Hit the Ground and Running with Readers Theater

I have at least a couple more TESOL 2024 highlights in the pipeline, but before I carry on, I’d like to share additional scripts I created in the style of Readers Theater. As mentioned in my previous post, my Patreon students (B2+) voted to focus on oral news reports at one point, so I made everyone a news reporter for a day (actually two). Working with the script I based off of real articles and videos, we first delivered a report on a mountain goat rescue in Kansas City. The script was later adapted for 1:1 readings, where we had to assume more than one role. In the context of private lessons, I had students switch roles after the first reading so that they could be challenged by reading different content.

Similar approaches were used for my report based on the cicada invasion of 2024. (See scripts below.) Vocabulary was more of a challenge, so I began by tapping into students’ existing knowledge and had them explain what they knew about these insects and what they could deduce based on my clues. This allowed us to identify key words before the first reading:
cicadas
attract mates
dormant
broods
entomologist
Script for 6 roles
Script for private lessons (teacher and student)

Readers-Theater_news-report-on-cicada-invasion_multiple-roles-1Download

Readers-Theater_news-report-on-cicada-invasion_two-readersDownload

Trying a variation, I used another script also in the style of a news report to launch into a discussion about work conditions and the dangers of sleep deprivation on the job. With two different advanced students, I read a report about a night nurse who got into a car accident. (Luckily, she lived! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have used the story.)

The tragic story about a nurse who drove her car through the guardrail in a parking garage led into a discussion about causes and effects of the current nursing shortage. If you follow a similar plan, discussion questions can include:
1. What kinds of limits should be placed on shifts?
2. How much time should there be between shifts?
3. What can help workers with commutes avoid driving while exhausted?
4. Should time-off be mandatory?
5. How can hospitals better retain nurses?

With one student, I highlighted key words and phrases to be used in sentences for homework:
a dramatic example of
heavily damaged
be attended to by paramedics
topple off
physical and emotional toll (on)
extreme fatigue
compulsory overtime

The script has also been adapted for up to five readers. See below.

Script for private lessons (teacher and student)
Script for 5 roles

Readers-Theater_news-report-on-nurses-accident_two-readers-2Download

Readers-Theater_news-report-on-nurses-accident_multiple-rolesDownload

Featured image by Bruce Emmerling from Pixabay