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Readers on Stage: Resources for Reader's Theater, With Tips, Scripts, and Worksheets, or How to Use Simple Children's Plays to Build Reading Fluency and Love of Literature
Author(s): Aaron Shepard (Author)
- Publisher: Shepard Publications
- Publication Date: January 13, 2017
- Language: English
- Print length: 109 pages
- ISBN-10: 162035523X
- ISBN-13: 9781620355237
Book Description
Want to try reader's theater but don't know where to start? Or have you tried it but want to find ways to bring it more to life? Or are you just looking for a fun, easy way to lure young people into reading fluency, cooperative effort, effective communication, and love of literature?
"Readers on Stage" is a collection of resources for scripting, directing, and teaching reader's theater, primarily to ages 8 and up. Part 1 offers three sample scripts to learn from and enjoy: "The Legend of Lightning Larry," "Peddler Polly and the Story Stealer," and "The Baker's Dozen." Part 2 highlights each major aspect of reader's theater -- scripting, staging, and dramatic reading -- offering tips and tricks you're not likely to find elsewhere. For instance, you'll learn how young readers can easily create their own scripts!
Part 3 provides all the plans, notes, handouts, and worksheets from actual reader's theater workshops, ready for copying. Use them to start with reader's theater tomorrow in a classroom or library, or to lead your own workshop for adults. Finally, Part 4 gives listings of additional resources.
Whether you're working with young readers, training teachers, or directing a professional company, you'll want this unique, detailed guide.
NOTE ON THE EBOOK: The sample materials in this book are meant to be fully reproducible -- but as most ebook apps do not allow printing, reproduction is generally possible only from the print edition. For the ebook, these materials are provided for viewing alone.
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Aaron Shepard is the author of many books, stories, and scripts for young people, as well as professional books and resources for writers and educators. He has also worked professionally in both storytelling and reader's theater, as a performer, director, and teacher trainer. Aaron's lively and meticulous retellings of folktales and other traditional literature have found homes with more than a dozen children's book publishers, large and small, and with the world's top children's literary magazines, winning him honors from the American Library Association, the New York Public Library, the Bank Street College of Education, the National Council for the Social Studies, and the American Folklore Society. His extensive Web site, visited by thousands of teachers and librarians each week, is known internationally as a prime resource for folktales, storytelling, and reader's theater, while his stories and scripts have been featured in textbooks from publishers worldwide, including Scholastic, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, SRA, The College Board, Pearson Education, National Geographic, Oxford University Press, Barron's, Hodder Education, and McGraw-Hill.
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"At last! If you've been looking for a complete resource for teaching and using readers theatre, look no further. From scripts, to implementation strategies, to materials for workshops, Readers on Stage has it all. Aaron Shepard draws upon decades of work to provide a practical, well-organized, and reader-friendly book. Don't miss it!" -- Dr. Suzanne Barchers, author, "Readers Theatre for Beginning Readers," and publisher, Storycart Press
"For more than a decade, Aaron Shepard has been recognized nationally as an innovative, skilled, highly successful practitioner of readers theatre with emphasis on support of literature and reading, especially for teachers at elementary and middle-school levels. His latest book gives concise, clear, and practical tips for scriptmaking and staging, along with useful scripts and work materials." -- Dr. William Adams, Director, Institute for Readers Theatre
Editorial Reviews
From the Author
"Aaron Shepard skillfully envelops us in the wonderful world of readers theatre. His new book melds the how-to-do-it with engaging, entertaining scripts. This is a welcome contribution to the field." -- Dr. Shirlee Sloyer, professor, Hofstra University, and author, "From the Page to the Stage"
"For more than a decade, Aaron Shepard has been recognized nationally as an innovative, skilled, highly successful practitioner of readers theatre with emphasis on support of literature and reading, especially for teachers at elementary and middle-school levels. His latest book gives concise, clear, and practical tips for scriptmaking and staging, along with useful scripts and work materials." -- Dr. William Adams, Director, Institute for Readers Theatre
