Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources Reading Comprehension Worksheets Colonial America (1492-1776)

How the Colonists Traveled Colonial America (1492-1776)

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How the Colonists Traveled
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Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 3 to 4
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	3.66

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		family-size, far-away, hitched, Postriders, stagecoach, travelers, colonial, early, ruts, explorer, nearly, travel, supplies, longer, rocks, canoe
	content words:		Native American, Conestoga Wagon

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How the Colonists Traveled By Sharon Fabian

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¹     The early colonists didn't travel much, not nearly as much as we do now. Their everyday trips were short. They didn't travel far for work. They didn't visit distant friends often. They didn't take vacations either.
 
²     When they needed supplies, colonists who lived in town walked. The towns were small, so it was a short walk to the store. Some colonists lived further out. When they needed to go into town, they hitched up a wagon. Horses pulled the wagon. The family rode into town. They bought supplies and loaded their wagon. Their horses pulled the wagon home.
 
³     Settlers didn't commute to work. Some lived and worked in town. They could walk to work. Many worked on their own farm.
 
⁴     Sometimes, the men needed to do business in another town. The best way for one man to travel was on horseback. This was the fastest way. Messengers traveled on horseback too. Postriders carried mail on horseback.
 
⁵     Sometimes settlers visited a neighboring farm. If it was a few miles away, they might walk. One or two people might go on horseback. A family might go in their farm wagon. In winter, they might hitch up their horses to a family-size sled.

Paragraphs 6 to 13:
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Colonial America (1492-1776)

Colonial America (1492-1776)

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