“Everybody Is Important”
a Readers Theater script about cell structure
Introduction:
What is Readers Theater? It is a teaching technique, used primarily in GET and Senior Phase classrooms, to
improve students’ reading ability. It’s an enjoyable, lively method that easily engages learners. In addition to
improving reading, the script’s content can be an informal -- but accurate -- history, science or literature lesson. The
following is a Readers Theater script for learners to learn about some of the parts of a typical animal and human cell.
Procedure:
 Hang up a copy of the diagram “Generalized Animal & Plant Cells” at the front of the classroom (or draw a
large copy of the diagram on the blackboard or on a large piece of paper or cardboard.)
 The teacher is the Narrator, and reads these lines. The teacher also points to each of the parts of the cell in
the diagram as the script is read.
 Assign one learner to each character in the story; this learner will read the lines for that character. The
character for the Nucleus should be female, but all the other characters could be either boy or girl…you’d
just need to change the “his/her” type words.
 The learners who are not assigned to read a particular character’s lines should be grouped into 2 groups;
each group will have a part to read all together.
 Give each learner a copy of the script, or some learners can share copies. The words he/she is to read for
the assigned character are underlined or highlighted in color or checked in some way to make it easy for
reading.
 Remind learners to listen as each part of the script is being read.
Science vocabulary:
 organelle = “small organs;” the small parts that are found inside living cells
 names of common cell organelles; see diagram “Generalized Animal & Plant Cells” and “Cell Parts and
Functions”
Characters, single learners:
Nucleus
Mitodrondrion
Cell Membrane
Lysosome
Golgi apparatus
Characters, groups of learners:
Lysosome group
Mitochondria group
Ribosome
Endoplasmic Reticulum, smooth (ER-smooth)
Endoplasmic Reticulum, rough (ER-rough)
Cytoplasm
Golgi apparatus group
Ribosome group
Narrator:
One day John woke up, and he didn’t feel like going to school. Yesterday he had fallen down and gotten a scratch
on his knee, and now he didn’t feel very good. He had a fever, and his skin was red and swollen near the scratch.
As John looked at the scratch, something strange started to happen. All of a sudden, his eyes started to magnify
what he was seeing! He could see a close-up of his skin; the hairs looked like trees! Oh my goodness! His eyes
started to magnify even more! John could see into his skin! WOW! He could see inside one of his own skin cells!!
What were all those strange things inside his cell?! They seemed to be angry, and they were arguing with each
other. It seems as if Nucleus is putting down her knitting. Let’s hear what she’s going to say….
Nucleus:
(shouting) HEY! (quieter) Let’s have everybody quiet down. I’m in charge in this cell, and we need to stop
arguing so that we can do the work that we’re supposed to do. To begin this meeting, let’s sit in a circle. Each
organelle, introduce yourself and tell us what your job is. Let’s start; cell membrane, you go first.
Mitochondrion: No! I want to go first!
Nucleus:
Now, mitochondrion we all know you have lots of energy, but you need to be patient. We’ll get to you in a moment.
Go ahead cell membrane.
Mitochrondrion:
(grumbling under his breath)
Cell membrane:
(bragging) OK, my name is cell membrane, and I am the outer boundary of this cell. I’m the most important
organelle because I control and protect the cell. I let things out of the cell that need to go out, and I protect the cell
from bad stuff coming in.
Narrator:
Look out! Lysosome just hit Cell Membrane! Nucleus and Cytoplasm have just grabbed Lysosome and are forcing
him to sit down in his seat. What’s Lysosome saying?-Lysosome:
Hey cell membrane! You think you’re so great! Well then how come you let those bacteria into our cell yesterday
when John fell down, huh? Our body, John, is sick!
Cell membrane:
Well, is it my fault John fell down and scraped his skin, tearing me open?
Nucleus:
No it’s not cell membrane’s fault. Everybody sit down; let’s continue finding out who everybody is and their job.
That’s how to solve this problem, and get John healthy again. Lysosome, tell us your job.
Lysosome:
There are lots of Lysosomes in this cell and every cell. Our job is to use our digestive chemicals, enzymes, to help
break down bacteria and viruses that invade our cell. And since Cell Membrane got a big rip yesterday, we
Lysosomes have been working overtime to handle all these disease bacteria pouring into John! We’re the most
important organelles in this cell right now!
