The Barbary Wars Readers Theater Script | Grades 6-8

The Barbary Wars — Grades 6‑8 Readers Theater

Sail with Jefferson’s navy as Marines storm Tripoli and treaties in North Africa craft America’s first overseas victory—perfect for dissecting early U.S. foreign policy and pirate lore.

Perfect For

• Early U.S. diplomacy lessons
• Reading‑fluency performances
• Primary‑source treaty analysis

(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 (~2300 words, 10 scenes, Google Doc/PDF)
• Teacher guide (~10‑15 pages, Google Doc/PDF)
• Student worksheet (~25 Google Slides/PPTX)
• Self‑graded Google Forms quiz (20 questions)

Will this meet your needs?
Download this Free King Philip’s War RT Script first and try one before you buy one :)

Scene Synopsis

• Jefferson rallies sailors to confront Barbary pirates.
• Tribute demands ignite public outrage.
• Shipyards prepare America’s fledgling fleet.
• Commodore Preble blockades Tripoli.
• 1805 treaty promises peace and trade.
• Battle of Tripoli harbor tests the squadron.
• Victorious sailors return to celebration.
• 1795 Algiers accord recalled for context.
• Debate over ransom and cost of peace.
• Wars cement U.S. naval prestige.

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)

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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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