Fifth Grade
Worksheets
The King's Birthday in Thailand
Wan Chalerm - The King's Birthday in Thailand
Reading Comprehension for December 5
It seems that everyone enjoys a good party. Don't you? Try to imagine the perfect party. Better yet, imagine the best birthday party you could put on. What would you have at the party? Lots of food, cake, and drinks? How about music? Now try to think bigger. What if you could make entire cities stop for your birthday? People would have parades and dance in the streets. You could have this kind of birthday if you were the king of Thailand.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand was born on December 5, 1927, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in America. He was born to Thai Prince and Princess Mahidol. When Adulyadej was just two years old, his father, Prince Mahidol, died. It was then that his family left Thailand for Switzerland, where Adulyadej was enrolled in school.
How much do you like school? If you had a choice to be a king or queen or stay in school, which would you choose? While Adulyadej was studying in Switzerland, his older brother, King Ananda, died. Adulyadej was next in line to be king. But rather than accepting the crown and returning to Thailand, he stayed in Switzerland to study political science. The crown passed to Adulyadej's brother for a short time.
