Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources Reading Comprehension Worksheets The War of 1812

The Leopard and the Chesapeake - How a Cat-and-Dog Fight Led To War The War of 1812

---

The Leopard and the Chesapeake - How a Cat-and-Dog Fight Led To War
Print The Leopard and the Chesapeake - How a Cat-and-Dog Fight Led To War Reading Comprehension with Fifth Grade Work

Print The Leopard and the Chesapeake - How a Cat-and-Dog Fight Led To War Reading Comprehension with Sixth Grade Work

Print The Leopard and the Chesapeake - How a Cat-and-Dog Fight Led To War Reading Comprehension

Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 5 to 6
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	5.26

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		rampant, able-bodied, enlist, impressment, incident, somewhat, wounded, gangs, refused, hailed, slavery, critical, aboard, pounded, ongoing, victory
	content words:		British Navy, Royal Navy, British Admiral Lord Nelson, French Navy, Former Britons, Captain James Barron, President Jefferson

---

The Leopard and the Chesapeake - How a Cat-and-Dog Fight Led To War By Toni Lee Robinson

---

¹     These days, if the British Navy needed sailors, they might print up new recruiting posters. A Royal Navy officer might visit schools. BBC ads might urge young people to consider careers on the high seas.
 
²     In the early 1800s, Britain was at war with France. Naval battles were a big part of the ongoing fight. There was a critical need for sailors to man the British warships. But life aboard a British ship was miserable. Food was often rotten and dirty. Disease was rampant. The work amounted to little more than slavery. Few willingly chose the job. So how did Britain enlist men to fight its naval war with France?
 
³     Sailors were recruited in quite a different way than they are today. We might call the early 19th century method kidnapping. In port cities, impressment gangs roamed the streets looking for able-bodied men. They seized the men and dragged them aboard ships. The kidnapped men were then forced to work as sailors.
 
⁴     Many British sailors had but one goal. They wanted to escape their harsh lives. Hundreds "jumped ship" the first chance they got. Many fled to America. Some found better jobs on American merchant ships. Some joined the tiny U.S. Navy.

Paragraphs 5 to 11:
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 The Leopard and the Chesapeake - How a Cat-and-Dog Fight Led To War

Leave your feedback on The Leopard and the Chesapeake - How a Cat-and-Dog Fight Led To War   (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

The War of 1812

The War of 1812

---

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 © 2018 edHelper