Readers Theatre Scripts as Part of Your Back to School Planning

The new school year means a new group of students or possibly an entirely new school. In either case it is immensely helpful to start with something startling and different. Theatre scripts often take children by surprise – especially if they are out of the context of drama or theatre studies. Scripts are brilliant tools for teaching a range of subjects including history, science, geology, biology and social studies as well as literature and language. If there is a gap in your planning where you need some extra inspiration, then a play script is an option that can bear fruit. 

A play script is a great opportunity to get to know your new students. You will be able to see how confident each child is and how they tackle new tasks and identify auditory, visual and kinetic learning styles. 

You will have anticipated certain social issues from reports from other teachers and dramatic content can be used to support children indirectly, whether for anger management, bullying, moving house or an illness in the family. Whatever the issues, working with a script promotes the formation of a group identity, particularly for newcomers. It is a good tool to have at hand if group dynamics become challenging. 

In short, a Reader’s Theatre script can always add something and provide a spring-board for questions at the start of a new topic. Some of the scripts are less than ten minutes long, while others tackle subjects at great depth. They can help to keep your teaching style dynamic when you or the students are flagging, particularly towards the end of term. 

There are many seasonal scripts for marking Christmas or spring, which are useful for structuring the whole year. Good planning also means including contingency planning and having a script ready to go for days when things don’t go as planned for example, if you are taken ill. Though perhaps you’ll want to keep them all for yourself!