Primary-Source Readers Theater for Middle-School U.S. History

Reading 18th-century prose can feel heavy. When students perform the words, meaning clicks. Each script below places real quotations in student voices and follows up with document-analysis questions.

Titles with Built-In Documents

• Alien & Sedition Acts – courtroom excerpts and editorials.
• Lewis & Clark Expedition – journal entries from both captains.
• Barbary Wars – treaty language from Tripoli, 1805.

Lesson Flow

1. Assign roles & read aloud.
2. Highlight quoted lines in the margin.
3. Use the provided five-question prompt to compare script vs. source.

All ten scripts with primary-source tie-ins are bundled here → Colonial America & Early Republic Bundle.