edHelper.com
 Thornton Wilder

Thornton Wilder
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 9 to 12
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   9.22

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    eliot, following, screenplay, novelist, archaeology, revision, playwright, corporal, instability, lieutenant, writing, onset, diplomat, adviser, rejoined, historical
     content words:    Thornton Wilder, Isabella Wilder, Because Amos Wilder, United States, Hong Kong, American Consul General, English China Inland Mission Chefoo School, Thatcher School, Creekside Middle School, Berkeley High School

Print Thornton Wilder
     Print Thornton Wilder  (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 Thornton Wilder
     Leave your feedback on Thornton Wilder  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

Thornton Wilder
By Jamie Kee 		  
1     Thornton Wilder, a well-known American playwright and novelist, was born on April 17, 1897, in Madison, Wisconsin. He was one of five children born to parents Amos and Isabella Wilder. Two other children died at birth. Because Amos Wilder was a United States diplomat, all of the Wilder children spent some of their childhood in China due to his work. The family moved to Hong Kong in 1906 because Wilder's father was appointed American Consul General. Six months later Isabella Wilder returned to the United States with her children. In 1911 the family rejoined again in Shanghai where Wilder's father was transferred. Wilder stayed in China for a year where he attended the English China Inland Mission Chefoo School at Yantai. Because of political instability, Wilder's mother again returned to the United States with the children in 1912 and settled in California.
 
2     Thornton Wilder first began writing plays while attending the Thatcher School in California. He spent most of his time in the library distancing himself from the other students because he did not fit in and was often teased. Thornton also attended Creekside Middle School and later graduated from Berkeley High School in 1915.
 
3     During World War I, Wilder served for eight months in the Coast Artillery Corps as a corporal at the onset of the war. Afterwards, he attended Oberlin College. When his family moved to Connecticut, Wilder entered Yale University where he later earned his B.A. in 1920. It was during his time at Yale when Wilder wrote his first full-length play, The Trumpet Shall Sound, which was published in Yale Literary Magazine but not produced until 1926. Wilder then went to Rome and studied archaeology at the American Academy.

Paragraphs 4 to 8:
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