This engaging Readers Theater script for Grades 3–5 brings Obon, a Japanese Buddhist festival around August 13–15 to honor deceased ancestors, to life, immersing students in its cultural and historical significance. Through a 2025 classroom and flashbacks to the 700s and 1500s, students explore dancing Bon Odori to welcome spirits, floating lanterns to guide them home, and making offerings at temples, rooted in Buddhist traditions. From home altars to Okuribi fires, students discover Obon’s focu