Reader's theater, a literacy and fluency strategy for CLD students, is interpreted loosely in this book. This strategy provides multiple opportunities for students to engage with the text in diverse ways that suit diverse learners. Collaboration on a script or reading in chorus helps students connect text to oral speech and vice versa. This satisfies the following ELPS:

Cross-curricular second language acquisition/speaking. The ELL speaks in a variety of modes for a variety of purposes with an awareness of different language registers (formal/informal) using vocabulary with increasing fluency and accuracy in language arts and all content areas. ELLs may be at the beginning, intermediate, advanced, or advanced high stage of English language acquisition in speaking. In order for the ELL to meet grade-level learning expectations across the foundation and enrichment curriculum, all instruction delivered in English must be linguistically accommodated(communicated, sequenced, and scaffolded) commensurate with the student's level of English language proficiency.

Preview audio:

storyj.mp/abk4mtppgz33

Hark, my merry players!

Many years ago, theater companies would travel from town to town performing plays in wagon-stages such as this one! The leader of this particular company has heard some exciting news about a prestigious potential audience for his newest play. He gathered up his troupe and told them the news...

How now?

Fie, not so loud!

The king is coming to our village!

He and the queen want to see a play and I have just the one! It's my best work... we're performing it tonight!

The actors were worried-- how could they perform a play for the King they'd never read?

!!!!!!

Zounds!

Fear not, gentles!

I have a plan.

Ay, knave! We can't perform this tonight, we've never seen this play before!

This writer knew that he best actors know their play front and back-- they live inside the world of the story! To help his merry players absorb and perform his story with fluency.

First we'll practice reading independently, over and over. This repeated reading, with my help, will allow you to inhabit the text completely! Read the story front to back first, and then go back and explore every scene, every character, every word of this play! After a while you'll get faster, increasing your rate of comprehension! While you read to yourselves, I will visit with each of you and work with you to better understand this, my masterpiece.

The writer was adamant that every word be performed as written and that accuracy is key. But not only that! He knew that if his actors only memorized the play, their comprehension would suffer.

If they didn't understand the play, how could they perform it with feeling and gusto?

He helped his actors read his work. Slowly at first, and then faster, and faster, his actors laughed and cried as they

read. He saw them begin to understand

and connect with it.

It really was his masterpiece!

You have all read it over and over-- are you ready to practice together?

In this choral reading, we will practice the prosody of the text. Several lines must be delivered with a specific pitch, tone or emphasis, so listen closely to the way I read when we read together!

Now we will read it all as a chorus, as a single voice.

The writer paired his best actors with some of the newer recruits whose skills were still being honed to assure everyone become comfortable with the rhythms, beats and laugh lines. All their voices became part of a whole and everyone practiced every line. The roles had not yet been cast, so everyone had to become familiar with the entire text!