Alan Turing

Alan Turing

Alan Turing
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 4 to 6
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.03

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		groundwork, headmistress, mathematical, mathematician, mathematics, potassium, tenacious, organization, naval, determination, calculation, reading, running, original, purpose, unique
	content words:		Alan Turing, Great Britain, United States, Cambridge College, Princeton University, World War II, Government Code, Cypher School, This British, National Physical Laboratory

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Alan Turing
By Colleen Messina

¹     Alan Turing always wanted to do things his own way...or in a new way. He was a brilliant mathematician, but he was often misunderstood by others. Alan's original way of thinking helped him do great things. You might not recognize his name, but our world would be different without his work.

²     Alan Turing was born on June 23, 1912, in London, England. His father belonged to the Indian civil service. His parents often traveled to India, but they wanted their children to grow up in England. Alan and his brother stayed with friends while their parents traveled. Alan went to school when he was six. The headmistress of the school knew Alan was smart. She also saw that Alan might have trouble in the future in public school because he never quite fit in.

³     As a teenager, Alan had a lot of determination. When many workers went on strike, Alan had no transportation to school. He didn't want to miss his first day, so he rode his bike. This might not seem too unusual, but it was a trip of about 60 miles! He couldn't do it in one day, so he stayed overnight in an inn. Alan got everyone's attention with his long ride when the local press wrote about the tenacious 14-year-old. Alan didn't mind his big ride. He was a good athlete, so the trip was not too hard for him. Later, he played football. If football practice was cancelled because of bad weather, he would go cross-country running.

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