Effects of readers theatre on oral reading ability and reading attitudes of second-grade Title I students.

This study investigated the effects of readers theatre on the oral reading ability, oral reading comprehension, and attitudes toward reading of second grade Title 1 reading students. A total of 27 students involved in the study comprised five Title 1 reading classes in two neighboring public school districts in southwestern Pennsylvania. The two school districts served a similar low-to-middle class area population, predominately Caucasian. A total of 14 students participated in readers theatre instruction while 13 students formed a control group. Students received Title 1 reading instruction in a separate classroom 5 days a week for a 40 minute period each day. The control group continued their regular Title 1 reading instruction which included skills development. The experimental group received reading instruction using readers theatre. The study lasted for nine weeks, with week one and week nine used for testing and interviewing purposes. Findings indicated a significant effect for oral reading accuracy, oral reading acceptability, and oral reading comprehension. Furthermore, an interaction for both accuracy and acceptability showed that readers theatre proved beneficial especially to those students who started with lower scores. A trend developed for oral reading rate; children in the readers theatre group tended to have faster reading rates on the posttest. Students in the readers theatre group also improved in fluency by reading in longer phrases. Although formal assessment of attitudes showed no significant results, positive reports by teachers and students alike indicated the value of readers theatre. Its use as a supplementary or primary method of delivering reading instruction carries implications for classroom reading instruction