Extending Readers Theatre: A Powerful and Purposeful Match With Podcasting

The struggling second and third graders in this mixed methods study increased their reading comprehension after a 10-week Readers Theatre podcasting project. Podcasting made the students aware of a wider audience, which enhanced the authenticity and social nature of the strategy, and made their performances permanent so they could be stored and conveniently retrieved for later listening and evaluation. Finally, students discussed their podcasts using visual vocabulary such as “watch,” “show,” “look good,” and “show my voice,” uncovering the concept of audio as a visual medium. Since visualization is a critical strategy used by skilled readers, podcasting has the potential to strengthen this aspect of Readers Theatre.