Secondary School Students' Opinions About Readers' Theatre (European Journal of Educational Research)

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This is an article titled Secondary School Students' Opinions About Readers' Theatre by S. Gulin Karabag of Gazi University, Turkey, in the European Journal of Educational Research, Volume 4, Issue 1, pages 14 - 21. The abstract says the article introduces Readers' Theatre as a technique, presents usage guidelines, and discusses the opinions of secondary school students about it as an instructional component in history teaching. It states that the research was conducted on 72 11th grade students from Deneme Secondary School in Cankaya district in Ankara in the spring term of the 2013-2014 school years, using semi-structured interviews after four weeks of history lessons. The abstract concludes that students mainly described Readers' Theatre as theatre and found it useful for reading and obtaining historical information.

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European Journal of Educational Research
Volume 4, Issue 1, 14 - 21.
ISSN: 2165-8714
http://www.eu-jer.com/

Secondary School Students’ Opinions About Readers’ Theatre
S. Gulin Karabag *
Gazi University, TURKEY

Abstract: In this article, a teaching strategy which not only blends yesterday and today in a meaningful way but also powerfully
integrates literacy and history will be examined. Firstly Readers’ Theatre as a technique will be introduced. Secondly, the usage
guidelines of Readers’ Theatre will be presented. Finally the opinions of secondary school students about Readers’ Theatre as an
instructional component in history teaching will be discussed. The research was conducted on 72 11th grade students from Deneme
Secondary School in Cankaya district in Ankara in the spring term of 2013-2014 school years. For the purpose of the study, students
were taught by using Readers’ Theatre technique in history lessons for four weeks and at the end of this implementation, the semi-
structured interviews were held to determine the opinions of students about Readers’ Theatre technique. The themes were formed
by making content analyze to the collected data. It is concluded that the students mainly have described Readers’ Theatre as
“theatre”. They have found Readers’ Theatre useful in many respects as they outline the positive effect of the technique on their
reading and obtaining historical information. They like most the cooperation with their peers and acting. The vast majority of
students have not mentioned any dislikes and a few of them have difficulties to follow the script. Finally, the answers of the majority
of the students on the implementation of Readers’ Theatre again are “positive” and their suggestions for better implementation are
“on stage”, “the same way” and “using visuals”.
Keywords: Instructional Readers’ Theatre technique, history teaching, reading, skill
To cite this article: Karabag, S. G. (2015). Secondary School Students’ Opinions About Readers’ Theatre. European Journal of
Educational Research, 4(1), 14-21. doi: 10.12973/eu-jer.4.1.14

Introduction order to improve students’ reading comprehension and
historical empathy skills, to learn historical concepts,
It is possible to say that teaching is most effective when
the Readers’ Theatre is one of the unique technique
it is based on strategies that are characterized by active
that can be used.
student involvement (Cornett, 1999:231). This is
especially important in the field of history education Readers’ Theatre
for it is unlikely that students will learn if they only
Readers’ Theatre is “a presentation by two or more
listen to teacher (Safran, 2002). Whereas, a major goal
participants who read from scripts and interpret a
of history teaching is to develop historical thinking
literary work in such a way that the audience
skills (historical empathy, chronological thinking and
imaginatively sense characterization, setting, and
critical thinking etc.) as well as the content knowledge
action. Voice and body tension rather than movement
(Demircioglu, 2000 & 2009; Dilek, 2007; Dinc, 2009;
are involved, thus eliminating the need for the many
Safran, 2010; Guven et al., 2014). Besides, the grasping
practice sessions that timing and action techniques
of historical concepts and reading comprehension are
require in the presentation of a play” (Laughlin &
important acquirements to understand historical texts.
Latrobe, 1990:3). It is “the dramatization of literature
Therefore, it is needed to teach these historical
using the techniques of oral interpretation”
thinking skills and acquirements by using active
(Fredericks, 2000, p.xx). Barchers (1993) states that
methods and techniques. In Turkey, especially after the
the primary focus in Readers’ Theatre is on an effective
change of the primary and secondary schools curricula
reading of the script rather than on a memorized
in 2007, it became more important to make students
presentation.
gain these skills with active methods and techniques. In
order to teach such these high level skills, it is The Readers’ Theatre is a storytelling device that
necessary to use really active methods like creative stimulates the imagination and promotes all of the
drama, discussion, field trips, project-based learning, language arts. It is an oral interpretation of a piece of
etc. other than traditional ways of teaching. Especially literature read in a dramatic style. If it has been used in
with the changes in primary and secondary education history lessons, Readers’ Theater successfully
programs in Turkey, acquiring these skills to students integrates both the literacy and history teaching aims
with active methods have become more important. In in a holistic way. Readers’ Theater activities enhance

