edHelper.com
The War of 1812
 Duck! Life on the Sidelines of a War

Duck! Life on the Sidelines of a War
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 7 to 9
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.25

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    chiefly, crossfire, no-win, neutrality, embargo, peaceable, coercion, greatly, decree, launched, dignity, brutal, ongoing, forbidden, seize, conflict
     content words:    Some American, Continental System, Royal Navy, Some Americans, President Jefferson, Both France, And Britain, James Madison, President Madison

Print Duck! Life on the Sidelines of a War
     Print Duck! Life on the Sidelines of a War  (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 Duck! Life on the Sidelines of a War
     Leave your feedback on Duck! Life on the Sidelines of a War  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

Duck! Life on the Sidelines of a War
By Toni Lee Robinson 		  
1     From 1803 to 1814, France and Britain fought with each other. Some American merchants were pleased with this ongoing battle. In the beginning, the war was a wonderful means of making money. U.S. products, chiefly food, found thriving markets in the warring countries. This meant that American businessmen prospered.
 
2     The U.S. was a neutral nation, not taking sides in the conflict. America's ships crossed the seas taking goods to Britain and France. They returned with money for U.S. merchants. It was a businessman's dream come true. But the good times didn't last. In a war, the sidelines may not be a very safe place.
 
3     The European war got nastier. Even neutral nations became victims of the war between France and Britain. The two nations looked for any way to batter each other. Both saw America's ships as a way to deal a blow to the enemy. Each country tried to prevent supplies from reaching the other by way of American shipping.
 
4     In 1806, Napoleon of France put in place his Continental System. This decree claimed for France the right to seize ships from any nation that traded with Britain. British authorities fired back with their own decree. Britain issued what it called "orders in council." These orders called for the seizure of any vessel that visited the ports of France without first stopping at a British port. By 1807, the Royal Navy had completely blockaded French ports.
 
5     Napoleon then declared that all ships that obeyed the orders in council were fair game for seizure by his navy. So ships that obeyed Britain's orders were seized by France. Ships that ignored the orders were seized by Britain. It was a no-win game. U.S. merchants lost over 1500 ships and cargos to the two rivals. What could be done to stop the insults to American dignity and the loss of property? Some Americans wanted war with Britain, the chief offender on the high seas.

Paragraphs 6 to 12:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Weekly Reading Books

          Create Weekly Reading Books

Prepare for an entire week at once!

The War of 1812
             The War of 1812

More Lessons
             High School Reading Comprehensions and High School Reading Lessons

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