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

by Rosalind M. Flynn (Author)

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

Author Biography

Rosalind Flynn has been presenting professional development workshops for teachers in collaboration with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts since 1994. Her focus is the educational uses of drama as a learning method. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland. At The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, Dr. Flynn is the head of the Master of Arts in Theatre Education (MATE) degree program. She is the author of two books on the educational uses of drama: Dramatizing the Content With Curriculum-Based Readers Theatre, Grades 6-12 (Originally published by The International Reading Association, 2007) A Dramatic Approach to Reading Comprehension co-authored with Lenore Blank Kelner (Heinemann, 2006) Information about the teacher workshops she presents based on the content of these two books can be found at her web sites: www.rosalindflynn.com www.DramaticApproachesToTeaching.com Rosalind also delivers her Curriculum-Based Readers Theatre workshop for teachers online. So far, sites in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Missouri, Alabama, Nevada, Nebraska, and Vermont have offered their teachers the opportunity to learn at a distance with Rosalind's real-time online presentation. Using slides and video, Rosalind conducts teacher workshops that feature active participation and opportunities to ask questions and influence the instruction. She has developed a web site devoted to her online workshops: www.ArtsEducationOnline.org Her 18 articles on educational drama have been published in Dramatics, Youth Theatre Journal, Language Arts, English Journal, Teaching Artist Journal, The Reading Teacher, and Teaching Theatre. She also has two plays published-"The Odyssey, Oedipus and Others, or Greek Story Theatre" with co-playwright Stacey Coates (Playscripts, Inc.), and "The School for Parents" (Boston Public Schools). Since 1994, she has conducted workshops for students, teachers, and artists-in person and online-from 43 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Shanghai, China.