Peer Review

Aaron Shepard's Readers Theater Page

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Jun 7, 2002 by Teacher Education

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: This site provides teachers with the information and examples necessary to
integrate Reader?s Theater into Arts Education, Language Arts, Social Science,
or other classroom venues. The site includes scripts, information about
staging, and an excellent list of other resources to assist the teacher.
Reader's Theater is minimal theater in support of literature and reading.
Type of Material:: Resource and Tutorial
Recommended Uses:: Teacher Education programs in Arts Education; Drama; Language Arts Education;
Reading Education; Social Science Education; and for Reader?s Theater or
Chamber Theater groups and other children?s groups. Although the most of the
scripts on the site are aimed at students in grades 3-9, scripts are also
available in versions for smaller groups or college or professional groups.
Technical Requirements:: QuickTime or an MP3 application installed to listen to Aaron Shepard's selected
stories. His stories are available in either file format. Acrobat Reader is
needed to view and print worksheets for student development of Reader' Theater
scripts.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: The goal is to share and implement this online Reader?s Theater collection with
K-12 students in order to connect them with books.
Target Student Population:: The site is designed for teachers of grades K-12; however, the majority of the
materials are for students in grades 3-9. It is an excellent source of
information and scripts for use by college Arts Education, Theater, and Language
Arts education students in methods courses or in reading courses.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: None

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: This site provides concrete examples of Reader's Theater scripts, staging and
presentation tips, worksheets for educators to develop their own Reader's
Theater scripts, recommended script collections, and other online resources.
There is excellent variety in the scripts with many different genres, cultures,
and themes represented by the 27 scripts. All scripts are listed with brief
descriptions that include the story?s genre, culture, theme, reading level, the
number of readers, and the time to produce. The site also provides numerous
tips for staging and writing scripts, an excellent resource list (all links
appear to be in working order), background information on Reader?s Theater, and
links to other sites of Shepard?s materials, including Aaron?s Storytelling
Page. New scripts are added and others are up-dated periodically. Anyone who
wishes to keep abreast of new developments on this web site can sign up for an
email update.
Concerns:: None

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: Not only is the content strong, but this site provides tips on scripting,
staging, and reading for Reader's Theater. This type of information is just
what student teachers and teachers can use and immediately implement in
curriculum development. The concrete examples provided on this site make them
ideal for preservice teachers to review and try out for themselves. Professors
would be able to use this site to develop online assignments for education
majors without much extensive preparation of the students to enable them to
effectively use the site. Education majors in all areas (elementary, middle
school, or secondary) can locate scripts that will work with students in grades
K-12 in a variety of subject s. Upper elementary students through full-time
educators will appreciate the multicultural examples of reader's theater found
under the Reader's Theater Editions.
Concerns:: Theater falls under Arts Education. It is important to realize that Reader's
Theater does address several state and national standards in Arts Education as
well as in Language Arts Education. Do not overlook the potential for
theater/drama education at this site.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: The site links are clearly labeled and easy to navigate. All links appear to be
in working order. The site is clearly marked so that locating specific
information is quick and easy. The site is visually attractive but simple, so
that the design does not detract from the information.
Concerns:: Prior to using this site, users whould be advised to install Adobe Acrobat
Reader and QuickTime or a MP3 applications so they can listen to the stories in
the Reader's Theater Editions.

Other Issues and Comments:: Shepard?s expertise in Readers? Theater is derived from his extensive experience
as a professional actor in Chamber Readers and as the author of one of the
premier collections of Reader?s Theater scripts. Shepard is also an award
winning children?s author. In 1993 he published Stories on Stage: Scripts for
Reader's Theater, (H. W. Wilson), considered by many to be the premier
collection of Reader's Theater scripts.
Creative Commons: