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Reading Comprehension Worksheets
The 1940's
The T-shirt Becomes the Rage

The 1940's
The 1940's

The T-shirt Becomes the Rage
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Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 5 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.34

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    personalize, tie-dyed, underclothes, depict, discovery, military, manly, unit, during, logo, public, light-weight, acceptance, cooler, accept, presidential
     content words:    World War, World War II, Corps Gunnery School, Thomas E., John Wayne, Marlon Brando, James Dean, Rebel Without, Dwight Eisenhower, Like Ike

The T-shirt Becomes the Rage
By Jane Runyon 		  
1     During World War I in Europe, American soldiers made a discovery. While they sweated and sweltered in their wool uniforms, European soldiers took off their heavy jackets and wore a light-weight cotton shirt. They called them undershirts because they wore them under their clothing. News of this comfortable addition to the male wardrobe returned to the U.S. after the war.
 
2     When World War II was declared, the U.S. military decided to take the hint from its European allies. It issued the same type of cotton shirt to U.S. soldiers. This shirt was to be worn under the fighting uniforms. It was designed to keep the body cooler during battles. When the soldiers were doing heavy labor between battles, many decided to take off their uniform shirts and wear only the olive drab cotton shirts they had been issued. In those days, it wasn't polite to be seen in public wearing underclothes, but due to the circumstances, it was allowed. Newspaper and movie news photographers often took pictures of the soldiers wearing just their uniform pants and the cotton shirt.
 
3     The T-shirt got its name from its shape. If you flatten the shirt out from neck to waist and pull the arms out to the side, it forms the letter T. The T-shirt became a regular issue to all military men and women during the early 1940s. Many branches wanted to make sure that the T-shirts were easy to keep track of. They printed their unit names on the shirt. Some soldiers even had their names printed on the shirts so they didn't get lost in the laundry. You might have seen a T-shirt imprinted with "Air Corps Gunnery School" on it to show that the soldier had attended training at a specific school.

Paragraphs 4 to 7:
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The 1940's
             The 1940'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

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