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 the present continuous tense, so students get both reading and grammar practice together. It comes with:
- a 9 character, 4-page script around a science fiction theme
- preparation worksheets that introduce the play’s topic
- discussion questions around the topic
- vocabulary words and activities
- grammar activities for practicing the present continuous tense
This play involves 9 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 30-40 minutes before getting into the script. Once rehearsed, the play lasts between 7-10 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 the present continuous tense.
- The script was written using the present continuous tense, keeping the grammar in context and making it easier to learn organically.
⏩ ⏩ THE DETAILS OF THE PLAY
- Title: Deli Diplomacy
- Number of Characters: 9
- Number of Scenes: 1
- Cast of Characters:
- Oliver: Always order the same thing, Oliver is regular customer at the deli and very hungry.
- Dale: The sandwich guy and today is his first day on the job at the deli.
- Mrs. Thompson: Used to getting her way, Mrs. Thompson is the CEO of the local bank and is always in a hurry.
- Mr. Jenkins: A retired miner who goes to the deli twice daily and always talks about how things ‘used to be’.
- Nancy: A mother of four boys, Nancy is a regular at the deli and always courteous. In another life, she was a waitress and knows how to respect service staff.
- Harold: The drama teacher from the local high school and the town eccentric. Harold blows everything way out of proportion.
- Lily: Timid and afraid of conflict, Lily comes to the deli each day for her usual, BLT.
- Timothy: The owner of the deli, Timothy has seen it all in his time in the service industry trenches.
- Ethel: 96 and still going strong, Ethel walks 5 miles every day to the deli for her black coffee and cannoli.
- Scenario: Oliver is hungry, and the sandwich guy at the deli is new and keeps getting the orders wrong. Mrs. Thompson and Mr. Jenkins, both regulars at the deli, are also hungry, and their patience is wearing thin. Nancy, Harold, Lily, Ethel – and the line of customers out the front door of the deli – are all hungry but no one is getting their food. Letting their baser instincts get the better of them, the deli customers rally together and decide to take matters into their own hands. They try to stage a revolt and take the sandwich guy hostage until something is done. Timothy, the deli owner, comes out and tries to defuse the hungry crowd.
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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 the present continuous tense. They do not include instructions on how to teach this grammar point. See my PowerPoint Presentation on teaching grammar tenses here.
⭐ 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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