Presidential vs. Radical Reconstruction Readers Theater Script

Transport your students to May 1865, just weeks after Lincoln’s assassination, when Andrew Johnson shocked Congress with a lenient path for ex‑Confederates. In this immersive Readers Theater, learners voice Johnson, Radical Republican firebrand Thaddeus Stevens, and newly freed citizens as the nation battles over the Wade–Davis Bill, Black Codes, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the near‑impeachment that almost toppled a presidency. Vivid debate, primary‑source quotations and freedmen’s firsthand struggles let your class interrogate federal power, civil rights and the meaning of citizenship—essential questions that still echo today.

Perfect For

• Grades 6-8 U.S. History units on Reconstruction
• ELA‑integrated fluency & dramatic performance
• Primary‑source analysis & evidence‑based discussion
• Quick, print‑and‑go sub plans

What’s Included

• Readers Theater script (9 pages, 10 scenes, 11 characters, editable Google Doc & PDF)
• Teacher Guide (10 pages) with scene summaries, primary‑source context, discussion questions
• Student Worksheet deck (25 Google Slides) covering vocabulary, short‑answer, analysis & extension tasks
• 20‑question self‑grading Google Forms quiz

Skills Addressed

• Historical analysis of Reconstruction challenges
• Reading fluency through expressive performance
• Critical thinking via primary‑source analysis
• Vocabulary development with SAT‑level words
• Research skills through extension questions

Script Snapshot

1. Johnson unveils a lenient plan to reunite the Union.
2. Congress erupts over the stricter Wade–Davis Bill.
3. Southern Black Codes spark Radical outrage.
4. Congress overrides Johnson’s veto to pass the Civil Rights Act.
5. Senators weigh impeachment as freedmen plead for protection.

Standards Alignment

CCSS CCRA.R.1 | CCSS CCRA.R.2 | CCSS CCRA.W.2 | CCSS CCRA.SL.1 | CCSS CCRA.L.4
CCSS RH.6‑8.1; RH.6‑8.2; RH.6‑8.6; RH.6‑8.7

Try a Free Script First

Not sure if Readers Theater will work in your class? Download our FREE Assassination of Lincoln script and test‑drive it tomorrow.

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)
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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