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Distance Learning with Reader’s Theater Scripts

I do some of my best thinking while I am exercising.  Usually, I walk on an indoor track for about a mile and a half, then pedal for thirty minutes on something called an e-cycler.

I am retired and consequently have become more sedentary. Of course,  I am gaining the pounds, so these two actions have helped me exponentially.

Then the coronavirus quarantine…

Now, I’m outside walking on a middle school track and no e-cycler.  Happily, I can still do some of my best thinking again.

Yesterday, while my husband and I were walking, I thought about how to help teachers during this coronavirus quarantine time.

If you are looking for a way to keep your students engaged and sort of in the drama class (or actually most any Language Arts class) mindset, here’s an idea:

Teach through a reader’s theater script!

Distance Learning with Reader’s Theater Scripts

Here is what I would do in this situation—

Day One:

•  Select a reader’s theater which you know your students will enjoy
• Arrange for Zoom (it’s free!) to be used by the class or some other video communicating system
• Announce to the students in the class you will be performing a readers theater play.
• Inform parents and invite them to the performance.  (Day Six)

Day Two:

• Send the script to your students who can either read it on-line or print a copy for themselves
• Ask them to read the script and select three roles they are interested in performing and send you their choices. You’ll send them an email with the cast list.
• Cast the roles

Day Three:

• Announce to the class the cast list (in case they didn’t receive or read the email) and have them either print the script and hi-light their lines or use the hi-light feature in a PDF to hi-light lines.
• Instruct the class to practice the script

Day Four

•  Read the script aloud on-line and discuss any questions or moments you want to clarify with the students (Such as when it says “ad-lib.” what does that mean?)
• Instruct the students to complete any assignment you may have given them to accompany the script and send to you

Distance Learning with Reader’s Theater Scripts

Day Five

• Read the script aloud on-line again and coach the class focusing on vocal inflection, variety, tone and enunciation (Also, you may want to coach them on physicalizing of the character. How would an angry man look?  What about a frightened giant?)
• If you want the students to have costume pieces, perhaps you could discuss ideas for costume pieces they may have at home? (Maybe the students could use some foil and tagboard and make a crown, for instance.  Or a student portraying a chicken could make a demi-mask to wear during the reading.)

Day Six

• Performance Day! 
• Everyone meets online ahead of the scheduled performance time and either rehearse the script once more or the teacher gives any last-minute directions
• If possible, record the performance (It will be so fun for the students to see it afterward!)

Day Seven

• Hold a post production discussion about the experience (Maybe a little party could be held with everyone bringing their own snack and drink to the class?)

Grab my FREE guide and ten page lesson to help you boost student engagement here:

Reader’s Theater is an excellent way to involve all readers.

In case, you are unfamiliar with Reader’s Theater here is a good definition from the Education World website, a wonderful retired Language Arts Teacher,

“In Reader’s Theater, students “perform” by reading scripts created from grade-level books or stories — generally without benefit of costumes and props. The goal is to enhance reading skill and confidence through practice with a purpose. Reader’s Theater gives students a real reason to read aloud.

“A great deal of fluency research reiterates the need for repeated reading,” reported Finney. “Without fluency, there is little comprehension; the value of Reader’s Theater is increased tenfold when used as a strategy for increasing understanding of what is being read.”

Reader’s Theater motivates reluctant readers and provides fluent readers with the opportunity to explore genre and characterization.”

Distance Learning with Reader’s Theater Scripts

Yes, yes and one more yes!

Reader’s Theater motivate reluctant readers and provides them a safe environment.  They can actually “hide” behind a script.  As they focus on the script, they become unaware of reading aloud in front others.

If you are interested in trying this with your class, I have a few readers theater scripts you may appreciate:

The Brave Little Tailor

The products come with:

• a warm up
• advice in directing reader’s theater
• blocking plot for teacher’s staging needs
• a lesson about the country or culture of which the folk tale hails (i.e. Italian language, Yiddish language, Grimms Brothers, Inuit dance, etc.)
• script with roles for 15 to 30 students, depending upon the script
• original song and sheet music (optional for performance)
• sound bytes of music

Comprehensive? You bet!

Check out my store at:  Dramamommaspeaks Store

These scripts are field-tested and created by a veteran drama teacher and director of thirty-eight years.

ATTENTION: If you need help with sending home a learning pack, check out:

“Selecting Pages for Home Learning Pack”

https://commoncoreconnectionusa.blogspot.com/

Or you need to just get one page out of a multi-page PDF, you can choose “print to PDF” as a print option and then just select the pages(s) you want in that new document. Then it’ll prompt you to save the PDF as a new document with just that one or so pages extracted.

Who am I?

I am a retired drama educator having taught for thirty-eight years in both the public and private sectors. Whew! During this time, I created a curriculum for studies in creative dramatics, creative movement, introduction to musical theater, musical theater, film making, technical theater, introduction to Shakespeare, introduction to theater as well speech and debate. I created seven youth theater companies that continue today in various parts of the midwest, oversaw productions for thirty-eight years and developed a national playwriting contest for youth theater scripts. In addition, I am an award-winning director who has directed over 250 plays and musicals with children and adults alike. My sister was an elementary teacher for many years as were my aunts. In the late 1800s, my fraternal grandmother was known for her strength in teaching math in the wilds of Kansas. My maternal grandmother established the first kindergarten in Osaka, Japan in the 1890s. In short teaching is in my blood and comes to me joyfully and naturally.

I hope you’ll consider teaching readers theater to your students through distance learning with the help of a company such as Zoom.  I’d love to hear how it goes for you, too!

If you’d like to read more about my lessons, look at:

Drama Lessons for Home-Bound Students or During the Corona Virus Quarantine

The Reasons Reader’s Theater is Successful with Our Students

Free Teaching Resources Blog Hop

Contact me at dhcbaldwin@gmail.com or DeborahBaldwin.net