Paul Bunyan Readers Theater Script | American Legends & Folk Heroes

This Paul Bunyan Readers Theater Script engages students in an interactive narrative instead of reading a dry history textbook and helps develop listening and speaking skills as students practice expressive voice acting. Students will explore the exaggerated aspects of these American Legends and Folk Heroes.

Script Summary:

The script tells the epic tale of Paul Bunyan, a giant lumberjack whose amazing strength, clever inventions, and wild adventures helped build towns and clear forests. We follow his journey from the deep pine forests of Minnesota to the rugged lands of the West, along with his trusty oxen, Babe and Benny, and his many creative ideas that changed the logging industry.

The resources consists of an editable DOCX file (15 pages) which contains:

1) Teacher Tips & Answer Key

• CCSS Alignment
• Teacher Tips for use as both RT and Play/Skit
• Answer Keys for Worksheet
• Themes & Discussion Question Prompts

2) Readers Theater Script

• ~9 Characters, 2250 words

3) Script Worksheet

• 10 Vocabulary Words
• 10 Short-Answer Comprehension Questions: Comprehension and recall questions based solely on the script
• Character Traits: Covers the main characters, students provide direct quotes from the script that demonstrate each character's traits
• Story Plot Elements: Students identify which scenes demonstrate the Setting, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action and Conclusion