Robert has a nice addition to the articles here on RT:
RT in the language classroom is … 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