Routine · Fluency
Readers theatre
Students rehearse and perform a short script, reading their parts with expression. No costumes or memorizing needed.
- Time
- 15 to 30 minutes
- Skill
- Fluency
- In a session plan
- Library only
When to use it
For a group that needs a real reason to reread a text many times.
Materials
- A short script at the students' reading level, one copy per student
- A highlighter for each part
Steps
Get ready
Choose a script with parts for each student. Highlight each student's lines.
I do
Read the whole script aloud, using different voices and showing how feelings change the way a line is said.
We do
Read the script together as a group, then each student reads their part with you whispering along where needed.
You do
Over several days, students rehearse their parts with partners and at home.
Student: Practices their lines aloud many times.
The group performs for a small audience, reading from the script.
Check
Talk about one line each student read really well and why.
If the student...
Reads a line in a flat voice.
Ask how the character feels. Model the line with that feeling, have the student echo it, then read it from the start of their part.
Tips
- Give the weakest reader a part with fewer but important lines, and rehearse it with them first.
- Keep performances short and friendly. The value is in the rehearsal.
Original routines written by Literacy Trail. In the app, every routine is filled with your student's lesson.
Related routines
- Echo and choral readingYou read a sentence and the student echoes it; then you read together in one voice.4 to 7 minutes · Reading connected text
- Repeated readingRead the same short decodable passage three or four times, a little smoother each time.5 to 8 minutes · Reading connected text
- Timed reading with a graphTime a one-minute reading of the same passage over several days and graph the words read correctly.5 to 8 minutes · Reading connected text
- Partner readingTwo students take turns reading the same text aloud, with the listener following and helping.5 to 10 minutes · Reading connected text
Have this routine filled in for every lesson
In Literacy Trail, the session plan picks a routine for each block and fills it with the words, sounds and sentence from your student's lesson. Every plan starts with a 15-day free trial.