______________________
* Correspondence:
S. Gulin Karabag, Gazi University, Faculty of Education, Department of History Teaching , Turkey
Email: gulinkarabag@gmail.com
European Journal of Educational Research 15

readiness, creative writing, concept learning, materials as well as in effective planning by the
perspective taking, problem solving, decision making teacher.
while at the same time make students learn the
Reading aloud to other people carries a responsibility
historical knowledge. Readers’ Theatre offers students
for the audience. Accepting this responsibility is a two-
interesting and unique insights into the utility of
edged sword, however. Nothing of interest can affect
language and its value in both its printed and oral
the audience if the readers do not know everything
forms. It boosts listening and speaking skills, enhances
possible behind the words they are reading. Research
creative writing abilities, powers reading development,
comes into play with dictionaries, biographies, and
develops positive self-concepts, and transforms
histories. Students will begin to read more, on purpose.
reluctant readers into energized readers. Quite simply,
Also, Readers’ Theater has been called “theater of the
it is history and literature brought to life and life
mind”, if the audience participates in interpreting plot,
brought to history literature (Fredericks 2009, p.vii).
action, character, and setting by visualizing and
Flynn (2004) notes that Readers’ Theatre is not a new imagining that which is not directly presented on stage
technique, although its inclusion as an instructional (Sloyer, 1982).
strategy in reading is relatively novel. Poems written
The Value of Readers’ Theatre in History Teaching
by Homer and stories from ancient Greek mythology
were often told as readers presented them orally and While students adapt a script from historical film,
students memorized them in unison (Beck, 1984). poem, novel or any other documents, their
Although its format is similar to a play, Readers’ understanding of another time period will expand. To
Theatre is distinct from acting. The emphasis of interpret a character effectively, the reader must be
Readers’ Theatre is placed on the literature, whereas familiar with the setting and the reason why the scene
acting places its focus on the actors’ interpretation of to be presented conveys a particular emotion. This
the literature. need to understand gives the participant new insight
into history. Many historical novels introduce words
Students are not expected to memorize lines in
indicative of the time period or colloquial language no
Readers’ Theatre. No attempt is made to hide the
longer commonly used. Thus, both participant and
scripts that the performers hold in folders or place on
audience become familiar with new words and extend
lecterns in front of them. Instead, they read from the
their vocabulary. Effective writing, as well as critical
scripts during the presentation. Lines are distributed
reading, is a common goal in history curriculum. The
among individuals, pairs, small groups, and the whole
act of scripting demands a variety of reading and
group. The emphasis is on spoken words and gestures,
writing skills. After a scene is chosen, the scripter must
not on staged action or on stage movement. The focus
create the narrator’s lines. An introduction is needed to
is on learning about the historical events and bringing
present the characters and to inform the audience of
those events to life in the classroom. Although students
the events that have gone before. Tie-ins must be
are not creating a dramatic production of the script, the
written so that the narrator can provide needed
nature of the presentation encourages the
description, and concluding lines are usually
development of important skills. The students who
appropriate to further build the audience suspense.
read are building their oral presentation skills while
Readers’ theatre demands that the audience listen
the students in the audience build their listening skills.
carefully to create the setting imaginatively and to
Students are able to explore historical events through a
justify character responses. This involvement helps
new medium and gain an appreciation for the
children gain new understandings about the past (Dick,
experiences these women endured (Smith, 2003).
2000). Readers’ Theatre has plenty of non-academic
The flexibility of Readers’ Theater is such that students benefits, too such as putting on a performance takes
of a wide range of age groups and levels of proficiency creativity, hard work, and important social skills like
can benefit from, and enjoy it. The key to the effective cooperation and teamwork.
use of Readers’ Theater lies in a judicious selection of

Table 1. The differences of Readers’ Theatre from staged theatre
Staged Theatre Readers’ Theatre
Formal and complex Informal and simple
Memorized script Script interpretively read aloud
Emphasis on staged action and stage movement Emphasis on spoken words and gestures
Scenery, costumes and props Exists in minds of audience only
Source: www.cal-webs.org/handouts06/ReadersTheater.pdf
16  KARABAG / Secondary School Students’ Opinions About Readers’ Theatre

