Complete American History Reader's Theater

This resource contains eight complete Reader's Theater activities for middle grade students for American History! The plays in this product cover the Age of Discovery/ Exploration, the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, A New Nation, The War of 1812, Westward Expansion/ Manifest Destiny, Sectionalism/ Causes of the Civil War, and Industry and Inventors!

Each play is a 5-Act, 25-role Reader's Theater script. Reader's Theater is an engaging instructional strategy for middle grade students that allows them to act out various historical scenes. This resource is a great review activity and assessment strategy. It also helps build fluency and reading comprehension skills!

Each of the five acts in each play includes three questions for the class to discuss. There is a ten-question multiple choice quiz for students at the conclusion of each play for an assessment. Lastly, there is an extension activity for each play in which students will create their own script following each Reader's Theater.

Answer keys are included for the quizzes.

For The Age of Discovery/ Exploration, the acts are as follows:

Act I: The First Discovery (Leif Eriksson)
Act II: A New Age of Exploration (Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci)
Act III: The Conquistadors (Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro)
Act IV: The French and the Dutch (Jacques Cartier and Henry Hudson)
Act V: England Makes its Claim (Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh)

For the French and Indian War Reader's Theater, the acts are as follows:

Act I: The War Begins
Act II: Native American Involvement
Act III: The Turning Point at Quebec
Act IV: The Treaty of Paris
Act V: The Seeds of Revolution (The Proclamation Line of 1763)

For the American Revolution Reader's Theater, the acts are as follows:

Act I: The Boston Tea Party
Act II: The Battle at Lexington and Concord
Act III: The Second Continental Congress
Act IV: Washington Crossing the Delaware
Act V: Drafting the Treaty of Paris

For A New Nation, the acts are as follows:

Act I: Creating a Constitution
Act II: Ending a Rebellion (The Whiskey Rebellion)
Act III: The Alien and Sedition Acts
Act IV: Purchasing a Territory (The Louisiana Purchase)
Act V: A Trade Embargo (The Embargo Act of 1807)

For the War of 1812 Reader's Theater, the acts are as follows:

Act I: The War Hawks
Act II: The Burning of Washington
Act III: An Anthem is Born (The Battle of Baltimore)
Act IV: A Treaty of Peace (The Treaty of Ghent)
Act V: General Jackson's Victory (The Battle of New Orleans)

For Westward Expansion/ Manifest Destiny, the acts are as follows:

Act I: Manifest Destiny (Louisiana Purchase/ Lewis and Clark)
Act II: The Native Americans (War of 1812/ Trail of Tears)
Act III: War with Mexico (Mexican-American War)
Act IV: Westward Transportation (Oregon Trail and Railroads)
Act V: The Gold Rush

For Sectionalism/ Causes of the Civil War Reader's Theater, the acts are as follows:

Act I: Lifestyle Differences
Act II: New Territories (Missouri Compromise/ Kansas-Nebraska Act)
Act III: The Fugitive Slave Act (And Underground Railroad)
Act IV: The Election of 1860
Act V: Southern Secession (And the Battle of Fort Sumter)

For Industry and Inventors Reader's Theater, the acts are as follows:

Act I: The Early 1800's (Eli Whitney/ Robert Fulton)
Act II: Changes in Communication (Samuel Morse/ Alexander Graham Bell)
Act III: The Wizard of Menlo Park (Thomas Edison)
Act IV: First Flight and the Model T (The Wright Brothers/ Henry Ford)
Act V: Advancements from African-Americans (George Washington Carver/ Garrett Morgan)

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