TURN READING INTO MAGIC WITH "READERS' THEATER"

Dr. Wendy Ghiora - Posting #37 - January 24, 2010

What exactly is Readers’ Theater, you ask? It is an activity where students, while reading directly from scripts, can tell a story in a very entertaining form, without props, costumes, or sets. Students are not asked to memorize their lines; since they read from a text. They are definitely encouraged to “ham it up,” and use vocal expression, intonation, facial expression and gestures appropriate to their characters and their characters’ words. The performance that ensues becomes a “magical moment.”

Is Readers’ Theater a waste of time or is it productive; will it help students learn? Following are some arguments for the latter.

1.Fluency: Readers Theater provides repeated reading practice- an important factor in building fluency (prosody, word attack, comprehension and accuracy) Repeated reading practice also improves students’ confidence in, and enthusiasm for reading. Students are so thrilled at their newfound skill; they ask to perform for the younger students.

2.Self-Esteem: Readers’ Theater provides a wonderful opportunity for children who are used to feelings of failure, to provide outstanding entertainment for others.

3.Variety: The use of Readers Theatre can offer a different context in which students are exposed to texts focusing on poetry, science, social studies, or other content-related topics.

4.Comprehension: Readers Theatre is another way to enhance comprehension of text, as well as to create interest in and enthusiasm for learning. When text is read orally, within the context of an actual performance, meaning and understanding come alive in a new and “magical” way.

Here are some simple steps to use in order to bring the Magic of Readers’ Theater to your students:

Reader's Theater: A Quick Guide
Here is a suggested weekly plan to roll out your Readers Theater Program from Dr. Tim Rasinski, Professor of Reading at Kent State University

The Week Before: Before the week begins, choose a script or prepare one based on a text. Make copies for the group, two for each member.
Monday: On Monday, discuss the purpose and procedures for Reader’s Theater with the class/group. Assign students parts by having them volunteer or audition. Practice needs to be done aloud and also silently.
Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday: On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, have students practice their parts in class, on their own, in their groups and at home. This activity can also been done during center time or as part of an anchor activity.
Friday: Friday is performance day. Students can read/perform their scripts for an audience of classmates, parents, or even the principal. Remember, this is not a performance based on memorization. They are reading the script they have practiced over the week.

The Power of Reader's Theater
How can you magically make dramatic changes in kids' fluency, writing, listening, and social skills?
As you observe very young children at play, you’ll notice quite naturally, they invent characters, scenes, and stories, infusing their creations with expressive voices and invented dialogue. Settings are developed; dramatic conflicts arise and are solved. “Readers’ Theater” provides a similar experience.

Drama, as many teachers are discovering, is not only fun and natural for children, it also promotes self-confidence, motivation, and engagement. One form of drama, known as Reader's Theater, has been found to be particularly effective in building reading fluency. Called simply "RT" by many advocates, Reader's Theater can also boost listening and speaking skills and magically transform reluctant readers into book lovers.

Tim Rasinski, a professor at Kent State University, in Kent, Ohio, points out that "research has demonstrated that practiced reading or repeated reading does lead to significant gains in fluency, which is a key element in effective reading programs."

Building fluency is one of the five major dictates set up in Reading First, part of the No Child Left Behind Act. Put Reading First, a booklet published by the U.S. Department of Education et al (2001), states that "Readers' theatre provides readers with a legitimate reason to reread text and to practice fluency. [RT] also promotes cooperative interaction with peers and makes the reading task appealing."

How to get started
The best news about Reader's Theater is it does not require extensive preparation, fancy costumes, props, sets, or memorization. While staged plays might be limited by a school's budget or supplies, RT is limited only by one’s imagination, and determination to “make magic” happen in the classroom. It's also especially nice for the shy student or teacher, because you have a script in front of you — kind of nice to hide behind — and that gives you a sense of security.
Since kids need to understand and become comfortable with the format of a script, using a prepared script is the best way to start. Finding one is easy — there are numerous free scripts available online and in books. It’s best to start with short scripts — no more than two or three pages.

