Reading Comprehension 8 President 26
Grade 8, President 26 (10 Questions)
Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material.  They draw upon a variety of comprehension strategies as needed (e.g.; generating and responding to essential questions, making predictions, comparing information from several sources). These are some of the many strategies used in 'close reading'.

These questions will be based on the brief biography of Theodore Roosevelt, included below.

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From Mr. Anker Tests
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
(Brief Biography)


Theodore Roosevelt experienced many ups and downs in his life. Born into a very wealthy family in New York City, as a youth, he was a sickly child with debilitating asthma.

He claimed he overcame his health problems by embracing a strenuous 'cowboy' lifestyle. He came from a wealthy and well-known family. For college, he attended Harvard. In 1882, he wrote a book entitled, "The Naval War of 1812", which established his reputation as a person who was well-studied in history, and as popular writer. In adulthood, in the year 1884, tragedy struck when his first wife and mother died on the same day, which caused him great sadness. After their deaths, he spent a lot of time riding horses and hunting near his ranch in the Dakota Territories. In 1886, two years later, he remarried, and he and his second wife had four children, along with his one daughter born to his first wife.

Theodore Roosevelt served as a Lieutenant Colonel of the ‘Rough Rider’ regiment (troop) in the Spanish-American War. Much was written about his exploits in this war. This publicity helped build his political stature. After the war, in 1898, he was elected Governor of New York State. Next, he was chosen to be President William McKinley’s Vice President.
Theodore Roosevelt became President himself in 1901, when President William McKinley was assassinated. "T.R." as he was commonly called, was only 42 years old when he took office. At the time, he was the youngest person ever to serve as a U.S. President.

Theodore Roosevelt was considered to be a progressive reformer. This meant that he worked to change aspects of U.S. Society for the better. He was known as the ‘trust buster’ for his leadership in breaking up harmful company monopolies. Monopolies are companies that maintain high prices on their products like oil, steel, and other essential items and services. These huge companies try as hard as they can to prevent other smaller companies from competing fairly with them.  Examples of past and present monopolistic companies, based in the United States, might be Standard Oil, U.S. Steel, MicroSoft™, AT&T™, Google™, FaceBook™, Disney™, and others.
Theodore Roosevelt's favorite proverb to quote was, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” He was a strong leader in the area of foreign policy. He helped ensure the construction of the Panama Canal, which allowed ships to cross from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, to the Atlantic Ocean, saving weeks of travel. Additionally, he worked to prevent foreign intervention by other countries in the Caribbean Sea region.

Roosevelt lived his life actively and vigorously. He played outdoors with his five younger children and loved to hike in natural areas. He was a great conservationist. Under his guidance, millions of acres of forests and other natural lands were preserved for public use as National Parks. Doing this prevented large oil, metal mining, farming, and forestry companies from exploiting and sometimes destroying these beautiful natural spaces for profit. Roosevelt prioritized conservation (the saving of forests and deserts), and establishment of monuments (Civil War sites, the birthplaces of famous people, etc.) over business interests.

Roosevelt was a leader of the progressive movement. He worked to popularize his "Square Deal" policies meant to benefit average American Consumers (people who buy products). He helped regulate the price of railroad travel (his was a time before cars and buses were invented). He worked to protect public health by ensuring the purity of foods and medicines. Theodore Roosevelt sought the attention of newspaper reporters (the Internet and social media influencer reporters of his day) to bring attention to causes such as unfair company monopolies, terrible working and health conditions in meat-packing plants, and the need to preserve places of natural beauty, among others.


Just prior to delivering a campaign speech in the state of Wisconsin for a third Presidential term (which he did not win), T.R. was hit in the chest by an assassin's bullet. The bullet was slowed by his suit jacket, his glasses case, and the folded pages of a speech he was about to make. Unbelievably, he declined medical care in favor of making his speech, which lasted more than an hour, before seeing a doctor. The doctors decided it was safer to leave the bullet in his chest rather than to operate.
In his post-presidential life, he was proud that all four of his sons enlisted for service during World War I, one of whom was shot and killed. For most of his life, T.R. maintained a positive attitude. One of his quotes was, “No man has had a happier life than I have led; a happier life in every way.” T.R.'s likeness appears on Mount Rushmore, along with Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln.  T.R.'s fifth cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, also known as "F.D.R.", was later elected President in the year 1932.

Sources:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/slavery-in-the-presidents-neighborhood-faq
https://www.biography.com/us-president
https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents
https://www.thirteen.org/programs/the-roosevelts-an-intimate-history/roosevelts-education-clip-theodore-roosevelt-childhood/

-Compiled by Henry Anker-

One of the most common phrases associated with Theodore Roosevelt is "trust buster". What was the phrase in reference to? *
1 point
Which adjectives would best describe Theodore Roosevelt? *
1 point
Which was a notable fact about the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt? *
1 point
Which war did Theodore Roosevelt participate in as a leader and fighter? *
1 point
Before becoming President, Theodore Roosevelt served as Vice President to which U.S. President? *
1 point
Image from By Charles Dudley Arnold - Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5946583
Image from By Charles Dudley Arnold - Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5946583
What physical illness did Theodore Roosevelt struggle to overcome as a child? *
1 point
Captionless Image
How were Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt ("F.D.R.") and Theodore Roosevelt ("T.R.") related? *
1 point
Image of F.D.R. on the left and T.R. on the right
Image from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-would-the-roosevelts_b_137914
Image of F.D.R. on the left and T.R. on the right
Image from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-would-the-roosevelts_b_137914
During his Presidency, Ulysses S. Grant helped establish the National Park Service. Theodore Roosevelt, as President, lobbied for even more conservation. What does the term 'conservation' mean in the context of natural areas? *
1 point
What are monopolies? *
1 point
Why was Theodore Roosevelt so adamant (felt strongly) about the need to break up monopolistic companies? *
1 point
Image from https://www.ushistory.org/us/36b.asp
Cartoon by Horace Taylor entitled, "The Trust Giant's Point of View - 'What a Funny Little Government!'"
Image from https://www.ushistory.org/us/36b.asp
Cartoon by Horace Taylor entitled, "The Trust Giant's Point of View - 'What a Funny Little Government!'"
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