Readers Theater Script, Reading Strategies & Phrasal Verbs Grammar Practice

This resource gives you an original Readers Theater script to help you improve your ESL or ELL students who are struggling with reading development. Build fluency using this engaging play that gets your students to step into the shoes of intriguing characters and exploring a captivating storyline. This script gets your students to develop their skills by reading a thriller script and practicing the dialogue aloud. The perfect package for partner reading practice and drama enthusiasts, this readers theater resource is your gateway to embedding reading strategies into your lessons that build fluency.

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Readers Theater is a type of active learning, which challenges students to use expressions, experiment with different voices, and utilize a range of emotions while reading from a script. In short, it helps build confidence in both the English language and reading.

This package uses a Readers Theater play to help develop reading fluency and gives you reading strategies that are proven to work. The play was written with a focus on phrasal verbs, so students get both reading and grammar practice together. It comes with:

  • a 9 character, 6-page script around a thriller theme
  • preparation worksheets that introduce the play’s topic
  • discussion questions around the topic
  • vocabulary words and activities
  • grammar activities for practicing phrasal verbs.

This play involves 5 characters and it enables learners to expand their vocabulary, enhance grammar acquisition, and gain a deeper understanding of the English language. Set up takes about 15-20 minutes before getting into the script. Once rehearsed, the play lasts between 10-20 minutes, depending on staging.

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✅ Readers Theater is one of the best reading strategies for building fluency. By experiencing the thrill of performing alongside their peers, your students improve their pronunciation, develop fluent speech, and fine-tune their listening skills. It also gets your students using their creativity to engage with their learning while injecting an element of play into the class.

✅ Readers Theater is incredibly easy to use in any class, and all you will need to set it up is a script, actors, and a location. By combining reading and acting, learners are able to better understand the communicative elements of the English language. Research tells us that fluency in reading comes from repetition, and reading scripts is an ideal way to get students reading something over and over again.

✅ Interested in what makes this Readers Theater Resource standout?

  • The script is easy for your ESL and ELLs to understand and relate to.
  • Before getting into the script, you’ll be able to set the stage with short discussion questions.
  • Grammar acquisition activities that get learners practicing phrasal verbs.
  • The script was written using phrasal verbs, keeping the grammar in context and making it easier to learn organically.

⏩ ⏩ THE DETAILS OF THE PLAY

  • Title: Sabotage
  • Number of Characters: 5
  • Number of Scenes: 1
  • Cast of Characters:
    • Commander Johnson: The mission commander in charge of ground communications at mission control, based on earth. He has direct communication with the general and overseer of the entire mission through his headset. A very by-the-book professional, Johnson is growing tired of his team who, despite his best attempts, seem unable to get along with one another.
    • Technician Emma: The service technician at mission control who is responsible for communications. Though it is never stated directed, Emma once had a relationship with Scientist James which ended poorly for unknown reasons. Emma cannot stand James and there is something sinister brewing between the two.
    • Scientist James: Scientist James is in charge of most things related to the logistics of the mission; he knows the systems the best and is in the best position to offer sound advice. James despises Emma and is not shy of letting others know it.
    • Engineer Maya: Maya is the youngest of the team but a solid professional and quite adept at solving problems. She strives to make a good impression for her Commander, who she hopes will help her advance in her career, one day.
    • Intercom Voice: An unidentified crew member on the International Space Station.
  • Scenario: In a high-stakes mission to reestablish communication with the International Space Station (ISS), Commander Johnson finds his team pushed to the brink in the chaotic and sleep-deprived atmosphere of the mission control room. The communications failure appears to be sabotage and they team tries to bypass the systems as quickly as possible. When communication is briefly restored and then lost again, further suspicion and uncertainly comes out and generates more chaos, confusion and, at the end, a team member’s death.

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This resource includes a PDF file that can be opened using your preferred PDF reader. The teacher’s guide with notes on readers theater has tips for how to pace the lesson and a set up guide so your students’ final performances are polished and ready for an audience. There is also an answer key for the grammar portion of this lesson.

The grammar worksheets in this readers theater package only include practice activities for phrasal verbs. They do not include instructions on how to teach this grammar point.

⭐ Get the Bundle for Big Savings ⭐

Purchase this Reader’s Theatre Script, along with 9 other plays, in my Reader’s Theatre Bundle and get a discount on all my scripts together.

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Terms of Use:

This resource was created by Landon S. Seigler of ESL Lifeline, all rights are reserved. The original purchaser is permitted to use it for a single class only. Teachers have the authorization to share this product with their students (and parents) through email, Google Classroom, or the Internet, as long as the site is password protected. Distribution to your own students is allowed, but uploading it to the Internet for public access and download is not permitted.

**If you wish to use this resource for multiple classrooms or share it with fellow educators, please purchase additional licenses.Your adherence to these usage terms is greatly appreciated.

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Frequency Asked Questions

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On the CEFR, ESL Lifeline’s resources range between B1-C1 – Intermediate to Advanced. 

Many of the resource are suitable for adult learners as well. 

Though built for secondary students, he resources can be used across multiple grade levels and age ranges. Teachers know their students the best. It is recommended that, before you purchase a resource, you read the product description carefully and take note of the specific ages and ranges that it recommends. 

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Teachers from all over the world have used ESL Lifeline’s resources and materials with great success. A lot of the feedback received has to do with the breadth of content and how much there is in a single lesson. Some teachers have even said they can get 1-2 week out of a single reading comprehension lesson.

While the experience of each lesson will vary depending on the teacher, class demographic and other key variables, many lessons plans ESL Lifeline provides have been written to extend past a single class session. To get the most out of all the content in each lesson plan and all the materials, always consider the pacing of your particular class and how students are responding to the lesson in the moment. For language learning, it is often beneficial to revisit certain parts of a lesson to reinforce concepts and check comprehension. Extending skill lessons into even small, more manageable chunks is also a good strategy to ensure all learners in your class are able to access the content.

Many of the lessons and activities offer extension activities for productive follow-ups that take the subject and language even further. If you are looking to extend or, even, differentiate the learning, it is recommended to use these activities.

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