Fremd Students Start Reader's Theater Program at Edgebrook Community Center
Two Fremd High School students recently started a Reader's Theater program at the Edgebrook Community Center in Palatine. Every Tuesday Courtney Murphy and Megan Pankratz meet with about 15 children to rehearse and perform scripts. The Reader's Theater program enhances students' reading skills by practicing parts in scripts and increases the students' confidence in reading aloud with expression.
"My favorite part of this program is seeing some of the younger kids who have trouble reading put their whole heart into learning the scripts and perform them well," said Courtney Murphy, a junior at Fremd. "It's so rewarding to see their progress as readers and actors."
"Little Red Hen" was the first script the students learned. They are currently planning the future scripts they will learn and perform throughout the rest of this school year.
Megan Pankratz, also a Junior at Fremd said what surprised her most about the program is how quickly the kids pick up on how to play certain games, read certain words, or act like their character.
"Even if it's hard at first they always persevere through it and they always have a smile on their faces. It's amazing to see how much they have grown at the end of each session," said Megan.
About Edgebrook Community Center
The POC Edgebrook Community Center, located in the Baldwin Greens Apartment Complex, has been serving children and their families for over 25 years. ICompete currently runs after-school programs Monday-Thursday for K-sixth grade students offering a variety of activities and enrichments in an effort to create a positive learning space outside of their school day. ICompete is a collaborative partnership with a mission of introducing underserved families to athletics, arts and academics by breaking down the barriers of access in order to stimulate interest, provide academic support and increase opportunities for these families to participate in organized sports, clubs, and community programs.
For information about ICompete and after-school programs, contact Partners for Our Community (POC), a local 501C (3), non-profit community center, at (847) 776-9500 or visit www.poc.news.