Unlock with PatreonThe Problem with CI
To view this content, you must be a member of Ben’s Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with PatreonAlready a qualifying Patreon member? Refresh to
jen on Readers’ Theatre
Share:
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Ben Slavic
Get The Latest Updates
Subscribe to Our Mailing List
No spam, notifications only about new products, updates.
Related Posts
CI and the Research (cont.)
To view this content, you must be a member of Ben’s Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with PatreonAlready a qualifying Patreon member? Refresh to
Research Question
To view this content, you must be a member of Ben’s Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with PatreonAlready a qualifying Patreon member? Refresh to
We Have the Research
To view this content, you must be a member of Ben’s Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with PatreonAlready a qualifying Patreon member? Refresh to
14 thoughts on “jen on Readers’ Theatre”
Jen,
Please never deprive us of your long “stream of consciousness rambles”.
They are just so awesome!
Thank you, Jen. And thanks again to Carol! Linking meaning and guided reading! I am sharing those terms with my department tomorrow.
From a true believer in small ball, thank you again,
Clarice
Speaking of “small ball”, it’s almost time for pitchers and catchers. Hope springs eternal with the emphasis on Spring!
ok – so now I’m sorry I didn’t go, but it was impossible! so I am cutting myself some slack…… 🙁
thanks so much for the feedback Jen!!!
Jen, Carol is coming to So. Jersey at the end of February. I am so there. Her iteration of RT seems so much less intimidating than Jason’s demo. Thanks for a great explanation.
I just saw Carol in action yesterday. What an inspiration! She did an amazing demo of RT – I finally get it! Now, to replicate it in the classroom is another story. Either way, I’ll start practicing first thing come Monday.
Brigitte next time you do a story or PQA or anything and you do any dialogue whatsoever, just RT one sentence of the dialogue. Staying in the target language, have the speaker repeat the line in some way romantically, angrily, timidly, using any emotion that comes to mind in the moment. When the kid doesn’t do it with verve and energy, ask the class if it was acceptable. If not, and it never is, the kid has to do it again. That’s Readers’ Theatre 101. Once you have that down, start building a scene with two actors speaking. Or you could choose a scene without any dialogue – that is a good way to start! Just have the class act out a funny scene. Let’s compare notes as we go along. I’m looking for every chance I can get to sneak in a minute of RT. I’m afraid if I tried a big scene a la Jason it would bomb bc I ain’t Jason bc nobody’s Jason but Jason!
Great suggestions, thanks Ben. I will try to remember all of them and let you know how it goes.
Hey — anybody in the Northeast NOT having February vacation Feb 15-22? I would love to observe someone!!!
That would be me ;-(
I am a bit confused on Reader’s Theatre. I have decided that it would be a good way to start out with the novel after Christmas break, but I need some clarification.
Are scenes actually acted out or do the “actors” just sit on chairs the whole time?
I like the idea of repeating the same line with different emotions. I used to do that with TPR, but I’d forgotten (Look at the pencil romantically, etc)
Is anyone doing RT currently with success?
thanks for any input.
Lori
I’d be interested in more conversation about RT, too. I had almost forgotten about it, but I remember the excitement around it last year. I worry this might be one of those ideas that has been lost and needs to be recovered.
For what it’s worth, I like the actors–who are especially chosen by me because I know they know what they are doing and they are scared/nervous–to actually act out the scene. Just sitting there, for me, is more for OWI and the beginning of the year when we don’t trust each other yet and I have not yet discovered the talented actors.
What do ppl think of Houdini? I’m told it’s good for level 1 and is in both present and past.
RT in the language classroom is NOT traditional RT, so no sitting and reading. It’s a way to get more reps and help students see the text as a movie in their heads (a mark of a good reader). Here are some things to remember:
1. RT is an occasional activity – there should be only one or two scenes per book that are acted this way
2. You need to choose the scene carefully – exciting, not too much dialogue; only one or two scenes per book will qualify
3. Teacher becomes stage manager – whisper stage directions to students; ask the class if the performance was believable; keep asking for more from students in terms of emotion
4. Students follow the rules for actors: they do what teacher reads as he reads it
5. A highly proficient and courageous student could read the text while the teacher helps the actors
6. Students follow along with their finger or an eraser (or a highlighter if they own the book) on the text and look at the text, the teacher or the actors
7. Teacher pauses the action and asks the class questions about the text
8. Run the scene multiple times: fast, slow, with different emotions, etc.
9. Students either read dialogue or teacher stands behind students to supply dialogue or there is a designated speaker for each actor
10. Have fun with it