Running

Head: IMPLEMENTING READERS THEATER IN THE CLASSROOM

Implementing Readers Theater in the Classroom

Katie Hostutler
Franciscan University of Steubenville

IMPLEMENTING READERS THEATER IN THE CLASSROOM

Introduction
Lights, Camera, Action! Students at any age are eager to get out of their seats and
perform in the front of the classroom. Providing students with the opportunity to perform gets the
students excited and it changes up the routine of the school day. Students are able to show their
creativity and uniqueness while having fun with their learning. However, many students may not
have the motivation or capability to perform because of their struggle with reading because they
may not be able to read the script with fluency or even comprehend what they are reading.
Fluency is the ability to read the words in a text with sufficient accuracy, automaticity, and
prosody to lead to good comprehension (Young & Rasinski, 2009 p. 4). Comprehension is the
ability to understand a text. Teachers should look into a teaching strategy that allows for fun and
creativity but also increases the fluency and comprehension ability of the students, such as
Readers Theater.
Purpose
Fluency and comprehension are necessary skills to master at this young age. Students are
in their developmental stage and providing the reading skills that they will need later in life is
imperative. Young and Rasinski (2009) state that a major goal in the reading curriculum is
reading fluency. There are many teaching strategies used to increase the students reading
abilities but research shows that students do not find reading enjoyable and have a negative
attitude towards it. Readers Theater is a technique used to increase students fluency and
comprehension while also changing their attitudes and increasing their motivation to read. But
how exactly is fluency and comprehension developed and mastered through the implementation
of Readers Theater in the classroom? What skills does Readers Theater provide to the students
and ultimately how does it motivate them to read for pleasure outside of the classroom?

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Research on this given topic and empirical studies conducted will be collected to provide
evidence on the affects of Readers Theater. The research that will be gathered is focused on the
general topic of Readers Theater but it will also go into detail on some of the aspects of the
strategy, such as choosing the correct text to use, how to implement it when students with
disabilities are in the classroom, and how to increase the motivation to read. Studies are
conducted on a range of school-aged children from second grade to sixth grade with an
additional study done in Malaysia. The study done in Malaysia used Kolbs Experiential
Learning Model. A study conducted locally will use models from collected data to help further
prove the benefits and outcomes of Readers Theater on students abilities to read with accuracy
and understand what they had just read. This study will be conducted in a second grade
classroom with 21 students. The goal for this study is to test the research that was collected and
to see the outcome of a Readers Theater in actuality.
By conducting this study, it is hypothesized that students will be more motivated to read
because they will have an increased reading fluency and will comprehend what they read, which
will make it more enjoyable for them. With repeated performances, Readers Theater should
become an integral part of the reading curriculum. Students reading fluency level should show a
significant increase from the beginning of the year to the end. It is predicted that by having
Readers Theater implemented in the reading classroom it will slowly start to have an affect on
other subject areas and can be integrated into those other content areas. It is also thought that if
Readers Theater has started in an elementary reading classroom then the benefits from that class
will carry over into other years and will be a strategy used throughout all grades in elementary
and middle schools.

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Review of Literature
With the increasing necessity of fluency in elementary curriculum today, Young and
Rasinski (2009) report on the advantages of implementing Readers Theater in the classroom in
order to increase fluency with sufficient accuracy, automaticity, and prosody to lead to good
comprehension (p. 4). The study was conducted in the author, Chase Youngs second-grade
classroom in Dallas, Texas. His class consisted of 29 monolingual students, 8 of whom were
girls and 21 were boys. The purpose of applying the concept of Readers Theater into his
classroom was to research the effects of Readers Theater on his students fluency and
comprehension and to improve their overall reading achievement. The methodology that Young
used to measure the growth of his students was through the Developmental Reading Assessment
and the Texas Primary Reading Inventory. The Readers Theater program was incorporated into
the current literacy program. Students participated weekly in reading demonstrations, shared
readings, guided reading, independent reading, and word study. The quantitative results showed
a significant growth in the students progress throughout the year. There was remarkable gain in
each category of fluency (accuracy, automaticity, and prosody). The qualitative results showed
extreme positive effects on the students, especially those who struggled the most with reading.
This study showed that students were more motivated to read and loved to learn through
rehearsal and performance.
In this article, the authors showed how easy it is to incorporate Readers Theater into a
pre-made literacy program. The article included examples of different activities the students can
do with reading, materials that can be used for scripts, and examples of scripts that the students
had created. The inclusion of a breakdown of the daily format of the Readers Theater program
in Youngs classroom shows an incredibly structured schedule for each day in preparation for a

