edHelper.com

O. Henry (William Sydney Porter)

---

O. Henry (William Sydney Porter)
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 9 to 12
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.94

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		algernon, draftsman, indictment, pennames, sentimentality, following, unrelenting, mandolin, paternal, pessimistic, irony, recognition, bailed, drugstore, bookkeeper, better
	content words:		William Sydney Porter, North Carolina, Algernon Sidney Porter, One Thousand, One Nights, City Quartet, Athol Estes, In September, New Orleans, Athol Porter

---

Print O. Henry (William Sydney Porter)

Print O. Henry (William Sydney Porter)  (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 O. Henry (William Sydney Porter)

Leave your feedback on O. Henry (William Sydney Porter)  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

O. Henry (William Sydney Porter) By Jamie Kee

---

¹     William Sydney Porter, better known as O. Henry, was an American writer born on September 11, 1862, in Greensboro, North Carolina. Porter lost his mother to tuberculosis at the age of three, so he and his father, Dr. Algernon Sidney Porter, moved in with Porter's paternal grandmother.
 
²     Porter was a passionate reader during his youth and was especially fond of One Thousand and One Nights. He spent his youth in North Carolina where he continued his schooling until age fifteen. Porter then worked in his uncle's drugstore and became a licensed pharmacist in 1881 at nineteen years old. It was there where he often created drawings of the local townspeople.
 
³     Because of an unrelenting cough, Porter moved to Texas in March of 1882. He initially lived on a sheep ranch and worked as a shepherd, ranch hand, and cook. He learned Spanish and German from the immigrant ranch hands.
 
⁴     Porter's life in Texas was very active and social. He was both a good singer and musician and was involved in singing and drama groups. Porter was a member of the "Hill City Quartet" and played the guitar and mandolin. It was during this time that Porter met and courted his future wife, Athol Estes. Despite her mother's objections, they later eloped and were married on July 1, 1887. The following year they had their first child who, unfortunately, died shortly after birth. In September 1889, Athol gave birth to their daughter, Margaret.
 
⁵     Porter worked a variety of jobs while in Texas such as a pharmacist, draftsman, bank teller, and journalist. This was when Porter began writing on the side, which was encouraged by his wife, Athol. He submitted his works to various magazines and newspapers.

Paragraphs 6 to 11:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

---

Weekly Reading Books

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

---

More Lessons

High School Reading Comprehensions and High School Reading Lessons

---

More Activities, Lesson Plans, and Worksheets

Back to School Graphic Organizers Alphabet Worksheets Sight Words Math Worksheets Mazes 50 States 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 © 2011 edHelper