Free King Philip’s War | Colonial America and the Early Republic | RT Script

King Philip’s War — Grades 6-8 Readers Theater

In 1675 Metacom—known to the English as King Philip—united Wampanoag, Nipmuc, and Narragansett warriors to resist colonial land grabs, igniting one of the most devastating conflicts in early America. This 10-scene Readers Theater plunges students into fiery war councils, Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative, and Benjamin Church’s relentless pursuit. Through primary-source dialogue teens dissect survival, culture clash, and a legacy that still echoes across New England.

• Grade bands: 6-8
• Characters: 15
• Word count: 2300

Perfect For

• Social-studies units on Colonial America & Native resistance
• Building reading fluency through performance
• Socratic discussions on primary sources & perspective
• Critical-thinking bell ringers and sub plans

(a single PDF with links to Google Docs/Slides; if print format is preferred you can download from your Google Drive to DOC/PDF/PPT, etc.)

What’s Included

• Editable script (~9 pages, 10 scenes, Google Doc/PDF)
• Teacher guide (~10 pages) with lesson tips, answer keys, reading-level casting
• Student workbook (~25 Google Slides) — vocab, short-answer, analysis & extension tasks
• Self-graded Google Forms quiz (20 questions)

Skills Addressed

• Historical analysis & sourcing
• Reading fluency and expression
• Collaborative performance & discussion
• Vocabulary development & research skills
• Critical thinking on cultural contact

Scene Synopsis

• Metacom’s war council rallies allies.
• Swansea burns; war ignites.
• Treaty of 1621 in ruins.
• Brookfield’s frontier destroyed.
• Mary Rowlandson’s captivity.
• Great Swamp Massacre shocks Narragansett.
• Metacom’s last rally.
• Mary’s ransom & narrative.
• Metacom falls to Benjamin Church.
• Survivors weigh a war’s long shadow.

Want More Social Studies Activities?

Perfect for sub plans, sick days, supplemental activities, review stations, Friday fun days or even build an entire emergency curriculum with these 4 bundles below:

BUNDLE #1 Colonial America and the Early Republic (1587 – 1811)

1. The Lost Colony of Roanoke (1587)
2. King Philip’s War (1675–1676) [FREE DOWNLOAD!]
3. The First Great Awakening (1730s–1740s)
4. Proclamation of 1763 (1763)
5. The Northwest Ordinance (1787)
6. The Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)
7. The Barbary Wars (1801–1805)
8. Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806)
9. Tecumseh’s Resistance (1809–1811)
10. The Embargo Act of 1807 (1807)

Bundle #2 Westward Expansion (1801 – 1865)

1. The Missouri Compromise (1820) [FREE DOWNLOAD!]
2. The Monroe Doctrine (1823)
3. The Second Great Awakening (1820s–1830s)
4. Oregon Trail Migration (1840s)
5. The Fugitive Slave Act (1850)
6. Bleeding Kansas (1854–1856)
7. John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry (1859)
8. The Pony Express (1860–1861)
9. The Battle of Antietam (1862)
10. The 13th Amendment (1865)

Bundle #3 Revolutionary War (1773 – 1804)

1. The Boston Tea Party (1773–1774) [FREE DOWNLOAD!]
2. United We Stand: The First Continental Congress (1774)
3. Liberty or Death: Patrick Henry's Speech (1775)
4. Midnight Ride and Paul Revere (1775)
5. Green Mountain Boys and Bunker Hill (1775)
6. The Second Continental Congress (1775)
7. Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence (1776)
8. Crossing the Delaware and Trenton Victory (1776)
9. Valley Forge and The American Crisis (1777–1778)
10. Foreign Allies: Lafayette and France (1777–1778)
11. Sybil Ludington and Molly Pitcher (1777)
12. Hamilton and His Duel (1780s–1804)
13. Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris (1781–1783)
14. Washington Steps Down: The Man Who Would Be King (1783)
15. Slavery and the Revolution (1770s–1780s)

• NOTE 1: These 15 scripts do not include Google Docs or Slides but the docx file can easily be uploaded to Google Docs and distributed digitally if desired.
• NOTE 2: These 15 scripts also include a G3-5 reading level of each script for diverse language ability classrooms.

Bundle #4 Reconstruction (1865 – 1877)

1. The Assassination of Lincoln (1865) [FREE DOWNLOAD!]
2. Presidential vs. Radical Reconstruction (1865–1867)
3. The Freedmen’s Bureau (1865–1872)
4. The 14th and 15th Amendments (1868–1870)
5. Black Political Participation (1867–1877)
6. The Ku Klux Klan and Resistance (1866–1871)
7. The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson (1868)
8. The Compromise of 1877 (1877)

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U.S. History Mega Bundle of 43 Readers Theater Scripts for Grades 6 to 8