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DAVY CROCKETT HISTORY LESSON
Directions:
Print the Davy Crockett reading
comprehension passage and questions (see
below).
Students should read the story silently,
then answer the questions about the story that follow.
Excerpt from passage
The man known as the King of the Wild Frontier has been profiled in Disney movies and has remained one of the most talked about American folk heroes of all time. Davy Crockett was born in a small town in the back woods of Tennessee in 1786. He was part of a large family and was actually the fifth child of nine children. The Crockett family was very self-sufficient. This means they did not depend on other people for work or help with the things they needed to live. Instead, the Crockett family lived off their land by hunting, fishing, and planting fruits and vegetables.
Davy Crockett adopted a self-sufficient lifestyle from his family and learned many things that would make him become the famous hero that he is today. When Davy was around 12 he began going to school. He went to school at the school of Benjamin Kitchen. On the fourth day Davy got in a fight with another boy and ran away from home to escape punishment from his father. Davy was gone for 2 1/2 years before he went home.
Davy ended up finding a job driving cattle to Virginia. Once he made it to Virginia he worked on farms, wagons, and even as a hat maker. Davy returned home at 15 and could either work for his father or work for another person and give his family his money, which was how things were done in those days. Davy did not want to have to live at home so he made his father a bargain. He would work to help pay off his father's debts for one year and after that he would be set free. However, he decided to continue working for the same employer that helped him to pay off his father's debt.
While working at this job he was able to borrow a rifle from his boss. Using this rifle Davy learned to become an excellent marksman. Davy took his money from his job to buy the things he needed including a horse and rifle of his own. Once he had his own rifle he began entering shooting contests. A shooting contest would often cost a quarter to enter. All of the contestants would fire a shot and the best shot would win a quarter of beef. Davy was such a good shot on more than one occasion he would win the whole cow. (continued)
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