Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Reading Comprehension Worksheets
American Revolution
George Washington
George Washington - General

American Revolution
American Revolution


George Washington - General
Print George Washington - General Reading Comprehension with Sixth Grade Work

Print George Washington - General Reading Comprehension


Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 6 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   7.05

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    raggedy, untrained, unsuccessful, alcoholic, best, leadership, military, teaching, successful, retreat, camps, defeat, saying, supplied, extremely, wherever
     content words:    George Washington, Grand American Army, Second Continental Congress, William Howe, New York, Long Island, Christmas Eve, New Jersey, Delaware River, Continental Congress


George Washington - General
By Jane Runyon
  

1     When we think of George Washington, we think of a very successful military man and leader. He was not always successful. In some cases he was just lucky. After being appointed to lead the Grand American Army by the Second Continental Congress, Washington headed for Boston. It was there that the first shots had been fired. It was there that the British troops were gathering. The British generals were often heard saying that it would take very little effort on their part to put an end to the foolishness of the colonists. How could a man like George Washington think he could take a bunch of untrained, raggedy farmers and tradesmen and make them into an army good enough to defeat the British?
 
2     The British army was the largest, best trained, and best supplied army in the world at that time. When it needed more men, it paid for soldiers from other countries to help. That is exactly what the British did in this case. German soldiers, called Hessians, were hired to fight for England in the colonies. The British forces were led by a vain general named William Howe. He planned to make short work of these American rebels while teaching them a lesson of respect at the same time.
 
3     It was mentioned that George Washington was lucky. Let's look into two of his luckier moments. One of the first battles that George Washington led his men into was in New York. There is an island just off the coast of New York called Long Island. The British had sent shiploads of men to Long Island to prepare for a war. George Washington marched his men onto Long Island also. They didn't know the British were there, so the colonists walked right into a trap. Many of the colonists panicked and began to run away. George Washington called for a retreat. Here's where the luck comes in. As the colonists were retreating, a thick fog began to roll in, and the rebels disappeared right before the eyes of the British army. A second bit of luck occurred when they reached the shore of the island and found fishing boats manned by Massachusetts fishermen. They took the fleeing colonial army on board their ships and sailed them away to safety. They respected George Washington's leadership and commands. This is why they lived to fight another day.

Paragraphs 4 to 5:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable



Weekly Reading Books

          Create Weekly Reading Books

Prepare for an entire week at once!


Feedback on George Washington - General
Leave your feedback on George Washington - General   (use this link if you found an error in the story)



American Revolution
             American Revolution


George Washington
             George Washington


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



Copyright © 2018 edHelper