Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources Reading Comprehension Worksheets Middle Ages

The First Crusade Middle Ages

---

The First Crusade
Print The First Crusade Reading Comprehension


Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 7 to 9
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.91

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		well-fortified, sins, papal, indulgence, wills, persuasive, blockade, unofficial, supposedly, bloody, official, victorious, wealth, forgiveness, power, monk
	content words:		Holy Land, Middle Ages, First Crusade, Pope Urban II, Turkish Muslims, Byzantine Empire, European Christians, Mediterranean Sea, Middle East

---

The First Crusade By Sharon Fabian

---

¹     Palestine, sometimes called the Holy Land, has seen more than its share of troubles. It has been at the center of many fights over the centuries. In the Middle Ages, it was the scene of the First Crusade.
 
²     The First Crusade began in 1095 when Pope Urban II made a speech in France. In his speech, he described attacks by Turkish Muslims on Christians of the Byzantine Empire. He called on European Christians to rush to defend the Holy Land from the Turks.
 
³     The offer of a papal indulgence, or forgiveness of all of a person's sins, encouraged many people to join the Crusade. Serfs were allowed to leave the land they worked on to join the Crusade. Crusaders were also excused from paying taxes. People from all walks of life, and from several nations, joined for a variety of reasons. Some people joined because of religious enthusiasm. Some joined with the hope of gaining land, wealth, or power.
 
⁴     Soon, thousands of Crusaders had joined, each wearing the red Crusader's cross and shouting the battle cry, "God wills it!"
 
⁵     While the official armies were forming, an unofficial army of Crusaders was growing larger and larger too. This throng was led by Peter the Hermit, a monk who had the gift of persuasive speech that could stir up a crowd to follow him. His group of unofficial peasant Crusaders included men, women, and children. It became known as "The People's Crusade" and eventually grew to a force of more than 10,000.

Paragraphs 6 to 14:
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 First Crusade

Leave your feedback on The First Crusade   (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

Middle Ages

Middle Ages

---

Social Studies

Social Studies

United States History and Theme Units         American Government         Ancient America         Ancient China         Ancient Egypt         Ancient Greece         Ancient India         Ancient Mesopotamia         Ancient Rome         Biographies         Canadian Theme Unit         Country Theme Units         Crime and Terrorism         Economics         European History: 1600s-1800s

Explorers         Famous Educators         Geography         Grades 2-3 Social Studies Wendy's World Series         History of Books and Writing         History of Mathematics         How Can I Help?         Inventors and Inventions         Middle Ages         Renaissance         World Religion         World War I         World War II         World Wonders

Copyright © 2018 edHelper