Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources

"The Wild West"

"The Wild West"
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   9.96

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    existence, immigration, lieutenant, surrounding, coastal, newcomer, equipment, provided, region, actually, northwestern, story, traveled, tribe, supplies, journey
     content words:    Native Americans, Plateau Indians, Nez Perce, Cascade Mountains, George Vancouver, Robert Gray, Puget Sound, Peter Puget, Captain Robert Gray, Columbia River

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"The Wild West"
By Joyce Furstenau 		  
1     The story is told that the Indians (Native Americans) lived here for 500 generations before the "newcomers" came and transformed it. This northwestern corner of the continent was home to the Plateau Indians; the Nez Perce, Okanogan, Spokane, Yakama, and Colville tribes. The coastal Indians or "canoe Indians" included the Chinook, Clallam, Clatsop, Nisqually, Nooksack, and Puyallup who lived west of the Cascade Mountains. Every tribe used the land and natural resources it provided for their existence.
 
2     The first "newcomers" were explorers from other countries who came by ship. They were looking for new trade routes, more land for their countries, animal furs, and gold. The first three captains to sail the coast of Washington were Juan de Fuca, George Vancouver, and Robert Gray. Juan de Fuca sailed under the flag of Spain in 1592. He is thought to have sailed as far north as the Straits of Juan de Fuca that were named for him. In 1775 Spanish explorers came to the Northwest and claimed this territory for Spain.
 
3     The English sea captain, George Vancouver, discovered Puget Sound in 1792 and claimed it for the British. Vancouver named it for his lieutenant, Peter Puget. An American fur trader, Captain Robert Gray, discovered the Columbia River in 1792 and claimed the surrounding land for the United States. He named the river after his ship, "The Columbia."

Paragraphs 4 to 9:
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