Robert reports on a recent RT workshop with Jason Fritze, the RT master, and we say a big thank you to both of them! I know that RT is on all of our to-do lists, and this Report from the Field may help us all get a little closer to reaching our RT goals:
Hi Ben –
I promised that I would write a report after we had our COACH workshop on Reader’s Theater. The workshop was on Saturday, 8 December, and it went very well. The participants were enthusiastic and enjoyed the demonstration and practice. We had an excellent exchange of ideas, and everyone learned something, including the presenters.
We started the morning by talking about what Reader’s Theater in the World Language Classroom is and is not, as well as discussing reading in general. I demonstrated a session of Reader’s Theater using participants as “students” and having Jason Fritze coach me and comment on the process. (BTW, having done this a couple of times with Jason has really improved my skills and understanding of the whole Reader’s Theater strategy. Even though I’m “demonstrating”, I’m also learning a lot and getting good practice. It’s been amazing.) Then we had a bit of de-brief and divided participants into language-alike groups of four to practice while being coached by one of our COACH team members. Of course, there were a few people who were the only ones from their language, so I wound up coaching a group with a Latin teacher, a German student teacher, a Mandarin/ESL teacher, and a Spanish teacher. We, of course, did the practice in English. Quite an interesting experience.
So, here are some take-aways and other comments:
- Reader’s Theater is simply another way to engage with the text and engage students; it is not “classical” Reader’s Theater
- Reader’s Theater should be done no more than two or three times per novel
- Reader’s Theater requires backward planning even though it’s execution looks rather spontaneous
- Reader’s Theater requires a passage that can be acted out, is interesting on its own, and is essential to the story
- Reader’s Theater requires minimal props (but it does require props)
Now here’s what we did:
I chose a one-page excerpt from my pirate book in German, English, French (Thanks, Martin!) and Spanish. We used the English version for the workshop. The scene I chose is the beheading of the famous pirate Klaus Stoertebeker.
I highlighted the words in the text that I wanted to pause on as a check of engagement.
I prepared the following props: large name tag and pirate hat for Klaus; large name tag and junk jewelry “chains of office” for the mayor; name tag and cardboard axe for the executioner; a head (could have been a soccer ball or small beach ball) for the beheading
We chose three actors who would provide lots of energy for the reading and presented them with their props. (BTW, for a class, you would collect these props and put them with a props list into an XXL Ziplock bag labeled with the name of the novel/reader. Then you have everything you need from one year to the next.)
Before we began, Jason reviewed his reading rubric: “I know you are reading when:
- You look at the book.
- You follow along with your finger (or a pencil or a highlighter*).
- You ask questions.
- You fill in the next word (thus the highlighted words in the text – so I knew where I was going to pause to see if students were following).
- You answer questions.”
(*Because there is a lot of looking up and down, marking the text in some way helps students find the place; especially your ADD students will be helped by highlighting as they read. They simply pick up at the non-highlighted point.)
I served as narrator/coach/teacher. (The narrator could be a student who can handle the language. This would be an excellent job for one of those misplaced heritage speakers.)
As I read, my actors acted things out. As necessary I coached them with what they should do.
I checked for comprehension by asking questions and circling, personalizing (e.g. comparing), getting “translations” for certain words (this was done in English, after all), encouraging participants to ask questions, and having non-actor participants provide appropriate reactions and noises. I also asked the actors things about their characters to get more repetition of important structures and vocabulary. (“Do you want to die?” “Do you want the other pirates to die or to live?” “Does the mayor want you to live or die?” “Mr. Mayor, do you want the pirates to live?” “Class, does the city council want the pirates to live?” “Do the pirates want to live or die?”)
We asked the actors to provide plenty of emotion during the acting; Jason calls this the “Telemundo telenovela school of acting” (there really is one), or simply “melodrama”.
As necessary, the narrator/teacher provides the voice for the actor, who just mouths the words. (Students who have acquired a bit more can often read their own lines – the actors also have books in their hands. An intermediate step that I have experienced naturally with my students is that they repeat what I have just said. Of course, this is adjusted to the confidence and abilities of the student. No one is forced to speak, but the actors have the opportunity to do so.)
Any particularly dramatic moment can be repeated as necessary. We did a re-wind, and the executioner beheaded Klaus in slow motion the second time. (There was a nice crowd reaction when the actor tossed the head out into the middle of the room. Emotion aids acquisition.)
If necessary, a quick quiz can be given. I don’t recommend this, though. At some point we need to get students to do some of these things because they enjoy them, not because they will get a grade, and Reader’s Theater is certainly an enjoyable way to read.
During the Reader’s Theater I taught geography (used a shower curtain with a map drawn on it to show where things were and ask things like, “Is Hamburg in the north or south of Germany?”), embedded grammar (and some explicit when asked), vocabulary, dramatic arts, literacy techniques (e.g. prediction – “will the pirates die?”) and more.
Reading my description, I’m sure members of the PLC have questions. I will just have to say that this is one of those things that you get when you see it and experience it, but it is nearly impossible to describe. As I noted above, doing this with Jason a couple of times has really helped me understand Reader’s Theater and improve my own performance.