READERS THEATER MYSTERY SCRIPTS - Spring, End of Year, Summer Drama and ELA Fun

Readers' theater drama and ELA fun AND 3 mystery scripts for the price of 2-
what's not to love? Grades 5-8 students + spring, end of year, summer, & drama = CRAAAZY! These humorous mysteries will give outlets for their energy. Three Readers’ Theater brain teaser scripts will give your students practice in reading aloud, comprehension and writing, while having lots of chuckles. Perfect for both high-interest ELA reading and drama performances! One of the scripts has 26 roles and is designed for a whole class reading. Two are intended for groups; one, for example, can be performed in groups as small as 7 with some doubling of small roles, or as large as 12.

Readers' Theater Spring Mystery Script for the WHOLE CLASS: A Muddy Mystery

This grades 5-8 Readers’ Theater whole class brain teaser mystery script activity will give your ELA and drama students practice in reading aloud, comprehension and writing, while having lots of spring fun. Your students will be 'whodunnit' detectives, performing inference tasks to solve clues. The script is particularly suited to classes that prefer realistic characters, using modern dialogue. Its punny fun makes it ideal for use in the analysis of comedy. One page of questions and one activity focuses on comedy techniques. An exercise session for all of the students on the third page of the script, led by ELA teacher Mr Reid Enright (pun absolutely intended!) is perfect for classes that need to get out of their seats! This exercise session is not just fun- it is a vital part of the mystery's plot.
Question sheets and answer keys are included.

WHOLE CLASS FORMAT
This script is designed for TWENTY SIX readers! This keeps all of the students together in one place and fosters classroom community, rather than dividing the class into smaller reading groups. Each student has at least four individual speeches to read, and everyone is kept busy reading the frequent but short EVERYONE responses together. For classes smaller than 26, give students two roles. Perfect for engaging ELA reading or vibrant drama performances!

PLOT

This engaging whodunit concerns the wrecking of a Middle School class’s seedling growing Science Fair experiment. When the class returns from exercising in the school yard, devastation awaits. Soil and watering jars have been knocked over - deliberately? - and MUD coats the furniture and floor. The quietest students in a lively, punny class come under suspicion- and solve the mystery!

STUDENT TASKS
-- Students read their own individual part. Students speak three or four times.

-- Students participate in the EVERYONE responses and sound effects.
-- Students participate in the exercise session in the middle of the script.

-- Students write answers to three pages of questions.
-- They fill in brief feedback forms on themselves and their peers.
-- They complete two additional fun activities. Your students will be kept busy long after the script reading has finished!

Readers' Theater End of Year Mystery: Double Trouble
This Readers’ Theater end of year mystery script will grip both drama and ELA grades 5-8 classes in the last few WILD days before the summer break. It transforms students into whodunit detectives, giving them high-interest practice in reading aloud, comprehension, and even some writing. Question sheets and answers are included.

Quick peer and self assessment forms are provided, and a reading rubric to help you speedily mark your students on their vocal performances.

NUMBER OF READERS
The script is intended for 9 readers but the number of readers can easily be contracted or expanded, depending on how many groups you wish to have. When the character tag EVERYONE appears, either the whole class can read the part, (usually something short and simple like “She scores!”) or a few students who don’t have an individual role can be assigned this group reading part.

PLOT

The script gets its title, Double Trouble, from the TWO mysteries that the stars of the script - 12 year-old twins Sloane and Sporty - have to solve on the last day of the school year. One mystery, a theft, occurs at school. The second mystery shows cheating in a Little League baseball game that night. The twins enjoy solving nice, juicy mysteries, yet can’t do it all on their own. Your students have to perform detection tasks too!

STUDENT TASKS
-- Students read aloud their own individual part.
-- Students read aloud the EVERYONE responses.
-- At two separate points in the script students have to solve clues to solve the mysteries, and write their ideas on an included answer sheet.

-- After completing the script, students discuss and write on six short answer questions.
-- They write a longer paragraph response.
-- They complete the quick self and peer assessment forms.

-- They perform a few fun detection activities, such as reuniting jokes that have become separated from their punchlines.

Readers' Theater Brain Teaser Mystery Script: Mystery of the Drama Camp Thief
This funny Middle School readers’ theater mystery activity will give your students practice in reading aloud, comprehension, and writing. Making inferences and finding context clues practice AND Drama and ELA whodunnit fun- phew! The Mystery of the Drama Camp Thief is a realistic, 10 page script that will entertain your students and require them to perform inference tasks to solve clues. The cast list has 12 readers but the number of readers can easily be reduced to as few as 7. Doubling up of roles is easy. This resource will delight both entire classes and small groups of early finishers. Question sheets and answers are included.

PLOT

This funny and engaging story is about the theft of a necklace at a camp and the detective work that two characters use to track it down. The main character parts range in age from 12-14. Matt fears he isn’t as speedy at working things out as his clever friend Sophie is, but he manages to wow her in this story- and discover where her much-loved necklace is!

STUDENT TASKS
-- Students read their individual parts aloud.
-- To track down the missing necklace, students unscramble anagrams. They also work out clues using a numbers-to-alphabet code.
-- Students write on 5 pages of writing activities. Students have to discuss and write on questions about the reading of the play, how it might be filmed, and on issues the play raises, such as peer pressure.
-- They also have some fun creative tasks, such as writing a short rhyming poem.

Table of Contents

Script --- Pages 1-10

Mystery clues --- Page 11

Reading the script questions --- Pages 12-13

Filming the script questions --- Page 14

Thematic questions --- Page 15

Creative writing activities --- Page 16

Answers to the mystery --- Page 17

This script is also included in a 50% off Big Bargain Bundle: 50% OFF DRAMA BIG BARGAIN BUNDLE
More fun Brilliantly Lit drama resources:
If your students enjoy readers theater, they will have fun with these mystery romps: READERS' THEATER SCARY MYSTERY
Readers' Theater - Mystery of the Stolen Laptop
For oodles of drama fun, try Drama Games for Middle School.

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