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performance at the end of the week. This format and the tables of the test scores are helpful to
understanding the impact of Readers Theater on the students. Some of the information given
was very repetitive and took away from the flow of the article. Additional information on how to
incorporate the Readers Theater concept into different content areas would allow more teachers
to be involved and would help students in other subjects. For future research, it would be
interesting to see how students in different grade levels grew in achievement if this method was
included and if their achievement continued year after year. The information in this article was a
helpful tool to further my findings and understanding on whether Readers Theater improves
fluency.
Not only does Readers Theater help to improve fluency, Kabilan and Kamaruddin
(2010) recognize that it also helps to increase the students comprehension and motivation to
learn. The authors conducted a study to a group of English Language Learners in Malaysia. They
wanted to determine whether Readers Theater is able to enhance the comprehension of a text
and motivate the students to learn literature. To make conclusions about this hypothesis, 20
participants were chosen randomly from a premier residential school in Malaysia. The students
ranged from average to good English speakers. The students who were chosen did not favor
learning literature because they were learning English as a foreign language. The procedure and
methodology used to determine the outcome was broken up into 2 stages. In the first stage,
students read Potato People by Angela Wright and were given a week to read it and understand
it on their own. The second stage divided the students into groups where they had to prepare 2
chapters for a performance, practice performing, perform on a stage, and reflect on their
performance. Data was collected through interviews, teacher observations, and a pre and posttest.
The qualitative and quantitative data received showed that students found enjoyment in the

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Readers Theater program, which motivated them to learn and ultimately increase their fluency
and comprehension.
This article was fascinating because they conducted this experiment on foreign people
instead of native speaking English people. The tables, graphs, and examples provided are clear
and helpful in understanding the research and results that came from the research. The inclusion
of different methods of gathering data was very intriguing and helpful in figuring out the results
from different points of view. In the qualitative data that was collected, quotes from the students
were included, which I thought made the data more impactful. Seeing the students point of view
and hearing what they have to say about the program and directly seeing how beneficial it was
for them is very important in researching this topic and coinciding with my findings. Some of the
charts used in the article were not fully explained and therefore made it confusing in the context
of the paragraph. To improve this article for future research it would be nice to see the benefits
from the Readers Theater program in different curriculums.
Teaching with students constantly coming in and out of the classroom makes it very
difficult and challenging for teachers to create an engaging lesson for a short amount of time.
Garrett and OConnor (2010) write about the benefits that Readers Theater has on students with
learning disabilities in an inclusive classroom. In an inclusive classroom, students are at all
different levels of reading ability. The authors have done research that shows how Readers
Theater is a flexible strategy that can be adapted to any reading level with no difficulty. The
article provides four examples of how Readers Theater has been brought into the classroom.
The first example is small groups within an inclusive kindergarten. The second view is for
intermediate elementary students as a whole-group method with varying content areas. A third
view is small group instruction with intermediate elementary students. The last approach is for

