Description

This workbook covers grade 3 concepts according to the Orton Gillingham Online Academy’s scope and sequence.

Read, practice, and perform (a Reader’s Theater Approach) is a powerful tool when integrated with Orton Gillingham (OG) instruction, especially when students read, practice, and perform stories using concepts they’ve just learned. Here’s why it’s so effective:

1. Reinforces Explicit Instruction Through Repetition

OG lessons follow a structured, sequential, multisensory approach. A Reader’s Theater approach provides purposeful repetition of phonics patterns, syllable types, spelling rules, and morphology that have been explicitly taught. Rehearsing lines helps students re-encounter and internalize those concepts in context.

2. Promotes Reading Fluency

Through repeated reading of scripts, students build:

Accuracy (correct decoding)
Rate (appropriate pacing)
Prosody (expression and phrasing)

This fluency practice supports automaticity, which is essential for comprehension. Because a Reader’s Theater approach is low-pressure (no memorization required) and engaging, even reluctant readers are more motivated to practice.

3. Builds Confidence and Motivation

When students recognize that they can decode, understand, and perform a script using new skills they’ve mastered, it builds:

Self-efficacy
Willingness to take risks in reading
A sense of accomplishment

Performing for peers or parents adds a celebratory element that makes learning memorable.

4. Enhances Comprehension and Oral Language

OG instruction builds decoding and language foundations. A Reader’s Theater approach builds on that by:

Requiring students to understand the script (not just decode it)
Encouraging expression and tone
Supporting vocabulary and syntax development through listening and speaking

5. Encourages Collaboration and Social Learning

Working in small groups to read and perform scripts helps students:

Learn turn-taking and listening skills
Provide and receive feedback
Practice oral communication—a vital literacy skill

6. Connects Learning to Meaningful Contexts

Instead of isolated drills, students use learned concepts in a creative, real-world context. For example, after learning -ing, -ed, and CVCe patterns, students might perform a story like “Jane and Dave at the Skate Park“ using those exact patterns throughout.