The Purpose and Importance of the Study • Would you like Readers’ Theatre to be applied
again? If so what are your suggestions for better
The aim of this paper was to expose 11th students
implementation of the technique?
views about using Readers’ Theatre technique in
history lessons and its contribution to the secondary Data Collection Process
school students.
In 11th grade history lessons of selected secondary
In foreign countries and also in Turkey Readers’ school, the main aim was to improve historical thinking
Theatre has been mostly used in the field of language and grasping of students by using Readers’ Theatre.
teaching (Sloyer, 1982; Laughlin, Black and Loberg, During the 4-week experimental study, Readers’
1991; Husui, 1994; Martinez, Roser and Strecker 1998; Theatre applications were integrated into the
Keehn, 2003; Purdy, 2005; Clarck, 2006; Nussbaum, revolution history of Turkish republic and the
2009; Moon, 2009; Bell, Wideroff and Gaufberg, 2010; principles of Ataturk curriculum for 11th grade. The
Morris, 2011; Smith, 2011; Uribe, 2013; Unal and technique was applied by the 11th grade’s history
Yegen, 2013; Cayir and Ulusoy, 2014) and then social teacher at the school. The preliminary work about
studies (Dick, 2000). However, in Turkey, except for Readers' Theatre was done by the researcher to
the activities of some theatres and cultural centers, explain the technique to the teacher. In addition a pilot
there is not any study just on Readers’ Theatre. Due to implementation of technique with 19 students had
this fact, the technique is not known by people used in been made by researcher to show the correct
the field of history education. Therefore, it has been implementation of the technique to the teacher. After
considered that this paper could contribute both to the pilot implementation, the questions that attached
introduce and use of the technique in social studies and the teacher’s mind about the technique were answered
history disciplines in Turkey. by researcher. The teacher was used the scripts that
determined by the researcher. At the end of the 4-week
Participants
implementation, the students were asked to write
The study group of this research is 77 secondary school answers to 5 open-ended questions about their
students that are attending 11th grade in Deneme opinions on Readers’ Theatre. This paper aims to share
Secondary School in Cankaya District, in Ankara during those findings obtained from the student answers.
the spring term of 2013 – 2014 school years. However,
Data Analysis
the forms of five students who left most of the
interview form blank were excluded from the research. The data after interview was analyzed by content
Therefore, the participants of the research are 72 and analysis technique. In order to do this, similar data
34 of them are male and 38 are female. were brought together under certain concepts and
themes, organized and clearly interpreted (Yildirim &
Methodology
Simsek, 2005). To ensure reliability and validity of the
In this paper, among the qualitative research method, study, the decoded data obtained from responses to
semi-structured interview is used. When preparing the open-ended questions were classified independently
questions of interview form, it has been noted that the by different researchers. Later these categories were
questions are easy to be understood, open-ended, compared with each other and then the final version of
focused and arranged in a logical way (Yildirim and categories was created. Frequency distribution (f) and
Simsek, 2005: p.128). The semi–structured interview percentages (%) of obtained data are given. The
form consists of five main questions about the Readers’ striking responses of the students were given as direct
Theatre technique. For preparing the form, preliminary quotes and the participant students’ names were coded
implementation of the technique and interviews have as S1, S2, and S3 etc. The opinions were analyzed into
been made with 19 students. After analyzing these the following categories:
students’ responds to questions, some of the questions
• The opinions about what is Readers’ Theater
were modified and some of them were kept outside the
scope of the research. In addition, for the validity of the • The opinions about the contributions of Readers’
form, two history educators reviewed the questions Theater
and made a few changes. These following questions are
• The opinions about the most and the least liked
the final version of the interview form:
aspects of Readers’ Theatre
• In your opinion what is Readers’ Theater?
• The opinions on the implementation of the activity
• What are the contributions of the use of Readers’ again and the suggestions for better
Theatre technique to you in history lesson? implementation
• What do you like most in the history lesson in which Findings
Readers’ Theater technique used? Why?
The opinions about what is Readers’ Theater
• What do you like least in the history lesson in which
The students were asked to express their opinion
Readers’ Theater technique used? Why?
about “what is Readers’ Theater”. With this question, it
European Journal of Educational Research 17

