High school-level historical scripts
Reader’s Theatre Scripts and Plays
Free Readers Theater Play Scripts and Performance Notes for Kids (storiestogrowby.org)
Free Readers’ Theater PDFs (thewiseowlfactory.com)
NWT Literacy Council—scripts start on p. 4
Iowa’s Reader’s Theatre—for grades 3-5
UFLI Decodable Reader’s Theater—All
These are not free, but they are extremely inexpensive. ReadAloudPlays.com stated, “Our readers’ theater scripts are priced exceptionally low (just enough to cover expenses–only $4 for a class set), they include performance rights, teacher notes, and comprehension activities, and they were all written specifically to grow young readers. Most of our plays were originally published in Scholastic classroom magazines, so they’ve been professionally vetted and edited. Visitors to our site will also be greeted with occasional free scripts, and we also have this free resource on how to use RT to teach reading: Why Use Drama? Reader’s Theater Tips, Strategies, & Teacher’s Guide.”
Also, please check out my other top pages:
- Leveled online books
- HUNDREDS of decodable texts and decodable texts organized by sound and spelling
- Literacy assessments
- Lesson plans
- Sight words
- Phonemic awareness activities and so much more! Please see the home page!
Check out the reader’s theater lesson plans! There is a fee after the trial period, however.
Why Reader’s Theater?
- Improves fluency—proper speed, accuracy, and expression. One of the best ways to improve reading fluency is to read a text multiple times. With reader’s theater, students enjoy reading their parts and working on their accuracy, speed, and expression. Students do not memorize their lines. Instead, they attentively follow the script, eagerly awaiting the delivery of their parts with exceptional fluency and expression.
- This approach fosters a culture of cooperative learning. Children often accept feedback from peers more quickly than they do from teachers. Additionally, students need to listen to one another, respond with empathy, and collaborate effectively.
- It is an easily differentiated task. Some scripts have different levels, allowing a teacher to edit specific parts.
- The task is both enjoyable and captivating.
- It fosters the development of both listening and speaking skills. Students must listen to their classmates to determine when it’s their turn to speak, and the “theater” aspect of reader’s theater encourages students to use their voices more dynamically than they typically do when reading aloud.
Reader’s Theater Tips
- Keep it simple. Costumes and props are not necessary.
- Do NOT have students memorize their parts.
- Practice, practice, practice. Redo the script several times.
- Have students highlight their parts.
- Keep students accountable for their reading and reader’s theater behavior via a reader’s theater rubric. free reader’s theater scripts
P.S. “Whether you use the spelling ‘theater’ or ‘theatre’ will depend on where you hail from. In American English, the spelling is “theater”; in Britain and the rest of the English-speaking world, “theatre” is used. The spelling you choose—theater vs. theatre—should align with your audience’s preference” (Grammarly).
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