edHelper.com A New Nation (1776-1830)

Robert Fulton and the Steamboat

---

Robert Fulton and the Steamboat
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 4 to 6
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	5.99

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		demonstration, explanation, vision, regularly, version, further, upstream, hull, region, design, paddle, painter, development, powerful, traveled, goods
	content words:		Robert Fulton, Seine River, North River Steamboat, On August, New York City, New York, Mississippi River, Middle America, Gulf Coast

---

Print Robert Fulton and the Steamboat

Print Robert Fulton and the Steamboat  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)

Quickly Print - PDF format

	Quickly Print: PDF (2 columns per page)
	Quickly Print: PDF (full page)

Quickly Print - HTML format

Quickly Print: HTML

Proofreading Activity

Print a proofreading activity

---

Feedback on Robert Fulton and the Steamboat

Leave your feedback on Robert Fulton and the Steamboat  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

Robert Fulton and the Steamboat By Jane Runyon

---

¹     Robert Fulton was a man of vision. He became interested in the possibilities that a steamboat could create from a very early age. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1765. The story is told that he visited a family friend in 1777, and that is where his interest in steamboats began. He would have been only twelve years old. The Fulton's family friend had visited England. While he was there, he saw a demonstration of a new invention. It was a steam engine developed by a man named Watt. When he returned from England, he made his own version of the engine. His idea was to put it into a boat.
 
²     Why would anyone want to put a steam engine into a boat? Maybe this explanation will help. Can you whistle? What is it that makes the whistling sound? It is air being forced through your lips. Have you ever heard a tea kettle whistle? What makes that whistling sound? Boiling water has turned to steam and that steam is forcing its way through the top of the kettle. It has quite a force. It doesn't stop when it runs out of breath like your whistle does. As long as the water is boiling and steam is being produced, that energy will last. If you have ever tried to move an object upstream against a current of water, you know that it would take a lot of energy. Inventors reasoned that if they could invent a powerful enough steam engine, they would be able to move boats up the rivers against the current as well as down with the current.
 
³     Robert Fulton grew up to be a talented painter. He even went to Paris, France, to study art. He didn't forget his fascination with the steam engine. While studying in Europe, Fulton was able to see firsthand many of the experiments other inventors were doing with the steam engine. He developed their inventions even further by experimenting with submarines and torpedoes. This was back in 1783! His desire to create a boat powered by steam that could be used to carry goods against a river current completely overshadowed his interest in art. By 1803, he had successfully designed a steamboat that sailed up the Seine River in France against the current.

Paragraphs 4 to 6:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

---

Weekly Reading Books

Create Weekly Reading Books Prepare for an entire week at once!

---

A New Nation
(1776-1830)

A New Nation (1776-1830)

---

United States

United States

American Government         Black History and Blacks in U.S. History         Children in History         Government Careers         Hispanic Heritage         How Can I Help?

Immigration         National Parks and Monuments         Native Americans         Presidents of the United States         Women's History

---

United States History

A Nation Divided (1840-1861)         A New Nation (1776-1830)         After the Civil War (1865-1870)         American Revolution         Cold War (1947-1991)         Colonial America (1492-1776)         Lewis and Clark (1804-1806)         Pearl Harbor         Spanish American War (1898)         The 1890's         The 1900's         The 1910's         The 1920's         The 1930's

The 1940's         The 1950's         The 1960's         The 1970's         The 1980's         The 1990's         The 2000's         The Civil War (1861-1865)         The Great Depression (1929-1945)         The United States Grows (1865-1900)         The War of 1812         Wild, Wild West         World War I (1914-1918)         World War II

---

50 States

Fifty States Theme Unit

---

Document Based Activities

Document Based Activities

---

More Activities, Lesson Plans, and Worksheets

Back to School Graphic Organizers Alphabet Worksheets Sight Words Math Worksheets Mazes 50 States Education Teaching Monthly Themes January February March April May June July August September October November December

Fractions Place Value Time and Calendar Money Earth Day Solar System Analogies Nouns Following Directions Listening Capitalization Cursive Writing Patterns and Sequencing Dinosaurs All About Me Kindergarten First Grade Second Grade Third Grade Fourth Grade Fifth Grade Sixth Grade

Multiplication Division Main Idea Cause and Effect Measurement Decimals Rounding Order of Operations Verbs Community Helpers Adjectives Plants Grammar Addition and Subtraction Contractions Bulletin Board Ideas Word Searches Crossword Puzzles Printable Puzzles Reading Comprehension Reading Skills English Language Arts

Copyright © 2013 edHelper