Readers Theater Worksheets
The Great Emu War | Reader's Theater Script & Mini Readers | Grades 9-12
The Great Emu War | Reader's Theater Script & Mini Readers | Grades 9-12
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Classroom Use at a Glance
A grades 9-12 Historical Reader's Theater on the Great Emu War with a 10-scene, 11-role script, Original and Accessible Mini Readers, teacher guide, worksheets, quiz, and answer key. Strong fit for Australian History, Western Australia, the Great Depression, soldier settlement, Wheatbelt agriculture, environmental history, government policy, and media literacy.
Classroom Uses Whole Class, Small Groups, Fluency Practice, Content-Area Reading, Discussion, Assessment, Review, Sub Plan view all
- Whole Class
- Small Groups
- Fluency Practice
- Content-Area Reading
- Discussion
- Assessment
- Review
- Sub Plan
Included Reader’s Theater Script, Original Mini Reader, Accessible Mini Reader, Teacher Guide, Student Worksheet, Answer Key, Quiz, Google Forms Quiz, Vocabulary, Discussion Questions, Challenge Questions view all
- Reader’s Theater Script
- Original Mini Reader
- Accessible Mini Reader
- Teacher Guide
- Student Worksheet
- Answer Key
- Quiz
- Google Forms Quiz
- Vocabulary
- Discussion Questions
- Challenge Questions
Format PDF, DOCX, Google Forms, ZIP Download, Printable, Editable view all
- DOCX
- Google Forms
- ZIP Download
- Printable
- Editable
Differentiation Accessible Version, Original Version, Mixed Reading Levels, ELL Support, Struggling Readers, Vocabulary Support, Small-Group Support view all
- Accessible Version
- Original Version
- Mixed Reading Levels
- ELL Support
- Struggling Readers
- Vocabulary Support
- Small-Group Support
Bring the Great Emu War into the classroom as a historically grounded performance about Western Australian farmers, financial pressure, government decisions, Lewis guns, tactical mismatch, and media framing. This grades 9-12 Reader's Theater keeps the farmers' real economic problems visible beneath the humor of a military operation against birds.
Across ten scenes, students follow why military assistance seemed plausible, why the plan repeatedly failed to get the targets and terrain it needed, why the operation resumed after early disappointment, and how newspapers helped turn a limited wildlife cull into the enduring idea of a national "war."
Historical Content
- Great Depression-era wheat prices, drought, debt, and farmer vulnerability
- Soldier settlers and the political pressure for government assistance
- Emu movement, crop and fence damage, and human-wildlife conflict
- Major Meredith, Lewis guns, concentration, dispersion, mobility, and terrain
- The stop-and-restart pattern of the military operation
- Contemporary newspaper war rhetoric and longer-term policy choices
What's Included
- 10-scene Historical Reader's Theater script
- Original Mini Reader
- Accessible Mini Reader
- Teacher Guide and Answer Key
- Vocabulary 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
- Discussion questions, pacing options, standards alignment, and sources/further reading
Where This Fits in Your Curriculum
This performance fits naturally into Australian History, especially units on Western Australia, Australia between the wars, the Great Depression, soldier settlement, rural development, and government responses to hardship. It can also support environmental history, agriculture, policy analysis, technology-and-environment discussions, and media literacy.
Skills Addressed
- Historical cause and effect
- Text evidence and source comparison
- Vocabulary in context
- Collaborative speaking and listening
- Perspective-taking and historical decision-making
- Evidence-based written response
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.
Pair It With the Matching Resource
The Great Emu War Dynamic History Module gives students the same verified history through the other instructional format.
Try Strange True Stories Free
Preview both classroom formats at no cost: FREE Guano Islands Act Dynamic History Module and FREE Guano Act Reader's Theater.
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Get all 5 Dynamic History modules + all 5 matching Reader's Theater resources, plus the bundle-exclusive Educator Planning & Implementation Guide. Browse the complete Strange True Stories collection.
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