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Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources

From Mayflower to Massachusetts

From Mayflower to Massachusetts
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   8.88

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    coalition, investors, landing, prosperous, strenuous, tribal, group, southeastern, venison, treaty, fertilizer, original, lasted, union, settled, death
     content words:    Cape Cod Bay, Mayflower Compact, John Carver, William Bradford, Governor Bradford, New England Thanksgiving, New England, In November, Cape Cod, Plimoth Plantation

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From Mayflower to Massachusetts
By Kimberly Meaney 		  
1     In 1620, a group of people from England called Pilgrims wanted to separate from the Church of England because they didn't like their rules. These people were called Pilgrims because they were looking for religious freedom. Some other people from England who also didn't want to follow the rules of the Church of England had already moved to the Netherlands. These people were called Separatists because they had separated from the Church of England and moved away. The people from England and the Netherlands were still not happy and wanted to start a new life. They raised some money from business leaders in London and planned to have two ships sail to a new land to practice their religious freedom in a place called Virginia.
 
2     One boat called the Speedwell leaked badly and could not travel. One hundred and two people decided to board a ship called the Mayflower. The Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, England, on September 16, 1620, headed toward Virginia. After 65 days of some rough travel, the Mayflower landed on November 21, 1620, at Provincetown. They were supposed to land in Virginia because they had agreed with the investors for the trip that they would settle there. But the ship was blown off course and landed at a harbor near Cape Cod Bay. The passengers were nervous about getting in trouble for not landing where they were supposed to and being somewhere they didn't belong.
 
3     Before they left the ship, the Pilgrims decided they needed a set of rules, so the 41 men on board wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact. The Mayflower Compact was a set of rules that people agreed to follow so they would not fight and there would be a better life for them on this new land. They elected John Carver their first governor and were excited to start their new free life.

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