IXL | Read along about famous people | 2nd grade language arts

Listen and read along with the passage about Elizabeth Keckley.

In 1818, Elizabeth was born into slavery in the state of Virginia. From a young age, she had to clean and take care of children. Elizabeth's mother taught her how to sew, and Elizabeth became good at making clothes.

Elizabeth earned a little money by sewing clothing for people. She saved up this money for many years, until she finally had enough to buy her freedom.

Five years after becoming free, Elizabeth moved to Washington, DC. She started her own business there and became well known for the beautiful garments she made. Mary Lincoln, the wife of President Abraham Lincoln, heard about Elizabeth's work. Elizabeth made many dresses for Mary, and the two women became friends. Elizabeth wrote about their friendship in a book. The book told the story of Elizabeth's life as an African American woman in the 1800s.

What skill helped Elizabeth Keckley become free?

cleaning

sewing

writing

ref_doc_title.

Learn with an example

question

Listen and read along with the passage about Michelle Kwan.

At five years old, Michelle Kwan began ice-skating lessons with her sister. After winning some skating contests, she started to train with a coach.

Each day, Michelle woke up early to practice before school. She learned to do jumps and spins on the ice. Soon, Michelle became an accomplished skater. She often earned high scores for her beautiful skating even though she was one of the youngest skaters in the contests.

It was not easy, but Michelle's hard work paid off. When she was only fifteen, Michelle won her first gold medal at the World Championships. Then she went on to win the gold four more times. This was an amazing accomplishment, since only two other Americans had done this before. She also won medals at two Olympic Winter Games.

Michelle did not always win first place. But even when other skaters won contests, Michelle was a good sport. Her fans looked up to her for how she always stayed positive, no matter whether she won or lost.

How old was Michelle when she won her first gold medal at the World Championships?

nine

fifteen

twenty

solution

The passage says when she was only fifteen, Michelle won her first gold medal at the World Championships.

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