Level: O
DRA: 38
Genre:
Biography
Strategy:
Summarize
Skill:
Main Ideas and Details
Word Count: 967
3.2.10
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
Online Leveled Books
ISBN-13: 978-0-547-01786-0
ISBN-10: 0-547-01786-3
1031644
H O UG H T O N M IF F L IN
by Minnie Timenti
ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: Doris Ettlinger
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS: Cover Library of Congress. 1 ©1995 PhotoDisc, Inc. All rights reserved. Images ©1995 CMCD,
Inc. 2 C Squared Studios. 4 Library of Congress. 6 (t) Simpson College. 6–7 Library of Congress. 8 Library of Congress.
10 © Corbis. 11 Associated Press. 12 Library of Congress. 13 National Postal Museum Library, Smithsonian Institution.
14 © Getty Images.
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The Nature Kid
Susan Carver stood in front of her cabin
home while a little boy emptied his pockets.
The boy’s name was George. Susan and her
husband Moses had cared for George since he
was a baby. George had been out wandering
in the woods again. George loved the woods
near the Carver farm in Missouri. He always
brought back plants, insects, rocks, frogs, and an
occasional reptile. Aunt Sue didn’t mind that
George collected things. She just didn’t want
his collections in the cabin.
Susan and Moses Carver knew George had
special gifts. Why, the young boy had planted
his own garden in the woods! He had even
done experiments with soil and sunlight. Not
many farm kids did that. Most people who
knew George thought he was a genius.
2
“I wanted to know the name of every stone and
flower and insect and bird and beast. I wanted to
know where it got its color, where it got its life—
but there was no one to tell me.”
— George Washington Carver
3
One Smart Kid
The Carvers were determined to get George
a good education. But the schools nearest to his
house were for white children only. When George
was about twelve, he was sent to a school for
African American children. The school was eight
miles from the Carvers’ farm, so George lived
with a family who had a house close to the school.
George went to a school for African American
children like this one.
4
But the school was too easy for George. He
was by far the smartest boy there. George left the
school and moved to Missouri where he could get
a better education.
In high school, George was a star student.
After George graduated, he started his own
laundry business. But George still had a thirst to
learn more. He wanted to go to college.
The College Challenge
In 1885, George got a letter from a college in
Highland, Kansas, inviting him to attend. But
when George arrived at the college, they turned
him away. They hadn’t realized he was African
American. Like many colleges at the time, this
one was only for white students.
George was very disappointed. But he kept
reading and learning on his own.
5
George Carver was only the second African American
to go to Simpson College.
On a visit to Iowa, George met a family that
encouraged him to go to the local college. In 1887,
George started taking classes at Simpson College.
He was only the second African American
student to go there. He studied art and music.
But George wanted to study plants and farming.
He switched to Iowa State Agricultural College,
where he learned about crops, soils, fertilizers,
farm animals, and more.
A Great Teaching Career Begins
George was a top student at Iowa State. After
he graduated, he was asked to stay and teach. He
also began doing research about plants and their
many uses.
Soon, scientists around the country heard
about George and his plant studies. One day, a
letter arrived at George’s office from the famous
educator Booker T. Washington, who had started
a school for African Americans in Alabama called
the Tuskegee Institute.
It was a signal that George Washington
Carver’s life was about to change forever.
Tuskegee Institute’s aim was to help African Americans
get an education.
7
Carver worked with
farmers to improve
the way they
grew crops.
Booker T. Washington wanted Carver to start
up a new agricultural program at Tuskegee. He
knew that most African Americans in the South
were farmers. Teaching them about farming
was the best way to improve their lives. Carver
accepted the job, even though it paid little.
Helping Poor Farmers
There were many poor African American
farmers in the South. They had been growing
only cotton for so many years, it had ruined the
soil at their farms. The farmers also had problems
with insects that were eating their crops.
Carver taught the farmers better ways to
farm. He wrote simple booklets for them and
held meetings to teach them how to improve
their crops. He also taught them how to grow
healthful foods.
”The primary idea in all of my work was to help the
farmer and fill the poor man’s empty dinner pail.”
— George Washington Carver
9
Crops such as peanuts had another
advantage. Insects didn’t eat them.
Carver believed in using natural products to
improve soils and help plants grow. He wanted
farmers to plant crops such as peanuts and sweet
potatoes that made the soil healthier.
10
But that gave Carver another problem to
solve. If so many farmers grew peanuts and sweet
potatoes, he would have to find more ways to use
these crops.
Carver experimented in his laboratory. He
used simple gadgets and processes to make
hundreds of new products from these crops.
All of these things could help the farmers make
money in new ways.
Carver worked in his laboratory to invent
new uses for common farm crops.
11
Fame Follows
Carver’s work made him famous across the
country. The United States government asked him
to work on plant products. He was even offered
a job by Thomas Edison, famous for his invention
of the electric light bulb. But Carver chose to stay
at Tuskegee and continue his work to improve the
lives of farmers.
Carver kept working and teaching into his 70s.
12
The United States Postal Service honored
Carver with a stamp.
George Washington Carver died in 1943
at the age of 79. He was buried at Tuskegee
Institute. The following words were written on
his gravestone. They say what is most important
about this great man.
“He could have added fortune to fame,
but caring for neither he found
happiness and honor in being helpful
to the world.”
13
The Life of George Washington Carver
14
1864 (?)
Born in Missouri.
1877
Attends school.
1884
Completes high school.
1891–1896
Attends college.
1896
Begins work at Tuskegee Institute
in Alabama.
1921
Carver’s speech to the U.S. Congress
about uses of the peanut makes
him famous.
1940
Carver donates all his money
to Tuskegee Institute for
agricultural research.
1943
Dies at the age of 79.
Responding
Main Idea and Details Copy the chart below. Fill in two details from this biography that support the Main Idea shown in the chart.
TARGET SKILL
Main Idea
Carver was famous for his work.
Detail
?
Detail
?
Write About It
Text to World What did you find most interesting about George Washington Carver? Write a paragraph that gives your opinion. Be sure to include a main idea and support it with details. 15
TARGET VOCABULARY
electric
experiments
gadgets
genius
invention
laboratory
occasional
signal
Main Ideas and Details Tell important ideas and details about a topic. TARGET SKILL
Summarize Tell the important parts of the text in your own words. TARGET STRATEGY
GENRE A biography tells about events in a person’s life, written by another person.
16
Level: O
DRA: 38
Genre:
Biography
Strategy:
Summarize
Skill:
Main Ideas and Details
Word Count: 967
3.2.10
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
Online Leveled Books
ISBN-13: 978-0-547-01786-0
ISBN-10: 0-547-01786-3
1031644
H O UG H T O N M IF F L IN