Reader’s Theatre Like radio theatre of days gone by, performers in reader’s theatre read from scripts, relying on their voices to create the drama! No costumes are required. Students participating in reader’s theatre have authentic opportunities to improve their oral fluency as well as their speaking and listening skills. According to Susan Finley, these are the characteristics of reader’s theatre: * Students do not memorize their parts; they always read from their scripts. 
* A stage is unnecessary, student simply stand or sit in a semicircle. 
* Scripts ideally are introduced in small groups. 
* The script is treated like a new story, in that instructional support may be needed for new vocabulary and understanding of characters. 
* For struggling readers who are building fluency, scripts are manageable -- at the students' independent reading level and/or at their instructional reading level. 
* Opportunities for practice are provided. Once students become familiar with the scripts, they can be placed into centers or made available during Reading Workshop. While nearly any text can become a reader’s theatre script, some scripts are available ready made through commercial sources. In addition, many resources exist online to support teachers in the use of reader’s theatre in the classroom. Here are just a few:  http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE.htmlhttp://www.education-world.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev082.shtmlhttp://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE.htmlhttp://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE.htmlhttp://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE.htmlhttp://www.teachingheart.net/readerstheater.htmhttp://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE.htmlhttp://literacyconnections.com/ReadersTheater.phphttp://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE.htmlhttp://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=172shapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_2shapeimage_2_link_4shapeimage_2_link_6shapeimage_2_link_8