Reader's Theater is designed to use literature as a fun way to read books and make them more real to the students.
When using this with younger children it is a good idea to have the parts already scripted for the book. For older
students I feel that they will have more fun and take more ownership of their work if they are allowed to scrip the
parts themselves. By scripting I mean taking each person talking and assigning the part or character to someone in
the group. If there are more parts than members of the group, some group members may have to play two different
parts. Usually these will be the smaller parts. When the scripting is done the groups will read through the story in a
choral reading manner. They will choose the parts they want and then read through the story again, using voices and
expression when reading their part. They will continue this until they feel comfortable with the part. Usually during
this time students will want to add movements or actions or props to make the story better. This is exactly want you
want them to do. Allow the groups time and material to make the necessary props. Give them time to practice the
story using the props. Each group will then present the story to the class.