Do you want your students to be whiners or winners? Several years ago I read an eye-popping  Readers Theater script from a famous children’s author. In the script a young girl whines over and over and over again to her mother about wanting somethingn until… the mother finally relents and the child with the bad attitude wins. The little whiner finally gets her way.

WHAT? Isn’t she disrespecting her mother? WHY is she rewarded? What is that teaching children?



So, when a child reads the part of the girl (or boy) with the bad attitude aloud that child gets to practice having a bad attitude over and over and over again. Funny? Perhaps to some. But, WHY would we want our children rehearsing BAD character qualities when there are so many other positive options?

In our Script Buffet (for paying members) you’ll find a list of positive character qualities. In that list you’ll find some of what Christians call “the fruit of the Spirit” (e.g., love, joy, kindness, faithfulness). But, you’ll also see these positive character qualities:
• Courage
• Diligence
• Gratefulness

• Helpfulness
• Honesty
• Humility
• Respect
• Wisdom
One adventure script may included several positive character qualities like courage, kindness, and love . But, your students may see more.



I don’t explain HOW a Readers Theater script may display specific character qualities, yet your students should be able to easily identify examples of a character quality in the script. What character qualities do they see? How do those apply to their lives?

I’ve only had one Script Buffet Club member ask for a script with a specific character quality: RESPECT. The teacher happened to live in Australia, so I wrote a fun script with talking animals–many of them marsupials showing respect. By incorporating discussions with this Readers Theater script students discover several examples of respect:
• Respect for others
• Respect for self
• Respect for authority
• Respect for environment

The Australian teacher and her students were thrilled with this custom Readers Theater script focusing on respect–“Save the Zoo.”

Here’s part of her email to me:

“At school we have been enjoying our great 'specially commissioned' scripts which we love. It has been so easy to draw wonderful values from the scripts and have the children notice for themselves and discuss quite readily the many aspects of respect displayed by the characters. They seem to find it very easy to notice and talk about aspects of what the animals say and do without any hidden accusations that can sometimes hover behind the words when they are describing what children have said or done.”


“We read Part 1 today with some younger students who came to my class to 'be minded' and they responded in a very similar way to my class. Very early responses from both groups were concerning the Wombats giving credit to the Koalas for their great idea! Some of my struggling readers are sailing smoothly through their parts with expression such as we have never heard before, secure in the knowledge that they are being understood and that the humour in the script is going to earn them some chuckles.”


“So thank you, thank you, thank you for such meaningful, memorable and uplifting scripts. I'm sure they will have quite an impact on quite a few lives!”

After reading her kind words I knew that we had to create a TPT product from her custom scripts: “Save the Zoo!” Having positive examples to rehearse instead of bad attitudes reinforces character building qualities like respect.

 Besides some fun marsupial facts and surprises in this 2-part  script teachers also enjoy several annotated curriculum links for easy cross-curricular lesson plans and unit studies. 


So, are you ready to dive into some character building Readers Theater scripts? You’ll find the character building category in our Script Buffet Table for 3 readability levels: K-2, 3-5, and 6-8. However, if the script or story is appropriate for an older student, you may find it listed there, too. For example, you may find a script for grades 6-8 that has a readability level for a lower grade. Why is that?

Sometimes older students, struggling students, special ed students, or English Language Learners (ELLs) NEED easier readability levels, right?

Feel free to check other levels to find what you need. Script Buffet Club members may also request specific topics, but I do have a wait list for custom scripts. (I always share them in the Script Buffet, though.)



Our GIFT SCRIPTS may also be appropriate for character building (e.g., Harriet Tubman’s courage,  the beaver’s diligence & helpfulness, even your students' gratefulness). For older students you could check out the wisdom in “The Tiny Crooked Crack,” an original parable on 2 readability levels with implications for economics and elections. [NOTE: All of our gift scripts are listed in the Script Buffet, too.] Of course, teachers have noticed that the wonderful tool of Readers Theater builds confidence in students–no matter what scripts teachers choose.


What would happen if you chose one positive character quality to highlight or focus on each week or each month with trustworthy Readers Theater scripts for your students? I expect you’d see confidence and positive character qualities explode. Wouldn't that be rewarding? Where will you start?