Readers' Theatre: A Viable Reading Strategy?

Guy Trainin, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Nancy Andrzejczak, University of California, Riverside

Document Type Article

Abstract

A series of designed experiments analyzed the impact of Readers Theatre as an instructional strategy to improve oral reading fluency and comprehension. Study research designs progressed from a pull-out intervention with a single expert delivering instruction to a scaled-up model with multiple grade levels and teachers. Throughout the three studies, Readers Theatre demonstrated a significant impact on student achievement. The scaling up process not only investigated the efficacy of the approach, but also began to come to grips with the ever increasing issues of professional development and implementation fidelity. These issues of scalability are essential for the translation of research into practice.