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intermediate elementary as a whole group in a shared environment. Although students with

learning disabilities may be pulled out through out the class, Readers Theater provides a way to
engage the students for a short amount of time but allows them to reach fluent levels of reading.
I loved how this article put an emphasis on students with learning disabilities and how
they can learn the same way that students without disabilities learn. They are able to participate
in the same activities and performances, some even having a model to learn from. This article is
filled to the brim with information ranging from research on fluency to how to implement
Readers Theater into a classroom. What I thought was excellent about this article is the charts
and tables that are included. One table has a list of resources and scripts with the grade level and
age range that each text is geared towards. A sample Readers Theater Script for first grade is
included for readers to get an idea of what a script should look like if the students were to create
own themselves. Another table that is included that I thought significantly benefitted the article
is feedback from both teachers and students on Readers Theater. The last golden nugget that is
included is a box filled with tips and advice on implementing Readers Theater. To make this
article better it could use more variety in the examples given. Most of the examples about
students with disabilities performing Readers Theater are mainly elementary students. It would
be interesting to see how older students engage and benefit from it. This article is perfect for my
research because it is important to include how students with disabilities can impact the teaching
field.
Readers Theater is only as good as the script used. In Young and Nageldingers (2014)
article, the importance of selecting a text and differentiating it based on the readers reading
ability plays a major part in increasing the fluency and motivation of the reader. When the
teacher is in control of choosing the text, he or she can choose a text that is at a lower or easier

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level for students who are struggling with reading and he or she can choose a text that is at a
more advanced level for the students who are excelling. Since all texts can be made into a script,
texts can range from television shows, and books to poetry and newspapers. This article
emphasized how the audience is a major motivation tool for the readers. It is important for the
students to show their hard work to someone. Audiences can be teachers, faculty, parents, or
even peers. Audiences can also be used through technology. With technology being such a big
part of our daily lives, teachers have resources at their fingertips and can make performing much
bigger than the classroom.
I like how this article looked at a different depth of Readers Theater than other articles.
Instead of including all the information of how fluency is increased, the authors focused on what
increases the fluency, specially the texts and audience. I loved how this article stressed the
importance of choosing a text that will engage students and make them want to spend time on
perfecting their fluency and pronunciation for their performance. What was interesting about this
article was that it had information from another article that I had read but it had a different view
to it. I did think that more information and research could be done on this topic and maybe
research done on which type of texts students tend to lean towards more. This article pertains to
my research because although it is important to know that Readers Theater is a great way to
increase fluency it is more important that teachers know how to use Readers Theater and how to
choose correct texts.
Methodology
Bishop John King Mussio Elementary is a Catholic elementary school in downtown
Steubenville. The participants for this study came from the second grade class. There are 21

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students in the class, 20 of whom participated in the Readers Theater study. 2 of these students
have a language disability and 2 are English Language Learners. All of these students have
never participated in a Readers Theater program. The script chosen has 7 parts. The students
were split up into 3 groups of 7. Readers Theater was introduced simply by explaining what it
is, what the students will be doing, and what the outcome will hopefully be. The students were
told that Readers Theater is a performance and that they will be given a script and assigned parts
to practice throughout the week. The performance will be at the end of the week and what is
going to be assessed is their ability to read fluently and with expression.
Readers Theater was introduced on Thursday to the students by a reading aloud of the
script with correct intonation, prosody, and automaticity. This gave the students an idea of what
they should sound like when performing. Scripts were handed out to every student and they were
asked to look over the script, read through the entire script a few times in order to understand the
story, and bring it home to read through it and practice with their family members over the
weekend. On Monday, students were given 10 minutes to read through the script with their
teacher. On Tuesday, the students were divided randomly into 3 groups of 7. Each student was
assigned a role according to the reading level. Those with a speech impediment or language
disability were given roles with the fewest lines. Students were then given 15 minutes to meet in
their groups. They were told to highlight their own lines so they could easily remember what
character they are and when to read their line. The students were shown how to line up when
they will be presenting. They were told that they need to stand in a straight line with the first
person in line being the first character introduced and the second person in line being the second
character introduced, and etc. They were shown how to hold their scripts in a uniform manner,
each holding them at the same height. After these presentation techniques were taught to each