"Readers on Stage solves the instructor's problem of how to cover all aspects of readers' theater for the drama student. Even a person experienced in theater has much to learn from Aaron Shepard's insightful book." -- Dr. Rebecca Saunders, Professor of Drama, Lesley University
"Aaron Shepard has written a breezy, easy guide to help any teacher begin exploring the exciting and imaginative worlds of readers theatre. Every element needed for getting started is here: philosophies, methodologies, helpful tips, and sample scripts. What are the benefits? A child's widened understanding of good stories, enhanced imaginative response, heightened spatial awareness, increased cooperation, and greater love of literature can all result from the program presented in this generous book. Highly recommended!" -- James Floss, lecturer, Communication Department, Humboldt State University
"Readers on Stage is an outstanding resource for teachers. It is arranged so sensibly and cohesively that I cannot imagine anyone who uses it having a problem teaching the intricacies of reader's theater." -- Susan Finney, author, "Keep the Rest of the Class Reading and Writing While You Teach Small Groups"
"Aaron Shepard does it again! . . . In Shepard's familiar lighthearted style, Readers On Stage distills the world of RT into a highly readable manual for educators and instructors at all levels of the K-12 spectrum. Community theatre folks who take the time to peruse the pages will gain a greater understanding and appreciation of RT as theatre." -- R. Demers, Readers Theatre Digest, Fall 2004
"Teachers, recreation leaders, and librarians will find Shepard's newest book on Readers Theatre just as useful (and fun!) as his previous books. Even people inexperienced in drama or theatre can lead a group of kids in a Readers Theatre project, bringing stories to life and encouraging reading. . . . Show this book to reading teachers, who may be inspired to use it with their students!" -- BayNews, Dec. 2004
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CONTENTS:
Introduction
PART 1 ~ RT SCRIPTS
The Legend of Lightning Larry
Peddler Polly and the Story Stealer
The Baker's Dozen
PART 2 ~ RT TIPS
Tips on Scripting
Tips on Staging
Tips on Reading
PART 3 ~ AN RT WORKSHOP
Sample Materials List
Sample Outlines
Notes and Handouts
Scripting Worksheets
PART 4 ~ OTHER RESOURCES
Books and Articles
Online Resources
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SAMPLE
Reader's theater is minimal theater in support of literature and reading. There are many styles of reader's theater, but nearly all share these features:
-- Narration serves as the framework of dramatic presentation.
-- No full stage sets. If used at all, sets are simple and suggestive.
-- No full costumes. If used at all, costumes are partial and suggestive, or neutral and uniform.
-- No full memorization. Scripts are used openly in performance.
Reader's theater was developed as an efficient and effective way to present literature in dramatic form. Today as well, most scripts are literary adaptations, though others are original dramatic works.
Popular first in colleges and universities, reader's theater has now moved to earlier education, where it is seen as a key tool for creating interest and skill in reading. Young people love to do it, and they give it their all -- more so because it's a team effort, and they don't want to let down their friends! Repeated readings bring fluency, and if a script is based on an available book, kids want to read that too. What's more, reader's theater is a relatively simple activity for the teacher, with no required setup other than making copies of scripts.
Reader's theater has been found effective not only for language arts but for social studies as well. Performing stories based on another culture is one of the best ways for students to become interested in and familiar with that culture.
From the Inside Flap
STORIES ON STAGE: Children's Plays for Reader's Theater, With 15 Scripts From 15 Authors (2nd Edition). Scripts adapted from stories by fifteen different authors, including Louis Sachar, Nancy Farmer, Russell Hoban, Wanda Gag, and Roald Dahl. Coming from such genres as humor, fantasy, and multicultural folktales, stories were selected for their dramatic quality, literary value, and appeal to young people.
FOLKTALES ON STAGE: Children's Plays for Reader's Theater, With 16 Scripts From World Folk and Fairy Tales and Legends. Scripts adapted by Aaron from his own folktale retellings. A wide variety of countries and cultures is represented, including Native America, Africa, the Middle East, Russia, Southeast Asia, and China.
READERS ON STAGE: Resources for Reader's Theater, With Tips, Scripts, and Worksheets. Resources for scripting, directing, and teaching reader's theater, primarily with ages 8 and up. Whether you're working with young readers, training teachers, or directing a professional company, you'll want this unique, detailed guide.
