There are so many benefits to acting in the L2 classroom. Student actors can build muscle memory, mirror neurons are activated when students watch the teacher or other students act. classroom community is enhanced, empathy and compassion for others is created, and so much more!
If you are new to CI/TPRS methods of teaching, this is a skill you should add early to your toolbox. I am a firm believer that you should work on one skill at a time while you are transitioning from a more traditional, textbook-driven classroom. If you are like me, and have changed your curriculum foundation to be novels, then Reader’s Theatre is an essential skill for you to master! I first learned of Reader’s Theatre from Carol Gaab of Fluency Matters, Karen Rowan of Fluency Fast,Darcy Pippins, andMike Coxon of TPRS Books. I have no idea who to credit for the original idea, but I do know that these four have done a LOT to promote this skill (and many others!).
This is what Reader’s Theatre looks like in my classroom: **I am sure there are others who do a MUCH better job at this than I, but I wanted to share for those of you who are new to CI methods or who may have never tried Reader’s Theatre before**
1. I find props to use for the various obstacles
(We are reading Noche de Oro by Kristy Placido right now; these props reflect a chapter in that book.)
netting hung between two chairs to look like a fence
scarves laid out on the floor to be my bamboo and rope bridge
two chairs placed closely together to be the large rocks the characters have to scale
two red solo cups (champagne glasses) and a piece of gold cardstock that I created to appear like a contract with signature lines
Are these props perfect? NOPE!! Do they leave room for imagination? YES! And to me, that is essential. Your brain can create scenes much more beautiful and enhanced than anything you can possibly do in class, so why not allow it to do its job?! (Am I the only one who is disappointed when watching a movie that is based on a book I’ve read?)
2. I make a notation of how I want to divide the class. This is on a sticky note that I place on the front cover of my novel for easy reference.
Sometimes we only act a selection of the chapter. But some chapters are full of action and lend themselves to acting their entirety. So I note what I need:
actors for Makenna and Martín
three groups of student narrators (students who would be uncomfortable getting up in front of the class)
noisy kids who would LOVE to make the sounds of construction machinery (we all have these kids!)
a small group to make the sound of a heart pounding strongly in fear
actors for Carolina and Jacques
3. First, I read and act the chapter aloud while students read along in order to model how I want students to act. I am confident that the majority of students can follow the plot line with little guidance from me because we are towards the end of the book – they are accustomed to the flow, they know the vocabulary, I spent weeks pre-teaching important words and phrases – so I don’t stop and circle and disrupt the flow with a million questions. I do ask a few pointed questions to make sure my students are with me, I just don’t circle every phrase, sentence, or paragraph.
At this point, my fast processors are watching me from the corner of their eye. BUT, my slower processors are closely watching what I do as they read along in the book. I purposefully read slowly and deliberately so they have time to look at me for confirmation of what they are reading.
4. I know in advance the vocabulary words that they haven’t had enough contact with to know on sight. For example, “fence” and “rope.” These are not high frequency words overall, nor are they particularly interesting. They are, however, crucial to understanding this chapter. When I reach those words in the reading, I do stop the action and ask a clarifying yes/no question: Class, yes or no, do you understand / remember this word? I already know the answer to this: NO. So I deliberately pause in the reading and go back to the center of the room where I first acted out these words. I use the same motions and recount the scene that used these words last (even if the last time we used the word was in a different novel, Movie or Picture Talk, or Embedded Reading). Once I am sure that everyone understands, I move back to where I was and re-read the last sentence. I look around the room and see a lot of heads nodding in affirmation that they understand now, so I know I can continue.
Here is a video of me pausing to make sure they understand the word:
Note: It’s OK for your students to have their faces in their books. It’s also OK for them to be concentrating and not necessarily showing you “excitement” at this point. They are focusing… sometimes that looks like boredom, unfortunately, but in a few short moments, the looks of excitement and complete engagement are evident everywhere!
5. I continue reading, I scale the “rocks” and I crawl under the “fence.” Yes, I actually do these things! I expect my students to do them in a few minutes, so I model what I want to see. I have found that my students will do just about anything that I do first. And, can I really expect them to do something I am not willing to do myself???
6. Write a script for the scene you want to use from the book. In this chapter of Noche de Oro, there was already a script available in the Teacher’s Guide. However, I chose to use the entire chapter because it is chock-full of action, and why not provide more input?
7. Lights! Camera! Action! I am the “Diva Director” and take nothing but excitement and exaggeration from my readers and actors. I stop and make them do it over until they get it right. If it takes 8 times of re-starting before they stop using a monotonous tone, then it takes 8 times! (Usually, though, it only takes 3). I find that once they know the expectations, they will live up to them.
The “construction machinery.”
[Side note: Our school also has a strong theatre department, so I tell them we are practicing for the next auditions, the production of the Vaudeville variety show, or the spring musical. At the very least, I get chuckles and exaggerated eye-rolling. I do a lot in class to give students the opportunity to poke fun at me. If I am willing to be silly and ridiculous then maybe they will also. When I overhear someone saying that I’m weird or strange or whatever, I always respond with, “Of course I am! Didn’t you know that it’s part of the job description? That’s why they hired me!” Plus, if they are poking fun at me, they are losing opportunities to make someone else in class feel uncomfortable.]
Now, they are expert actors! They know this chapter inside and out. I can ask any number of comprehension checks, including how? and why? In your opinion, why did the character…? And they will be rock stars at answering. They have had double input from reading and watching the action not once, but TWICE. And they will remember it again when I need to jog their memories on “rope,” “fence,” and more in a year down the road because we have taken the time to put those boring words into a very interesting and FUN context.
If you haven’t tried Reader’s Theatre yet, I highly encourage you to do so!