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group they were able to practice reading through the script. On Wednesday, no new instruction
was given. Students had the opportunity to meet with their group for 10 minutes and read
through the scripts again. Thursday was presentation day! The students were able to meet with
their groups and fine-tune their presentation. Each group went up to the front of the classroom
and read their scripts with expression and enthusiasm. Each group was videotaped in order to
look back and listen to their fluency. After each group had presented to the class, they were
interviewed as a whole.
This Readers Theater presentation was only implemented once into the classroom.
Hypothetically speaking, if Readers Theater were to continue being used in this classroom then
it would start to become part of the curriculum. Students would be introduced to it in the
beginning of the year. They would start off with doing a performance similar to the one
conducted, with assigned parts and a pre-made script. Every week would be a different script;
either related to a topic they are learning about or just a random script the students have found.
To make it more of a challenge the students can create their own scripts.
Findings
While observing the students practicing for their presentation, it was very obvious to see
each and every students excitement and determination. The students who struggled with reading
were anxious but were encouraged by the other students in the group. After the students
understood what was expected of them and how to perform this Readers Theater, they got right
to work. It was easy to see that the students were practicing at home because they knew the order
of the story, which character says what, and they knew all the words and pronounced them
correctly. The students were extremely helpful to one another. They provided guidance to those

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who were struggling and helped them keep on track. Because this was a change in instruction,
the students were more attentive and eager to do the best they can for their performance. They
constantly wanted to practice in order to achieve perfection.
Their performances were very well done and professional. Each group stood in a straight
line as they had learned. After being with them for the entire semester, it was easy to hear the
change in their reading aloud from textbooks and homework assignments to this performance.
They had increased expression in their voices, hand movements, facial expressions, and
performed with a loud volume for the whole class to hear. The repetition of reading the script
and practicing it increased the students fluency. The students did not stumble over their words
and knew when to speak when it was their turn. They were able to comprehend the story based
on their expression in their voices. Students were able to speak in an angry way and a happy way
at the correct time in the story.
After their performances, the class was asked a few questions. These questions were
geared towards possible future Readers Theater performances. The students were asked whether
they enjoyed performing or not. An overwhelming amount of the students said they enjoyed it
and proceeded to say what they liked about it. The majority wanted to perform another Readers
Theater but with a different script. One question asked if it would be better if the students could
choose their roles in the play. Most students wanted to choose and actually create their own
script. Some students liked the assigned roles because there was less argument and discussion
about who wanted what character.

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IMPLEMENTING READERS THEATER IN THE CLASSROOM

Because this program was only done once, the results could not be tested against
anything. Hypothetically, the students would have been doing Readers Theater from the
beginning of the school year. They would have taken a fluency and comprehension assessment at
the beginning and end of the school year in order to see the increase that resulted from having
Readers Theater performances. In Figure 1.1, the increase in reading proficiency is shown from
a second grade classroom from Texas who have implemented Readers Theater throughout the
year.
Score
Word
Recognition
Accuracy

Fall

Spring

Growth

98.9%

99.2%

.3%

Rate/Automaticity
(WCPM)

62.7

127.6

64.9

Prosody (4=max)

2.2

3.0

.8

DRA Level

19.4

31.2

11.8

These students had taken the Developmental Reading Assessment at the beginning of the
year and were given a score. The assessment measured students independent reading level
(Young & Rasinski 2009). If Readers Theater was continued in the classroom that was studied,
their results would look similar to the chart.
Recommendations
Given the results, the next step that should be taken is to incorporate Readers Theater
into the daily curriculum. Once the program is implemented into the curriculum, results will be
more predictable and easier to acquire. Readers Theater could then be integrated into other
subject areas. Right now it is mainly used for reading/language arts. Readers Theater could be
used for social studies or science. Students can act out an historical figures life and adventure or

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they could perform or teach the class a lesson on the water cycle through using Readers Theater
scripts. If Readers Theater is going to be used in the classroom then it should be introduced and
explained in the beginning of the school year and should be implemented weekly in order to see
the results in fluency.
The only limitation to this study was the fact that Readers Theater was only performed
once. No statistical data could be pulled from this study so hypothetical data had to be used and
data pulled from other resources. In order to improve on the findings, researchers could conduct
a fluency test before and after the performances. Readers Theater is a great technique to use in
the classroom because the results are evident and prove that students increase their fluency.
Students not only are able to become more fluent but they are also having fun and are excited to
do it.