has been requested form students that what they The opinions about the contributions of Readers’ Theater
understand from the activity about Readers’ Theatre
In the context of semi-structured interview, “What are
technique. The opinions on which students were
the contributions of the use of Readers’ Theatre
mainly focused are shown in Table 2.
technique to you in history lesson?” as an open-ended
When answers are examined, it is seen that most question is asked to the students. By this question, it is
students were concentrated on the concept of expected from the students to express the
“theatre”. The second specified concept is “reading”. contributions of Readers’ Theatre to them. The main
Even though the disclosure about the concept before themes based on students’ answers are shown in Table
the implementation, the number of students who 3. This result supports the studies (Dick, 2000; Morris,
answered the question as “I have no idea” are 15. 2011; Smith, 2011; Uribe, 2013; Unal & Yegen, 2013;
Another concept that student phrased is Cayir & Ulusoy, 2014).
“reenactment”. Some examples of the students’
answers are given below (Table 2)

Table 2. The students’ opinions about what is Readers’ Theatre
Codes n % The Statements of the Students
Theatre 24 33,3 It is theatre that everyone is taking his own task (S10-M)
Reading 13 18.1 Reading with (S29-M)
No idea 10 13,9 I have no idea (S27-M)
Enactment 8 11,1 It is reenactment that students are using their body language and
changing their voice by reading (S70-F)
Activity 8 11,1 It is an activity that everyone participates with fun (S30-F)
Vocalization 4 5,5 Vocalize scripts by sharing with our friends (S1-F)
Storytelling 2 2,8 Storytelling with a script (S32-M)
Teaching method 2 2,8 A different type of teaching method (S64-F)
Speaking 1 1,4 Speaking distributed to everyone (S48-F)
Total (N) 72 100

Table 3. The students’ opinions about the contributions of Readers’ Theater
Codes f The Statements of the Students
Reading 30 It gave me the ability to read (S25-M)
Obtaining historical 22 It has helped me to get information about the proclamation of the
information Republic (S2-F)
Understanding 8 It has helped me to understand the lesson better (S15-F)
Toning 8 It has helped me toning what I read (S19-M)
Empathy 7 It made me feel the moment in the history by empathizing (S22-M)
Listening 7 It has contributed in terms of listening and reading (S11-M)
No contribution 7 It hasn’t any contribution to me (S32-M)
Focusing 5 It made me focus the lesson (S55-F)
Grasping 5 It made me grasping the subject (S54-F)
Learning 4 It has helped me to learn the proclamation of the Republic (S4-M)
Speaking 4 It has contributed in terms of rhetoric and speaking (S22-M)
Memorability 3 It has helped me to memorize the information (S67-F)
Following the lesson 2 It has contributed to me to follow the lesson (S52-M)
Acting 2 I developed my acting ability (S6-F)
Values 2 I realized the values of the past times (S70-F)
Participation 2 It has enabled me to participate in the lesson (S61-M)
Self-confidence 1 By allowing me to speak within the class, it has increased my self-
confidence (S69-F)
Imagining 1 It made me imagine the events of the time (S56-F)
Adaptation 1 It developed my adaptation to the group (S66-F)
Cooperation 1 It improved my ability to work together (S64-F)
Excitement control 1 It has helped me to overcome my excitement (S65-F)
Curiosity 1 It has increased my curiosity to history (S60-F)
Perception 1 It has increased my perception by reading (S10-M)
Dramatization 1 It has contributed to my dramatization skills (S12-F)
18  KARABAG / Secondary School Students’ Opinions About Readers’ Theatre

The opinions about the most and the least liked
aspects of Readers’ Theatre
As a third open-ended question, their opinions about
the most liked and least liked aspects of the technique
are asked.

Table 4. The students’ opinions about the most liked aspects of Readers’ Theatre
Codes N % The Statements of the Students
Cooperation 22 30,5 What I liked most is that we did it cooperatively (S9-M)
Acting 10 14,0 I like enacting (S56-F)
None 9 12,5 There is no aspect that I like (S16-M)
Empathizing with the past 5 7,0 I empathized and felt that time (S43-M)
Vocalizing and toning 5 7,0 I like to tone and vocalize the text (S21-F)
Reading 5 7,0 I enjoy reading my character’s sentences (S47-M)
Participating 4 5,5 I liked most to take part in the activity (S15-F)
The content of the script 3 4,1 The script that covers the speech of the first members of
the Turkish Parliament (S11-M)
Mustafa Kemal 3 4,1 I like everything about Mustafa Kemal and the text was
about him (S5-M)
Obtaining information 2 2,8 Obtaining information about the history of the time in
detail (S18-M)
Feeling individuality 1 1,4 I like to feel as an individual (S4-M)
Ease of learning 1 1,4 I liked the activity because it made learning history easier
by participating (S7-M)
Having fun 1 1,4 I like to have more fun (S8-F)
Interactivity 1 1,4 I liked doing the activity in an interactive way (S64-F)
Total 72 100

