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Pennsylvania (Grades 5-6)

Pennsylvania (Grades 5-6)
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 5 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.63

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    believers, tolerance, relationship, founded, punishable, self-government, influential, social, presented, remarried, response, impressed, group, participation, settle, death
     content words:    William Penn, Admiral William Penn, Sir William Penn, King Charles II, North America, Dutch Quakers, Then Germans, James II, Pennsburg Manor

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Pennsylvania
By Jennifer Kenny 		  
1     Sarah was working with a group of classmates on a social studies project. They had to research an influential person in Pennsylvania's history and give a speech to the class.
 
2     Sarah and her friends decided William Penn was their best choice. After all, Pennsylvania means "Penn's woodland." It was named in honor of Admiral William Penn. His son, also named William Penn, founded the colony as an escape for the members of the Society of Friends (or Quakers) in 1682. Many others who had been persecuted for their religious beliefs came there too. But what else did they know about William Penn? So off they went to the school library.
 
3     Their research taught them a lot. William Penn was born on October 24, 1644, to a famous English admiral, Sir William Penn. During his young life, there was a lot of fighting in England, and he even became a soldier. After seeing so much violence, he dreamt of a place where there was no war and you could freely worship. He joined the Society of Friends (or Quakers) who were pacifists, or believers in peace.
 
4     In 1681, King Charles II gave Penn a big piece of land in North America in memory of his father. Penn advertised for settlers of different trades, and yet promised the settlers who were already there that they would be governed by rules they made. He also advertised to those seeking religious tolerance and participation in laws. In response, English, Welsh, and Dutch Quakers came. Then Germans such as Amish and Mennonites came. Large numbers of Scots-Irish came later.
 
5     In 1682, after the Duke of York transferred some land in Delaware so there was an outlet to the sea, Penn left for his new land in a ship called "Welcome."

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