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

War Beneath the Waves - Wolfpacks, Hunters, and Hedgehogs World War II

---

War Beneath the Waves - Wolfpacks, Hunters, and Hedgehogs
Print War Beneath the Waves - Wolfpacks, Hunters, and Hedgehogs Reading Comprehension with Third Grade Work

Print War Beneath the Waves - Wolfpacks, Hunters, and Hedgehogs Reading Comprehension with Fourth Grade Work

Print War Beneath the Waves - Wolfpacks, Hunters, and Hedgehogs Reading Comprehension with Fifth Grade Work

Print War Beneath the Waves - Wolfpacks, Hunters, and Hedgehogs Reading Comprehension

Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	high interest, readability grades 3 to 5
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	4.3

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		provided, tearing, human, hull, underwater, planes, actually, series, blockade, naval, supplies, packs, task, design, beneath, loosen
	content words:		Revolutionary War, Civil War, By World War, World War II, World Wars

Other Languages
     Spanish: La guerra bajo las olas: manadas de lobos, cazadores y erizos

---

War Beneath the Waves - Wolfpacks, Hunters, and Hedgehogs By Toni Lee Robinson

---

¹     Human beings have long wanted to travel through the sea as well as on top of it. Many people toyed with the idea of a sub-marine ship (sub means under; marine means sea). Such a ship would be a big plus in case of war at sea. But how would you make it work? Human lungs must have air. How do you breathe underwater? Besides that, how would you get the craft to sink and then to come back up? How would it move through the water?
 
²     The first designs for such a craft appeared in the 1500s. Inventors tried to solve the problems of air supply and movement. A type of sub called Turtle was built in 1776. It was used in the Revolutionary War. It didn't quite work the way it was supposed to. Still, it may have caused the British to loosen their blockade of the U.S. coast. In the Civil War, a Union ship was sunk by the Rebel sub Hunley. By World War I, fleets of diesel powered subs were in use.
 
³     In World War II, subs played a big cat-and-mouse game under the sea. Each side had worked hard to design a more deadly submarine. German subs were called U-boats. These sly predators cruised the ocean, hunting for Allied ships. U-boats spent most of their time on the surface of the water. Topside, they could run on their diesel engines. They could also recharge the batteries that powered the boat underwater.
 
⁴     When a target was spotted, the U-boat submerged. A periscope allowed the pilot to see above the water. Hidden under the waves, the boat would slip silently up to its target. Then came the attack. A torpedo (underwater missile) was fired into the ship. The missile blasted through the hull, tearing the ship open. Fires broke out in many places. Sailors were dumped into the icy water.
 
⁵     Many men were lost in the U-boat attacks. Many shiploads of much needed supplies were sent to the bottom of the ocean. In 1942, Allied shipping lost 1,150 vessels to sub attacks. Something had to be done! Supply ships began to band together with naval vessels. Hundreds of ships traveled in these convoys. Destroyers (warships) guarded the flock of ships.

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!

---

Feedback on War Beneath the Waves - Wolfpacks, Hunters, and Hedgehogs

Leave your feedback on War Beneath the Waves - Wolfpacks, Hunters, and Hedgehogs   (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

World War II

World War II

---

More Lessons

First Grade Reading Comprehensions and 1st Grade Reading Lessons

---

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