Sharon Carlino

Sharon Carlino Teaching w/ Technology

Mini-Research Lesson #1

Reading Theater “on video”

This activity is an interpretive oral reading activity designed as an alternative for students to engage and process reading material that is challenging or emotionally powerful. The objective was to enhance the outcome of this activity by incorporating technology to help students visualize their activity.

By adding the component of video taping each performance, students are given the opportunity to watch and critic their individual performance. Student will also have the opportunity to view the group final product. This will help students to evaluate their group effort and productivity while comparing performances between all of the groups.

This activity will:

 Improve reading comprehension including the author’s purpose, character traits, mood and theme.  Improve the ability to identify and understand tone.  Foster critical and fluency reading skills.  Develop students’ interpretive imagination.  Engage students to read text in a more enjoyable or gratifying way.  Foster cooperative learning  Improve critical analysis and critiquing skills

ACTIVITY:

1. Group Read Select a reading passage that students have read and discussed. (For example: The “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) The passage should be one that can be divided into sections that say something and /or have an important impact or power in each section.

Have participants form a large enough circle to include everyone and give everyone a copy of the reading. Have each person read a sentence or two going around the entire circle without stopping. If you complete the reading before everyone has read start again and go until you complete the passage.

2. Large Group Discussion In the large group discussion, ask students the following questions:

1 1. What were you thinking about during the reading? Responses might include:

... when was it my turn I...... can I read with making mistakes? ... this feels odd ... I am moved by reading the voices of ….

2. What are the cognitive areas we are focusing on? 3. What are the benefits of reading the passage in this way? 4. How could we vary this activity?

This will help students begin to prepare for the composition activities at the end of this lesson.

3. Interpretive Planning Divide the participants into groups of no more than six. Assign each group a small piece of the passage (one or two paragraphs). Each group should take 20 or so minutes to come up with an interpretation of the reading (not a skit). Be sure to stress that this activity is not designed to be a role play or a mini theater production. Rather it is an attempt to deepen or the experience the writer is trying to convey. For example groups may decide to do a choral reading (everyone should be reading together) or one person can narrate while others are standing or moving. Have participants consider using their voices in different ways, sounds that may enhance the feelings, etc.

Students should include the following elements in their presentations: tone, echo, repetition, chorus, etc.

4. Interpretive Presentations Next, the groups come back together and form a large circle with everyone sitting (floor or chairs). Starting with one group that has the first section of the reading go through the entire passage one group at a time with no pauses or breaks in between groups (each group will interpret their piece in the center of the circle or at the front of the classroom)

While students are presenting have a video camera set up at the back of the classroom. Be sure to explain to students earlier that they will be taped. This is difficult if you surprise them immediately before they present.

5. Post Reading Discussion Ask students:

 What did the process feel like for you?  What did you notice (about your group and the other groups)?  Do you have questions or comments for the other groups?  What would you do next?

2  This is what I would have done differently?  What is the value of this type of activity?  How could we vary this activity?

Step 6: Visual Analysis and Self Evaluation

The final stage to this activity will be to show students their own performances and the performances of the other groups. Students will have in front of them an individual and group evaluation rubric which will hopefully guide them in regards to what to look for in the video. After watching all the performances they will complete the evaluation form and hand it to the teacher for her assessment on the performances.

The writing component of this activity will take place after all of these activities. Students will answer a series of questions regarding the activities and process they took during the reading theater. It is my hope that Students will have a better understanding of their effort and product after having viewed the video. (See attached for The Reading Journal questions and prompts)