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Netiquette and Internet Safety

History Revealed

History Revealed
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 3 to 4
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   3.68

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    bluffing, flat-screen, flushed, grounded, invisible, refusal, tidal, websites, doorway, sneaky, website, bowed, gasp, slam, online, slipped
     content words:    Griffin Downey, Griffin Scott Downey, Was Mom

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History Revealed
By Brenda B. Covert 		  
1     Griffin Downey slipped into his mother's home office. She had gone shopping. His father was outside working on his car. No one was around to catch him on the computer. Griffin was free to sit in the big gray chair. He was free to put his fingers on keys of the black keyboard and stare at the big, flat-screen monitor. He was free to explore the Internet without any parents watching him.
 
2     He had been waiting for this chance for more than a week. One of his friends had told a group of boys about some websites he had seen. They had to promise not to tell. Griffin had listened closely to the addresses. He wanted to see those sites for himself, but they were not sites that parents would want children to see. The Downeys had two rules about their computer. One was that Griffin had to ask before using it; the other was that Griffin could not go online without one of his parents being there with him. That is why Griffin was being so sneaky. He would find out what the fuss was all about, and no one would ever know!
 
3     Griffin typed in the first address. A scene flashed onto the screen that made him gasp! After poking around at that website, he tried another one. The images on the screen made him feel sick, but at the same time, he felt drawn to see more. It was clear why adults would try to prevent children from seeing those websites. Adults shouldn't look at those sites, either!
 
4     Suddenly, he heard the van door slam. Mom was home! Griffin quickly disconnected from the Internet. His heart raced wildly as he ran to his room. He swung the door closed and dove onto his bed, grabbing an action figure on the way. If he were seen, it would look like he had been innocently playing with his toys.
 
5     When Griffin had finally decided that he had gotten away with his crime and had begun to relax, his mother knocked on the door. He held his breath and watched the doorknob turn. Then the hinges squeaked as the door opened. His mother stood in the doorway looking cross.

Paragraphs 6 to 15:
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