You and your students are bound to love Readers’ Theater!

Readers’ Theater (also spelled "Reader’s Theatre" or "Readers Theater") is an activity in which students, while reading directly from scripts, are able to tell a story in a most entertaining form, without props, costumes, or sets. This is a reading activity, and students are not asked to memorize their lines. They are, however, encouraged to "ham it up" and use intonation and gestures appropriate to their characters and their characters’ words.

• It provides repeated reading practice—an important factor in building fluency. Repeated reading practice also improves students’ confidence in, and enthusiasm for reading. It’s an enjoyable change of pace from everyday practice sessions. My students love it! Students are so thrilled at their newfound skill that they ask to perform for younger classes.
• It’s a wonderful opportunity for children who are used to feelings of failure to provide expertise entertainment for others.
• Readers’ Theater scripts cover many different subjects across the curriculum, making them versatile.

Don’t be intimidated by the performance aspect. It’s all the excitement of a play without the pressure and responsibility. The students have fun, you have fun, the audience (if you choose to perform for one) will have a great time, and everyone learns!

We encourage you to try Readers’ Theater scripts with your students. As a bonus, you might want to include songs that further enhance your students' enjoyment, involvement and comprehension.

We carry a variety of musical scripts suitable for readers' theater in the classroom, or for your school performances:

Animals and Pets
     The Best Pet Show Ever!

Character Education and Conflict Resolution
     Bullies Anomymous
     Character Matters and Character Matters II
     Give Me Back My Pencil!
     Munchkin Mediation
     Rock Solid Kids

Environment and Nature
     The Environmental Show
     The Rumpus in the Rainforest
     We've Only Got One Planet!

Grammar
     Grammarosaurus
     Pirates from Grammar Island

Mathematics
     Geometry: Polygons

Science
     Geology Rocks
     Vacation on Mars

Social Studies
     The 13 Colonies
     The American Revolution
     Martin Luther King, Jr.
     U.S. Geography