Dramatizing the Content with Curriculum-Based Readers Theatre, Grades 6-12

Book excerpt: No matter what the content area, one goal all teachers share is for students to actively engage in learning and achieve deep comprehension of required content material. This book will show teachers how to use Curriculum-Based Readers Theatre (CBRT) to increase students' motivation, active engagement with learning, and reading fluency. Unlike traditional readers theatre, which is typically limited to literature-based scripts, CBRT invites teachers and students to create scripts based on any topic, any work of literature, any textbook, or almost any collection of facts--Science scripts, Social Studies scripts, Language Arts scripts, and even Math scripts. CBRT can be easily incorporated into existing curriculum and classroom activities. Because this method emphasizes spoken words emphasized with gestures and sound effects-not staged action and movement-no theatrical training or background is necessary. The author's approach is clear and straightforward. She provides an in-depth explanation of what CBRT is and why it is a valid instructional strategy in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 details how to introduce CBRT to students. In Chapter 3, teachers learn how to collaborate with students on writing and revising an original CBRT script based on curriculum content. Chapter 4 covers ways to involve students in writing and assessing original CBRT scripts. Rehearsing, presenting, and assessing CBRT script performances are the topics of Chapter 5. Other resources found in the book's appendices are: --Twelve reproducible CBRT scripts from a variety of curriculum content areas --Eleven CBRT script templates or script "starters" that suggest a variety of contexts and opening lines to simplify the script creation process --Detailed instructions on the recommended computer formatting of a CBRT script