Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources Reading Comprehension Worksheets The 1930's

Hoover Dam The 1930's

---

Hoover Dam
Print Hoover Dam Reading Comprehension with Sixth Grade Work

Print Hoover Dam Reading Comprehension


Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 6 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	6.72

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		high-scalers, dynamite, powerhouse, hydro-electric, undertaking, representative, federal, agreement, spiral, affected, government, power, schedule, series, rate, lower
	content words:		New Mexico, United States, Herbert Hoover, Colorado River Compact, Boulder Dam Project, President Calvin Coolidge, Boulder Canyon, Black Canyon, Boulder City, Colorado River

---

Hoover Dam By Jane Runyon

---

¹     The lands of Nevada, Arizona, parts of California, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming have long been dry and mountainous. In spring and summer, the snows high in the mountains thaw. The water rushes down the mountains into rivers too small to receive the great amounts of water. There is little grass or few trees to stop the flow. Flooding is common. The water doesn't stay around long enough to provide irrigation to plants. As more and more people moved to this western part of the United States, the need for a good supply of water became very apparent.
 
²     The construction of a dam to contain the water from the mountains seemed to be the perfect answer. Important questions became apparent early on. Just who would be able to claim the water? Which state would control the use of the water? How would it be distributed?
 
³     A panel was formed in 1922 to discuss these questions. The governor of each affected state was on the panel. There was also a representative from the federal government. The federal representative was Herbert Hoover, Secretary of Commerce. The members of this panel reached an agreement that they felt was fair to all in November of 1924. The agreement was called the Colorado River Compact. This compact split the river into an upper and a lower half. The states in each half would decide how the water would be divided. This agreement led to a decision to build a dam called the Boulder Dam Project.
 
⁴     Congress needed to approve funding for this large undertaking. Bills were first submitted to the House of Representatives in late 1922. It was December 1928 before both the House and Senate approved the construction of the dam. President Calvin Coolidge signed the bill. By the time the first federal money was budgeted in 1930, Herbert Hoover had become president.

Paragraphs 5 to 12:
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 Hoover Dam

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

---

The 1930's

The 1930's

---

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