Give students tasks to reorder the narrative and move on to reordering dialogue or giving half a scene and asking them to match the missing parts or tell you what might be missing.Support the storytelling with visuals if possible (see the posters available with Reader's Theatre scripts). If it tells a story work on getting the class familiar with the story. Look at intonation as you deal with each chunk. Mark the stressed words in the script and check with a recording if you have it.Make your own recording of it with English-speaking friends to use in preparing the play. It's great if students can have a copy of this for learning at home.Record rehearsals so students can hear themselves and, if you can, video a rehearsal to look at together.Break the script into chunks of learning, scene by scene or each section of a story.Helping students learn their lines in plays Types of film that are good for this include Toy Story, Harry Potter, The Borrowers, Matilda or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but it mainly depends on student tastes. Bring together their suggestions and work on a class script.Then allow students to make up their own brief dialogues based on the roles. Focus on a couple of exchanges and ask students to imagine what the characters might be saying.Work from a photo, a cartoon or a video clip, or devise mini-plays based on recognisable characters from films the students like. Mini-plays with one or two scenes based on stories familiar to the class.

Plays that can be broken up with songs.

Plays with more than one narrator and plenty of humour through action.

Short narratives based on very brief scenes of two or three lines maximum.

Technical parts of a production can give others a role: sound effects, making scenery, being in charge of lights, props or prompting their classmates from the wings.

involve the whole class – non-speaking parts can be given to learners who do not wish to speak or are less confident.

bring them out of themselves – some students like performing or find the script gives them confidence.help them experiment with language – tone of voice, body language and their own lines if they are involved in writing the play.improve their reading and speaking skills.Here are some suggestions and guidance on how to get the best from your students.

Short play scripts for kids