American Hippopotamus | Reader's Theater Script & Mini Readers | Grades 9-12

Turn one of the strangest congressional proposals of 1910 into an evidence-rich high-school classroom performance. American Hippopotamus is a Grades 9-12 historical Reader's Theater lesson that connects Louisiana's water-hyacinth problem, national meat-price protests, congressional experimentation, animal-introduction risks, and newspaper framing.

Across ten scenes, students follow Representative Robert F. Broussard, W. N. Irwin, Chairman Charles F. Scott, Fritz Duquesne, Frederick Russell Burnham, Arthur M. Farrington, and historically grounded composite roles as Congress asks whether an unusual animal-import proposal could solve real problems—or create new ones.

Classroom Use

• Whole-class Reader's Theater performance and historical discussion
• Independent or small-group reading with Original and Accessible Mini Readers
• Sub plans, review, enrichment, or absent-student makeup work
• Written assessment plus a 20-question multiple-choice quiz and self-grading Google Forms quiz

Historical Content

• Water hyacinth and repeated navigation problems in southern Louisiana
• The 1910 meat boycotts and public pressure over high meat prices
• Robert F. Broussard, W. N. Irwin, and H.R. 23261
• Why the proposal was broader than a simple "hippo bill"
• Containment, environmental fit, disease, quarantine, and program cost
• Fritz Duquesne, Frederick Russell Burnham, and competing uses of experience as evidence
• Arthur M. Farrington and disease-control concerns
• Newspaper framing and the rise of the unforgettable "hippo meat" story
• The failure of H.R. 23261 and Broussard's 1911 reintroduction as H.R. 1303

Flexible Differentiation

• Use the ensemble Reader's Theater for collaborative oral reading, historical reasoning, and discussion.
• Use the Original Mini Reader for independent or shared high-school reading.
• Use the Accessible Mini Reader for shorter sentences, explicit definitions, mixed reading levels, ELL support, or intervention.
• Use selected scenes, short-answer questions, challenge questions, or the quiz for shorter periods and targeted review.

What's Included

Student Text Options

• 10-scene Reader's Theater Script with 15 speaking roles and casting breakdown
• Original Mini Reader
• Accessible Mini Reader

Assessment Materials

• 10 vocabulary terms in context
• 10 two-part short-answer questions
• 5 two-part challenge questions
• 20-question multiple-choice quiz
• Self-grading Google Forms quiz
• Digital and printable student worksheet support

Teacher Materials

• Teacher Guide and Answer Key
• Full-period and shortened pacing options
• Discussion questions and standards alignment
• Sources Used & Further Reading
• Start Here PDF with Google Drive make-a-copy instructions

Standards Alignment

C3 D2.His.1.9-12 and D2.His.14.9-12; CCSS RH.9-10.1, RH.9-10.2, RH.9-10.9, WHST.9-10.9, and SL.9-10.1. Grades 11-12 can use the corresponding course-level literacy standards.

Skills Addressed

• Historical cause and effect
• Central ideas and supporting details
• Text evidence and source comparison
• Vocabulary in context
• Collaborative speaking and listening
• Evaluating evidence, uncertainty, and risk
• Media framing and historical memory
• Evidence-based written response

Text Summary

Two real problems—water hyacinth choking Louisiana waterways and public anger over expensive meat—helped make an unusual proposal seem worth investigating. Students follow the idea into a 1910 congressional hearing, where supporters and skeptics test containment, environmental fit, disease, quarantine, and cost. Newspapers then compress a broad animal-import proposal into the much more memorable story of hippopotamus meat.

Try the format free: The Guano Act Reader's Theater.