As I have discussed previously, the “secret” to reader’s theater success as a reading strategy is that it gets students reading—and rereading—willingly. At Benchmark Education Company, we advocate for a five-day lesson plan with Reader’s Theater. Using one Reader's Theater script during the daily literacy block over the course of a week gives students multiple opportunities to read and reread the same material, with a specific purpose. These multiple reading opportunities can, and should, take different approaches, which helps keep the students engaged and focused, while effectively developing their reading fluency. For the next few entries, I will discuss five different reading...
Read More Post a comment (0)Why do we teach phonics? Most teachers will answer “for decoding purposes,” “for children to learn sound/symbol relationships,” “It is the foundation for reading,” etc. While these reasons may be accurate, the main reason we teach phonics is so that students are automatic with the orthographic processing system. The ultimate goal is for students to transfer this knowledge to reading and writing so that comprehension and fluency are maintained. It is important to remember that skilled readers automatically and quickly recognize words they read. When proficient readers try to unlock unfamiliar words, they try some quick problem-solving strategies based on...
Read More Post a comment (0)Reading and re-reading are necessary steps to improve fluency and comprehension, however, it can be challenging to find innovative, authentic ways to encourage students to read the same work over and over again. As many of you know from experience, Reader’s Theater asks students to reproduce written work using voice alone (no props, sets, and costumes), providing a legitimate rationale for re-reading. In the process of using the scripts and performing, students demonstrate marked gains in literacy including, but not limited to, a more complete understanding of how to read expressively by achieving the right volume, pitch, tone and timing. A interesting study...
Read More Post a comment (0)It’s one thing to be able to read clearly, persuasively, and with feeling, but it’s quite another to write that way. We all know that reading well (and often) typically makes someone a better writer, but now there is quite a bit of research to show that the converse is also true. Writing ability also improves reading ability. Yet two big debates swirl around writing in the classroom: What should kids write about? How should teachers evaluate them? Today, we are going to discuss the former. When focusing on writing in the classroom, there are so many different genres that students can tackle...
Read More Post a comment (0)In 2009, Kelly Gallagher (a veteran teacher from Anaheim, CA) wrote a book called Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It. Mr. Gallagher asserts that students today grow up in print-poor environments, surrounded by electronic gadgets and overwhelmed with extracurricular (nonreading) activities. There are a huge number of pressures that divert our children from reading today, including (very acceptable) ones like having to hold a job, struggling with English as a second language, or caring for siblings after school. And then there are the TESTS that teach kids to read quickly and hunt for certain details,...
Read More Post a comment (0)The experience of reading a book is exactly that – an experience. It evokes different feelings when read privately than when read aloud, when discussed in a book club, or when seen in movie form. Inevitably, the reader takes away something different when it’s oral vs. visual or individual vs. group. The reader’s mind is challenged in different ways as the characters may look different, sound different, and be interpreted differently. At Benchmark Education, we have found that Reader’s Theater is a very successful model for teaching literacy in an oral group setting. By definition, Reader's Theater is the reading of...
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