{"product_id":"the-pig-war-history-readers-theater-script-mini-readers-grades-9-12","title":"The Pig War | Reader's Theater Script \u0026 Mini Readers | Grades 9-12","description":"\u003cp\u003eTurn the strange-but-serious 1859 Pig War into a high-school historical drama about borders, jurisdiction, military escalation, restraint, and diplomacy. \u003cstrong\u003eThe Pig War\u003c\/strong\u003e is a Grades 9-12 Reader's Theater lesson that follows how one dead pig exposed an unresolved U.S.-British boundary dispute on San Juan Island and pushed two nations toward an armed confrontation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAcross ten scenes, students follow Lyman Cutlar, Charles Griffin, William Harney, George Pickett, James Douglas, Geoffrey Hornby, R. Lambert Baynes, Winfield Scott, and historically grounded supporting roles as a local property dispute becomes a question of jurisdiction, sovereignty, military occupation, and international arbitration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"border-left:4px solid #047857;background:#ecfdf5;padding:14px 16px;margin:18px 0;border-radius:0 10px 10px 0;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDesigned for active participation:\u003c\/strong\u003e the script uses 15 speaking roles, with most scenes featuring 4-6 active voices while 2-3 characters carry the main conflict. The result is an ensemble performance with a clear plot rather than a round-robin fact recital.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eClassroom Use\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhole-class Reader's Theater performance and historical discussion\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIndependent or small-group reading with Original and Accessible Mini Readers\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSub plans, review, enrichment, or absent-student makeup work\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWritten assessment plus a 20-question multiple-choice quiz and self-grading Google Forms quiz\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eHistorical Content\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe 1846 Oregon Treaty and the unresolved Haro-versus-Rosario boundary question\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHudson's Bay Company activity and American settlement on San Juan Island\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLyman Cutlar, Charles Griffin, and the June 15, 1859 pig shooting\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJurisdiction, sovereignty, occupation, and competing national claims\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWilliam Harney's decision to send George Pickett and U.S. troops to the island\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJames Douglas, Geoffrey Hornby, and the British naval response\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eR. Lambert Baynes and the choice not to turn the standoff into a shooting war\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWinfield Scott's de-escalation mission and the temporary joint occupation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe 1871 Treaty of Washington and international arbitration\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe 1872 Haro Channel decision and final settlement of the boundary\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eFlexible Differentiation\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse the ensemble Reader's Theater for collaborative oral reading, historical reasoning, and discussion.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse the Original Mini Reader for independent or shared high-school reading.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse the Accessible Mini Reader for shorter sentences, explicit definitions, mixed reading levels, ELL support, or intervention.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse selected scenes, short-answer questions, challenge questions, or the quiz for shorter periods and targeted review.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat's Included\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eStudent Text Options\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e10-scene Reader's Theater Script with 15 speaking roles and casting breakdown\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOriginal Mini Reader\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAccessible Mini Reader\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAssessment Materials\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e10 vocabulary terms in context\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e10 two-part short-answer questions\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e5 two-part challenge questions\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e20-question multiple-choice quiz\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSelf-grading Google Forms quiz\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDigital and printable student worksheet support\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTeacher Materials\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTeacher Guide and Answer Key\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFull-period and shortened pacing options\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDiscussion questions and standards alignment\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSources Used \u0026amp; Further Reading\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStart Here PDF with Google Drive make-a-copy instructions\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eStandards Alignment\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eC3 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. Grades 11-12 can use the corresponding course-level literacy standards.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eSkills Addressed\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistorical cause and effect\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCentral ideas and supporting details\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eText evidence and historical reasoning\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVocabulary in context\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCollaborative speaking and listening\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDistinguishing trigger from deeper cause\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComparing escalation, restraint, and diplomatic solutions\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEvidence-based written response\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eText Summary\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn ambiguous treaty left Britain and the United States with competing boundary claims around the San Juan Islands. When American settler Lyman Cutlar shot a Hudson's Bay Company pig in 1859, the property dispute quickly became a jurisdiction crisis. American troops landed, British warships responded, and both sides faced the danger that one order or mistake could begin a war. Students then follow the decisions that prevented combat, the long joint occupation, and the 1872 arbitration that finally placed the islands on the U.S. side of the boundary.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTry the format free:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/readerstheaterworksheets.com\/products\/free-historical-readers-theater-script-the-guano-act-odd-event-series\"\u003eThe Guano Act Reader's Theater\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Readers Theater Worksheets","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59862509519134,"sku":null,"price":3.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0916\/4649\/2958\/files\/The-Pig-War-RT-Script---DH-Cover.jpg?v=1788130141","url":"https:\/\/readerstheaterworksheets.com\/products\/the-pig-war-history-readers-theater-script-mini-readers-grades-9-12","provider":"Reader's Theater Worksheets","version":"1.0","type":"link"}