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References
Allard, H. (2015). RTSCRIPTS. Retrieved April 20, 2016, from Dr. Chase Young:
www.thebestclass.org.

Garrett, T., & OConnor, D. (2010). Readers theater: Hold on, lets read it again. TEACHING
Exceptional Children, 43 (1), 6-13.
Kabilan, M., & Kamaruddin, F. (2010). Engaging learners' comprehension, interest and
motivation to learn literature using the reader's theatre. English Teaching: Practice and
Critique , 9 (3), 132-159.
Kariuki, P., & Rhymer, S. (2012). The Effects of Readers' Theatre-Based and Tradition-Based
Instruction on Sixth-Grade Students' Comprehension at a Selected Middle School.
Annual Conference of the Mid-South Educational Research Association, (pp. 1-29).
Worthy, J., & Prater, K. (2002). The intermediate grades. The Reading Teacher, 56 (3), 294-297.
Young, C., & Nageldinger, J. (2014). Considering the context and texts for fluency:
Performance, readers theater, and poetry. International Electronic Journal of
Elementary Education, 7 (1), 47-56.
Young, C., & Rasinski, T. (2009). Implementing Readers Theatre as an Approach to Classroom
Fluency Instruction. The Reading Teacher , 63 (1), 4-13.

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Raw Data
Appendix A- Readers Theater Script

Miss Nelson is Missing

By Harry Allard
Narrator, Kid 1-4, Miss Nelson, Miss Viola Swamp
Narrator: The kids in room 207 were misbehaving again for Miss Nelson.
They were the worst behaved class in the school.
Miss Nelson: Umm, class, now settle down.
Narrator: But they would NOT behave.
Kid 1: Whisper, whisper, whisper!
Kid 2: Ha, ha, giggle, giggle!
Kid 3: Hey, look at this funny face!
Kid 4: Ha, Ha! Look, I can touch my tongue to my nose!
Narrator: They were even rude during story time!
Miss Nelson: Once upon a time there were...
Kid 3: Do we have to do work?
Kid 4: I dont want to!
Miss Nelson: Well, I think something will have to be done about this.
Narrator: The next morning Miss Nelson did not come to school.
Kid 1: Wow! Now we can really act up!
Kid 2: Yeah! Lets be just terrible!
Miss Viola Swamp: NOT SO FAST!

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Narrator: A woman in an ugly black dress stood before them.

Miss V. Swamp: I am your new teacher, MISS VIOLA SWAMP!
Kid 3: Where is Miss Nelson?
Miss V. Swamp: Never mind that! Open those books!!
Narrator: Miss Nelsons kids did as they were told. Miss Viola Swamp was a
real witch. She meant business. She put them to work and gave them lots of
homework.
Miss V. Swamp: Well have no story hour today! Keep your mouths shut and
be perfectly still. And if you misbehave youll be sorry!
Narrator: Days went by and there was no sign of Miss Nelson. The kids were
really missing her! After all, she was pretty nice!
All kids: I miss Miss Nelson!
Narrator: The kids tried to figure out what happened to her. They thought
they would be stuck with Miss Viola Swamp forever! Then one day...
Miss Nelson: Hello children. Did you miss me?
Kid 1 and 2: We certainly did!
Kid 4: Where were you?
Miss Nelson: Thats my little secret. How about story time?
All kids: Oh, yes!
Narrator: Miss Nelson noticed that no one was rude or silly during story time.
Miss Nelson: What brought about this lovely change?
All kids: Thats our little secret.
Narrator: Back at home Miss Nelson hung up her coat in the closet right next
to an ugly black dress. She sang a little song.
Miss Nelson: Ill never tell!

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Appendix B- Class Interview Questions
1. Did you have fun working on presenting the script?
2. Would you want to have another Readers Theater again?
3. What was your favorite part about Readers Theater?
4. What would you change?
5. Would it be better to choose roles yourself or have the teacher assign them?
6. Would you want to create your own script next time?

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