July 13, 2011
Reader’s Theater
There are so many little things you can do as a teacher, parent, or grandparent to enhance your reading time with young kids to increase their interest in the story and the process.
Emergent and experienced readers will enjoy doing a version of Reader’s Theater.
When I do Reader’s Theater with my 5 and 8 year old, I pick a predictable text or one that my 5 year old knows well.
The Australian Curriculum (
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Glossary?a=E&t=predictable+text)
describes predictable text as “texts that are easily navigated and read by beginning readers because they contain highly regular features such as familiar subject matter, a high degree of repetition, consistent placement of text and illustrations, simple sentences, familiar vocabulary and a small number of sight words.”
In other words, your reader is familiar with the book, the vocabulary, and/or can figure out the words based on the pictures. Younger, “emergent” readers DO NOT HAVE TO GET THE WORDS RIGHT in order to participate in this activity. Let them do the part with their own words.
One of my 5 year-old’s favorite books is “Good Night, Good Knight” by Shelley Moore Thomas. In it are several characters: the Good Knight, the old, old wizard, the 3 little dragons, and the narrator. I assign parts-the 5 year old is the Good Knight, the 8 year old is the dragons, I am the narrator and the old, old wizard.
As each part comes up, the person playing the part reads (or in the 5 year-old’s case, says from memory) their part. I cue them if they don’t remember. Each child is engaged in the story. Their faces are animated as they anticipate their next speaking/reading role.
The following text (in italics) is taken from Good Night, Good Knight by Shelley Moore Thomas. Parts were assigned by me.
Narrator: Once there were three little dragons. The dragons lived in a deep dark cave that was in the king’s forest. But the dragons were very happy in their cave. They had a good friend. He was called the Good Knight. Every day he rode his horse –clippety-clop, clippety-clop to the dragon’s cave to say
Good Knight: “Good morning, good dragons.”
Good Dragons: “Good morning, Good Knight,”
Narrator: replied the dragons. (Thomas 3-4)
The book continues in this manner with each child saying their part. The word’s clippety-clop, clippety-clop are predictable text and every time the narrator says that the knight rode his horse, that phrase follows. So as the narrator reads, they can pause and let the kids chime in “clippety-clop, clippety-clop.”
I also try to teach my younger reader one or two words each time, to build his sight vocabulary, and so that he can recognize the word next time we read the book. For instance, my son recognizes the words Good Knight and can read them in the book when prompted.
This process can be translated to nearly any book that your children know and love.
I hope you are able to use this process with your own children. And as always, if you have a question about the process, how it would work in your home, need suggestions of books you can use, or would like to share with me what books your children like, please e-mail me at circletimemom@gmail.com or facebook me at circletimemom.
Works Cited
Thomas, Shelley Moore., and Paul Meisel. Take Care, Good Knight. New York, NY: Dutton Children's, 2006. Print.
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