Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources Reading Comprehension Worksheets World War I

South Africa World War I

---

South Africa
Print South Africa Reading Comprehension


Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 8 to 12
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.82

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		apartheid, rhinoceros, interior, geography, despite, leopard, interesting, favor, continent, independent, policy, role, transform, lies, information, armed
	content words:		South Africa, World War, Dutch East India Company, Great Britain, Boer Wars, British Empire, Black Africans, Kalahari Desert, Near Johannesburg, Kruger Park

---

South Africa By Sharon Fabian

---

¹     At the southern tip of the continent of Africa lies the country of South Africa. It was far away from the battles of World War I that were being fought on the European continent in 1914. So, you might wonder why South Africa decided to enter the war.
 
²     It all had to do with South Africa's history, starting in the 1600s. At that time, settlers from the Dutch East India Company established a colonial government in South Africa. These colonists were known as the Boers or Afrikaners. Great Britain was also establishing colonies in parts of Africa. Britain made several attempts to take over South Africa from the Dutch.
 
³     Then, in the 1800s, large deposits of gold and diamonds were discovered in South Africa. That made both the British and the Dutch even more interested in taking control of the land. Armed conflicts, known as the Boer Wars, finally settled the matter. The British took over South Africa. Then in 1910, the Union of South Africa was formed. It was an independent country, but it was still part of the British Empire, too.

Paragraphs 4 to 10:
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 South Africa

Leave your feedback on South Africa   (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

World War I

World War I

---

Social Studies

Social Studies

United States History and Theme Units         American Government         Ancient America         Ancient China         Ancient Egypt         Ancient Greece         Ancient India         Ancient Mesopotamia         Ancient Rome         Biographies         Canadian Theme Unit         Country Theme Units         Crime and Terrorism         Economics         European History: 1600s-1800s

Explorers         Famous Educators         Geography         Grades 2-3 Social Studies Wendy's World Series         History of Books and Writing         History of Mathematics         How Can I Help?         Inventors and Inventions         Middle Ages         Renaissance         World Religion         World War I         World War II         World Wonders

---

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 © 2025 edHelper