Narrator (s) tell the story; Characters in the story ü Repetition – chunks of words, sentences or paragraphs

Reader Theater – Scripting – 1. b RIGHT MATERIAL, RIGHT DIRECTION ü Balance of each character’s speech – individual, pairs, 3 roles, half of the roles, ALL ü Vital role: Songs or chants – team spirit, ingenuity, and POWER UP the story! ü Sound effects – old squeaky door, wind blowing, witch giggling, ambulance rushing, birds chirping, lion roaring, drizzling, whispering…etc.

RT… Rare Treasure to help students – integrate their… reading and speaking skills. It renders them a chance to know the genres (rhymes, songs, poetry) of literature and the world (past and present) they are / aren’t living in. It lets students say out loud, “ YES! WE CAN!”