We are now in the middle of our Kevin Henkes Author Study and the students are becoming very comfortable with the characters from his books. They feel strong connections to Chrysanthemum, Lilly, and Owen together with the other very likable personalities in his books. The children have been practicing their parts in Reader's Theater plays for the past two weeks. In the first week, groups were set up and parts assigned for individuals in the play "Chrysanthemum." Each of the groups presented and did a fine job. This week, each group is practicing a different Kevin Henkes books. Groups practice their lines during Reader's Workshop. They are learning to read with fluency and intonation during the readings of these scripts and enjoying every minute of it. Students are learning the importance of following along and to not let the group down during their performance. These practices are taken very seriously and interesting to observe. In a Reader's Theater presentation, scripts are held by the readers and lines are not memorized. The focus is on reading the text with expressive voices and gestures. In this way, comprehending the text becomes more meaningful and fun for the students which is the most important thing!! Reader's Theater Kevin Henkes

What a great way to work on fluency and them out of the habit of reading in a monotone. I've been hearing about it, so I know the kids are enjoying it! -Leanne P
March 3, 2011 at 4:33 AM Lauren is loving the Kevin Henkes study. She went to his website last night exploring for the whole evening! Katie
March 4, 2011 at 11:52 AM Paul Bogush said…
Would love to hear a recording of their reader theater presentation! Glad to see you using the "F" word when describing your class. Learning should be "fun." ;)
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