The purpose of this research is to document and describe the experiences of 15 sixth-grade students in an urban, after-school program entitled Drama Through Reading (DTR), as they co-construct and recreate their interpretations of literature through performance. Through rigorous, systematic observation, listening, re-listening, and documentation of the students' interactions within their afterschool setting, I describe what happens when students evoke and exert control over the ideas and feelings that they experience while reading. and how students' social interactions shape their interpretations of texts. The DTR program, which I conceptualized, was begun in January 2011. Through this program, I explore how drama informs students' reading processes and my own teaching practices. In our work together, drama is used as a vehicle through which the students make meaning of themselves, their relationships, their cultures, their values, and finally, how the life of literature evokes their exploration of themselves within the world. In this study I observe a new cohort of students' experiences for a period of eight months. The narrative data collected during this study bring a nuanced perspective of adolescent reading experiences and inform those who aim to learn about the individual, complex stories behind high-stakes, standardized test score data. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]