For teacher John Skender, a big part of the magic was listening to his Sto-Rox third-graders read. No longer was it a droning, meaningless march of disconnected words. Suddenly, it was a story.

"They don't read word for word anymore," Mr. Skender said. "They read like a person would talk. It seems like it really kicked in for a lot of kids."

What is working the magic is the Readers' Theater program at the Father Ryan Center for the Arts in McKees Rocks. Children in the program produce a short play and stage it for teachers and parents in the center's theater. The process leads them to understand what they're reading so they can speak their lines with meaning.

"I asked the children what they liked best," said Mr. Skender, who teaches reading at Sto-Rox Elementary School, "and one girl said, 'Listening to my mom laugh.' It was nice to see the parents there, interested in what their kids were doing."

The program is producing more than laughs.

Mr. Skender said the Sto-Rox third-graders made solid gains on standardized reading tests, with a jump in words per minute and dramatic increases in fluency rate -- the ability to understand the written word in the same way the spoken word is understood.

Sto-Rox Elementary and St. John of God of McKees Rocks were two pilot schools taking part in the program last year.

News of the program's success is getting out -- six more elementary schools have signed up for it this year, and the program will reach more than 500 children.

"Children learn best if you can tap into as many modes or senses as possible," Montour art teacher Marcia Chauvet said. She sees acting as a way to blend vision, movement and listening skills with reading skills.

"I think that through the arts we can teach literacy," she said.

Ms. Chauvet played a key role in getting the Montour School District to sign up its three elementary schools for the program. She was at the arts center's grand opening last year and was amazed by what she saw.

"It's state of the art; it's beautiful," she said. "I thought to myself, 'My gosh, we certainly have an opportunity to do something here.' "

Throughout the year, she invited several Montour school principals and board members to the center and then made a pitch this summer for the district to take part in the Readers' Theater program. The school board approved it last month.

"We're trying to find other modes to reach some of our learners," said Eric Sparkenbaugh, principal of Montour's Forest Grove Elementary School. "They have to understand the plot, the character. It really works on their oral fluency, their presentation skills and their comprehension."

In addition to Montour's three elementary schools, other schools new to the program are Cornell Elementary, St. Malachy, of Kennedy and St. Joseph, of Coraopolis.

The program is funded mostly through a $90,000 grant from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.

"The only thing we have to pay for is transportation," Dr. Sparkenbaugh said. "It was like an offer you can't refuse."

Built by the local charity Focus on Renewal in a former McKees Rocks furniture store, the center contains classroom space, music practice rooms, dance studios and areas for painting, pottery, sculpture and other arts, as well as a cafe and gallery.

Jim Critchfield, the center's program director and the guiding force of Readers' Theater, said the staff and directors are thrilled at the response.

"We got wonderful reports from teachers and also from the kids themselves," he said.

Mr. Critchfield said that with eight schools involved, the Readers' Theater program is just about filled to its maximum. But the answer to that, he said, is clear: "We need to adjust our thinking."

Center director Pat Moran said children who have come to the center for Readers' Theater are coming back for other programs, and she expects teachers will do the same.

"Everybody leaves this place saying, 'Wow! How can I get my kids here and work here?' " she said.

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