When Table 4 and the statements are examined, it has any aspects are 9. The students are also liked
been understood that the students like the most to “empathizing with the past” (n=5), “vocalizing and
cooperate with their peers (n=22) and to act (n=10). toning” (n=5), “reading” (n=5) and participating (n=4).
The number of the students who are not mentioned

Table 5. The students’ opinions about the least liked aspects of Readers’ Theatre
Codes n % The Statements of the Students
None 48 66,9 There is nothing to dislike (S9-M)
Following 6 8,3 My least like aspect is try to understand the script and follow at
the same time (S57-F)
Reading 6 8,3 What I least like is to read (S3-M)
Toning 4 5,5 I had difficulties while toning the script (S26-M)
Excitement 4 5,5 The least liked aspect was my excitement when it was my turn
(S69-F)
Words 3 4,1 Some Arabic words that I couldn’t understand (S22-M)
European Journal of Educational Research 19

Long script 1 1,4 I didn’t like the long script (S28-M)
Total 72 100

The opinions on the implementation of Readers’ Table 6. The students’ opinions on the implementation
Theatre again and the suggestions for better of the technique again
implementation
Opinions n %
Finally, the students are asked to answer this question
“Would you like Readers’ Theatre to be applied again? Yes 52 72,2
If so what are your suggestions for better No 20 27,8
implementation of the technique?”.
Total 72 100
As seen on Table 6, to the fourth open-ended question
(Would you like Readers’ Theatre to be applied again?),
most of the students replied positively (n=52) and the
rest negatively (n=20). However, even some of the
students who said “no” to this question stated their
suggestions for better implementation.

Table 7. The students’ suggestions for better implementation of the technique
Suggestions n % The Statements of the Students
On stage 15 20,9 It would be better if we do on a theatre stage (S6-F)
The same way 14 19,5 I would like to be applied in the same way (S16-M)
No suggestion 13 18,1 I have no suggestion (S19-M)
Using visuals 11 15,2 It would be good to have some visuals (S14-M)
Music 4 5,5 10th Year anthem can be played (S63-F)
Shorter script 3 4,1 More concise and may be shorter (S58-F)
Longer script 3 4,1 I would like to be a bit longer (S8-F)
Projection 2 2,8 It would be better if the text will be reflected on the board
(S46-F)
Rehearsal 2 2,8 The characters can be prepared the text earlier and rehearse
it (S73-F)
Different topic 2 2,8 Apply with different topic (S53-F)
Developing the script 1 1,4 It should be applied after the technique is more developed
(S42-F)
Video 1 1,4 It would be better if a film or video was used (S9-M)
Realistic 1 1,4 I would like to be more realistic (S24-M)
Total 72 100

Regarding the continuing “If so what are your large body of research surrounding using active
suggestions for better implementation of the methods to teach history and thinking skills, a research
technique?” question, the students mainly replied “on linking these two subjects is lacking. The results of this
stage” (n=15) in order to feel they are acting as shown exploratory study show promise for using qualitative
on Table 7. Gunning (2000) also mentioned that data analysis led to similar conclusions and revealed
dramatizing a story after reading it helps students that Readers’ Theatre can be used as an active method
internalize the story’s sequence. They also said “the to teach the subject content effectively (Dick, 2000;
same way” (n=14) because the implementation is Morris, 2011; Uribe, 2013). Data from the current
enough for them already, some of them have no study also supports existing researches that
suggestion at all (n=13), “using visuals” (n=11) because recommend using Readers’ Theatre for fluent reading,
the lack of the visual elements in the activity as shown toning, listening, empathizing, understanding, content
on Table 7. and concept learning and participating (Hsui, 1994;
Clarck, 2006; Moon, 2009; Morris, 2011; Smith, 2011;
Discussion and Conclusion
Wheeler, 2011; Uribe, 2013; Unal & Yegen, 2013; Cayir
Although previous research has investigated the & Ulusoy, 2014).
benefits of Readers’ Theatre in language teaching and a
20  KARABAG / Secondary School Students’ Opinions About Readers’ Theatre

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