Lysosome group:
Hurray for the Lysosomes!
Mitochondrion:
Well, how do you think…
Nucleus:
OK, I guess it’s your turn, Mitochondrion.
Mitochondrion:
As I was saying, who do you think supplies all the energy for the Lysosomes, and all the organelles inside this cell,
to do their job? All the mighty Mitochondria and me! We take the energy stored in food -- what John eats for
breakfast, lunch and dinner -- and change it into a useful form of energy.
Mitochondria group:
Hurray for the mighty Mitochondria!
2
Nucleus:
Well, thank you Mitochondrion. Getting back to Lysosome for a minute, those digestive enzymes are proteins.
Where do you get them?
Mitochondria:
I get those protein enzymes from Golgi apparatus; I don’t know where he gets them.
Golgi apparatus:
We’re the great Golgi, and we sort the protein enzymes, package them, and distribute them throughout the cell.
Yesterday and today we’ve been doing a lot of special deliveries to the Lysosomes.
Golgi apparatus group:
Hurray for the great Golgi!
Nucleus:
So, if Lysosome gets the protein enzymes from Golgi, who can tell me where Golgi gets the enzymes?
Ribosome:
Me!...and all my Ribosome buddies! We are the cell’s enzyme-protein-makers, along with Endoplasmic Reticulum,
ER for short.
Ribosome group:
Hurray for the Ribosomes and ER!
Ribosome:
Let me introduce to you my two close friends, the ER, in fact they’re twins. They have rather long names; here’s
Endoplasmic-Reticulum-smooth and Endoplasmic-Reticulum-rough. But you can call them ER-smooth and ERrough. They’re making the basic building materials, lipids and protein, to repair Cell Membrane.
ER-smooth:
Hi! I’m ER-smooth. I make lipids, which are fatty-type molecules.
ER-rough:
Hi! I’m ER-rough. Yep; some of the structural proteins I make combine with my twin, ER-smooth's lipids to make
new parts for Cell Membrane. I also make the digestive, protein enzymes. I could do all this protein manufacture
without my best friend, Ribosome; we really stick together!
Ribosome:
You bet we stick together; can’t you see all the dots of Ribosomes on the surface of the ER-rough? All of us
Ribosomes and all the ER-rough have been soooooo busy baking more proteins than we care to count; the ovens
have been running non-stop since John got that scratch. We really want to do our part to fight the invading bacteria
and get John well!
Mitochondria:
And where do you think Ribosome and the ER twins get their energy to do all that work??
Nucleus:
Yes, thank you Mitochondria; I know we all appreciate your energy. In fact, there’s one organelle that we haven’t
heard from that we all should thank. It’s Cytoplasm. If it weren’t for Cytoplasm, there wouldn’t be anything for all
of us to float in. We tend to forget about him. He’s hard to see because he’s mostly clear, colorless water. Let’s
have a big thank you for Cytoplasm.
all the groups:
Thank you Cytoplasm!
Cytoplasm:
3
(embarrassed) Oh, sure, anytime. I’ve gotten to know all of you, because you hang around in me. I want you to
know that I think you’re all a great bunch of organelles. Say, Nucleus, you haven’t said anything about yourself.
What’s your job in this cell?
Narrator:
At this point, the cell was quiet. Nucleus picked up her knitting, and began to speak…
Nucleus:
Wellllllll, like I said at the beginning, I’m in charge of the cell; I’m what you call the control center. You see this
knitting? This is DNA, deoxyribose nucleic acid. It has the pattern, or the code, for John; it tells the Ribosomes
and ER-rough what kind of protein to make for the entire body of John.
Ribosome:
That’s right; ER-rough and I get our recipes directly from Nucleus. We couldn’t make the enzymes needed to fight
bacteria without those directions from Nucleus.
all the groups:
THANK YOU NUCLEUS!
Nucleus:
You’re all very welcome. Now, with Mitochondria supplying the energy…
Mitochondria:
Hurrayyyyyyyy!
Nucleus:
…let’s all get back to work to get John healthy!
Narrator:
Under the leadership of Nucleus, all the organelles shook hands and went back to their jobs, each one of which is
important.
4