The readers - both Mrs. Grace Toh and MRL students - Nicole, Arabella, Eunice and Jasmine - reading their respective lines, looking away from one another. Reading to deliver meaning requires engagement with the text if we are serious about delivery of meaning. Modified readers' theatre in the classroom involves anybody who is interested.
Nicole is a pillar of seriousness. She may want to consider relaxing her legs and place her legs a little apart so that they are not too tense. She should also straighten her spine by raising her script higher up to a more comfortable level.
Mrs Grace Toh and Eunice in the midst of their reading performance. Reading aloud meaningfully gets the attention of all the other people. Because they listen, it makes the effort more collaborative than ever, especially when the readers take turns to read one sentence after another. The participants only stop reading when they reach a full-stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark. When one reader reads, all the others listen attentively. They do not want to break the flow of meaning by being inattentive.
Why were they in a circle and not looking at one another? Well, no secrets here. The readers merely need to be focused in their reading and they were all ears for the reader who was reading then so that they did not break the chain of thoughts flowing amongst them. It was their very first practice session after all.
When we pay attention to other people's reading, we pay attention to our own reading. When we pay attention to our own reading, other people benefit from our reading and the meaning can be passed on collaboratively.
This was sustained reading aloud. Not a five-minute stint. These students really paid serious attention to the story they were conveying amongst themselves.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
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