Most teachers find that even the most resistant readers practice their RT scripts as if they were doing a full-time job — and one that they love. "Most children have a desire to perform and express themselves orally," says Rasinski. RT gives them the opportunity to do so.

Mack Lewis, a third- and fourth-grade teacher from Central Point, Oregon, writes "Because we've inadvertently trained kids that books should only be read once...few second graders will read Stellaluna more than once or twice. Give kids a script and schedule a public performance, however, and they'll be more than happy to read and reread it 20 to 30 times. Twenty to 30 times!" Lewis, who has won national attention for his method of using drama to meet the standards in reading and history, explains that plays are the perfect format to teach repetitive reading. Kids don't resist it because they don't see it as a chore. Before they even know it, they gain mastery over the text. And their confidence grows immeasurably. He’s using the “magic” of Readers’ Theater to teach fluency.

Performing
The simplest way to perform Reader's Theater, explains teacher, Rick Swallow, is for the teacher to "assign parts and simply have the students stand in a straight line at the front of the room, facing the audience, parts in hand to read when it is their time." Some teachers like kids to stand as they read their parts. Music stands can be a nice addition, leaving kids' hands free to turn pages and gesticulate.

Once you have your makeshift stage set up, kids take turns reading their lines with as much creative expression as they can. It's that simple. However, kids need to be aware of one another and to listen respectfully.

RT and Emotional Needs
Another boon of RT is its ability to promote and develop interpersonal, social, and collaborative skills. Sometimes overcoming shyness and mastering reading can come together in one magical confluence. Another teacher, Ms. Stern remembers the moment it happened for one emotionally disturbed third grader, a nonreader who "would always sit on the periphery when the rest of the class did scripts on stage. He absolutely refused to participate."

By the next year, she recalls, the child had "edged in slightly toward the stage. He'd started to pay attention." Edging in closer all the while, the child finally reached fifth grade and, almost overnight, became "a full and active participant in the theater activities." More important, he had suddenly become a reader.

"This child looked up at me with a smile," recalls Stern. "He knew what he'd done, and he was so proud. He had broken the code to reading. Truly, this child had blossomed forth from nothing."

Conclusion
Students become excited and enthusiastic about reading when they are presented with the opportunity to participate in Readers Theatre. This activity affords students the opportunity to develop fluency and further enhance comprehension of what they are reading. It makes the reading experience “magical.”

Much of the data in this posting was culled from an article by Jennifer O. Prescott the managing editor of Instructor. The article was originally published in the January/February 2003 issue.

TURN YOUR TEACHING INTO MAGIC PART 2

Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #36 – January 16, 2010

In the previous posting we looked at the value of adding a bit of magic to your teaching repertoire. The example given was a card trick, (used to teach a simple Algebraic formula), which is a sure fire way to grab anyone’s attention, especially a classroom full of curious children. When you have students focused, magic becomes an excellent vehicle that can be used to teach a wide variety of subjects. This week, I would like to feature a gentleman whose use of magic, sparks great enthusiasm and interest in learning science.

Alan McCormack, a San Diego State University professor teaches the principles of convection currents, static electricity, basic chemistry and engineering to elementary school science classes using magic, and has mentored student teachers in his methods.

Recently, Professor McCormack watched as three elementary school students poured vials of colored liquid labeled “stink of a thousand frogs,” “kisses of a princess giant,” and “tears of a unicorn” into a black caldron. Then, McCormack himself added the final ingredient – a pinch of “ground dragon’s bones.”

Next, McCormack covered the caldron with a plate, turned it upside down and set it on top of a student’s head. When he slid out the plate, the caldron was empty.
“We made a nothing potion,” the professor told 75 third, fourth and fifth graders, seated on mats on the floor of the school auditorium. (The magic used in this trick will be explained at the end)…

McCormack calls his presentation, “Science of the Magic from Hogwart’s Academy,” cleverly based on the Harry Potter novels. He gives these performances at schools and science fairs both locally and nationally.

The Professor has been honing his sleight-of-hand skills for several decades. As a former junior high teacher, he tried everything to engage his students, including playing the banjo, singing and drama. He makes many of his own props. He is happy to have finally discovered what he considers to be perhaps the greatest “hook,” magic.

