Sixth Grade
Worksheets
The Gunpowder Plot
Guy Fawkes Day
Reading Comprehension for November 5
Many years ago, some men in England disagreed with their government. They wanted to set off an explosion to kill the king and those in government that they felt were against them. They thought that this would change things. One of those men was Guy Fawkes.
Fawkes was born in Yorkshire, England, on April 13, 1570. He grew up to be a staunch Roman Catholic who was frustrated with the English government. When he was about 23, he left his homeland and went to Flanders (what we now call Belgium). There he enlisted in the Spanish Army to serve King Philip II of Spain. In 1603, he was given leave to go to Spain with several other men. They were going to tell Philip how badly Roman Catholics were being treated. They looked for the king's support in an invasion of England when Elizabeth I died. Nothing came of it. They hoped Elizabeth's successor, James I, would show more religious tolerance towards Roman Catholics. When he did not, they decided violence was their only option.
Guy returned to England and met with others who wanted to change the course of history. In May 1604, he met with Robert Catesby, Thomas Percy, John Wright, and Thomas Wintour. They all agreed together to form the gunpowder conspiracy.
