First Annual Readers Theater Competition
On Friday, September 20th, my friend Becca and I hosted the first Veraguas Readers Theater Competition, an English language contest for students from 4th grade through high school. We had over 180 participants from 15 schools around the entire province of Veraguas.
The work for the competition began back in June, when Becca and I organized two instructional meetings, in which we explained the technique and announced our desire to have the competition which would serve as a compelling alternative to current English competitions which focus far too much on memorization and not enough on creativity. From there teachers who expressed interest began to work with us. Volunteers visited schools around the province, assisted teachers and coached students in preparing their scripts. Works included children's stories like "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish," "Where the Wild Things Are," and a few scripts written by yours truly.
I won't go into details about all the logistical things, but know that with only two small grants and help from the Ministry of Education's English Supervisors, we managed to put together an event hosting well over 200 people, served cake and juice, gave out prizes to winners and certificates to all participants, and looked good doing it, if I do say so myself.
We held the event at the Escuela Normal, a beautiful university in Santiago. Its front entrance has this beautiful facade.
The Aula Máxima, the auditorium where we held our event, is also quite an impressive space, complete with a mural from a Panamanian artist (unfinished, as the artist died before its completion). Here Becca and I are preparing our speech before the competition.
Of course, at the time, things seemed a bit hectic. For example, of course, most of the 15 participating schools had to travel from their school to the provincial capital, Santiago, by 9am in order to participate, some as far as several hours. So getting there on time was sometimes a problem. And which schools had to give us the most trouble? Included on the list of late arrivals were Becca's and my school! You've gotta be kidding me...
Readers Theater consists of students reading a given work, using their voices to create characters and convey emotion, like any dramatic reading. What makes it such a great teaching tool is that it gives the teacher the opportunity to teach native pronunciation in context and makes the connection between the word and its meaning. Students in groups of 10 or fewer came up and read their script and received a score from a panel of three judges. Here students are reading "The Giving Tree."
After the groups performed, we had a short break when we served the cake and juice. We also invited a few groups, either universities or other English-related institutions (English Club of Santiago) to set up stands to discuss information about studying English, or at the very least, attending college, in the future. Then we announced the winners. Here in the picture our friend Catherine has delivered the envelope with the winners. To each category (Elementary, Middle, and High schools) one group won a copy of a children's book and a faux Oscar statue made by a Panamanian artisan.
Of course the schools who didn't win pouted, and wished we would have awarded 2nd and 3rd place to other groups, but we didn't. There were other hiccups, but it was a massive success for everyone involved. Students shook a bit of their overwhelming shyness and performed in English, some got to travel to a new place and meet students from other schools. Teachers saw enchantment on their students' faces and hopefully realized just how great Readers Theater is. Our hope is that teachers will use Readers Theater in their curriculum, and not just for this competition.
The Ministry of Education plans to continue the contest in the coming years. Know what that means? I started something. Something real. Something potentially big, if it goes national. High-five!
Also, my friend Becca's hard work and gumption landed us in the newspaper. Click the link and read: http://www.elsiglo.com/mensual/2013/09/23/contenido/697186.asp
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