Many kids think science is kind of boring. When the Harry Potter phenomenon entered the scene, McCormack blended its story into his show. McCormack’s techniques enhance the joy of learning about science both for students and teachers.

At the end of his magic and science show, McCormack explains that the powder he sprinkled into the caldron was actually sodium polyacrylate, a substance used in disposable diapers, which sucked up the liquid and adhered to the inside of the caldron.

Just think of all the other scientific principles that can be taught with such “charm.” Once you have the students’ attention totally focused on you, the possibilities of what they can learn are endless. Try using a little magic in your classroom. It will open new windows of wonder for your students.

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” Roald Dahl - Author

TURN YOUR TEACHING INTO MAGIC

Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #35 – January 2, 2010

Let’s start the New Year right by making magic in your classroom. The other day, it occurred to me, there is a definite similarity between being a magician and teaching. I know what you’re thinking. “Yeah, you have to be a magician to get kids to learn anything these days!” And you would be correct in a way.

What is one of the big differences between a great teacher and a mediocre teacher? Actually, it’s the same as the difference between a great magician and a mediocre magician. Most teachers have the same basic knowledge to present to students in a similar way that all magicians have the same basic illusions to demonstrate. The thing that makes a magician great is how the illusion is presented. The same is true in teaching.

Take a moment right now and recall the last time you watched a magic trick being performed. Many of us have seen live magic shows or the ones now shown on TV. As the anticipation grows, so does our interest. Our eyes are glued to the performer as we try to see how the trick is really done. Then, when the magic happens, we think, “How did he do that?”

A good lesson is like a good magic trick. Great magicians begin enticing their audience well before the illusion is performed. They use riddles, magical sounding words, and speak as though they are talking to you as a member of the audience, personally. Basically, they build up the interest and anticipation, thus gaining the audience’s complete attention. This is called “The Hook,” and can be applied similarly to a teaching lesson.

In teaching, a “hook” can be an interesting story, a joke, a riddle, or a video clip. The key is that it grabs the students’ attention and is somehow linked to the lesson at hand.

Once the “hook” takes hold, you can launch into your magical teaching presentation. Magic can be used in several teaching disciplines. Here is one example. Tell your math class they are about to see how an Algebraic Formula can be used to perform a magic trick.

Magic Card Trick
1.
Hand your friend a stack of twenty-one playing cards. Instruct them to pick one out, without showing or telling you which card they chose, and to place the card back into the stack at random.
2.
Deal the cards out face-up in three columns, working row-by-row (1st column-2nd column-3rd column, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, etc). You should have three columns of seven cards in front of you. Have your friend tell you which pile contains their card (without telling you which card it is, of course).
3.
Gather the three columns into one stack of cards again. This time, be sure to put the pile that holds their card in the middle of the three piles. For example, if the first pile contained their card, then you could pick up the third pile first, then the first pile (containing the card) and then the second pile—or the second pile, then the first, then the third. It is very important that the pile containing their card goes into the middle.
4.
Repeat the past two steps two more times. When done, you will have dealt the cards out a total of 3 times. If you have done the card trick correctly their card with be the 11th card in the pile of cards. Do not flip the deck over at the end, or else you won't be correct.

Your amazed students may ask you how you did this. You can tell them, "it was magic;" or, you could explain the simple math that makes it work. Each time you deal out the cards, you are dividing the placement of the card. By the third time, you have gotten the card into the middle of the pile. Thus, you are able to tell where their card will be every time.

The formula is Y=(X + 1)/2, where X is the number of cards and Y is the placement of the card in the pile after the 3rd deal. In this case, since X is 21, Y = 22/2 = 11.
To add to the lesson, before revealing the “magic” formula, divide the class up into groups and see which group can figure out how the trick works. It’s up to you, which clues you give them to get them started.

The magic “trick” is just one example. Magic comes in many forms. Tune in next week for more ways magic can be used as an enchanting learning and teaching tool.

A lesson presented the right way, like a magic trick performed well, leaves your students with a sense of wonder. Teachers, use your great and enchanting presentation skills, and create some magic in your classroom!