Ida B. Wells: Seeking Truth and Evidence
Ida B. Wells was born into slavery in Holly Springs, Mississippi, on July 16, 1862. Her birth took place during the American Civil War, only months before the Emancipation Proclamation declared enslaved people in Confederate territory to be free. After the war ended, Ida’s parents valued education and civic duty, teaching her to read and stand up for her community. Although tragedy struck when both of her parents died during a yellow fever epidemic in 1878, sixteen-year-old Ida took on the responsibility of keeping her remaining younger siblings together. She secured a job as a schoolteacher, showing early courage and determination.
- segregation:
- The practice of keeping different groups of people separated, especially by race.
- investigative:
- Involving careful searching, questioning, and fact-checking to discover the truth.
- intimidate:
- To frighten or threaten someone into doing something or remaining silent.
- verifiable:
- Able to be proven true by checking facts or evidence.
- boycotts:
- Organized refusals to buy goods or use services as a way to protest.
- suffrage:
- The legal right to vote in political elections.
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Reading-skill questions, word work and writing prompts — all built from this text.
Main Idea
Identify the central idea and explain how important details develop it.
Context Clues
Use clues in the passage to work out what words mean. A separate printable Vocabulary worksheet is also available.
Summarize
Select, organize, and restate the most important information without adding opinion.
Purpose
Analyze what the author aims to do and how choices serve audience and purpose.
Structure
Analyze how sections and organizational choices build the text's ideas or effects.
Fact & Opinion
Distinguish verifiable statements from judgments, beliefs, and preferences in context.
Vocabulary
Practice words from the passage with a printable worksheet.
Writing Prompts
Use the passage as a springboard for short written responses, from personal reflection to evidence-based arguments.
Fix the Sentence
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1What responsibility did sixteen-year-old Ida B. Wells take on after the 1878 yellow fever epidemic?
- 2Why did Wells file a lawsuit against a railroad company in 1884?
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About this biography passage for Upper Elementary
“Ida B. Wells: Seeking Truth and Evidence” is a biography reading passage about Ida B. Wells, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 4 minutes to read (534 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.