Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall
Reading Comprehension for April 3
Jane Goodall loved to read about wild animals. She hoped to work with animals when she grew up. Many young people who like animals grow up work in a veterinarian's office; others become farmers. Some work in zoos or parks. Some work in pet shops. Jane didn't want to do any of those things. She wanted to go to Africa to study the wild animals there.
When she was 23 years old, Jane had the chance to visit Africa. While she was there, she contacted the famous anthropologist, Dr. Louis Leakey. Dr. Leakey offered her a job as his assistant. This gave Jane the chance to stay and work in Africa. It was interesting work, but it still wasn't what she really wanted to do. Jane wanted to work with living animals.
With Dr. Leakey's help, Jane found the perfect job - studying the wild chimpanzees in Gombe National Park in Tanzania.
Wild chimpanzees were not easy to study. They were afraid of humans and ran off whenever Jane Goodall approached them. It took months of patient work before she could get close enough to observe the chimps.
Her patience paid off. Gradually, her presence became accepted by the chimps. She spent whole days observing the chimps from the time they woke up in the morning until the time they went to sleep at night. She was able to observe their behavior as no one had done before.
