Who is Thomas Mundy Peterson?

Celebrate Black History Month in your classroom with this reading exercise about the first African American to vote under the 15th Amendment. 

In March of 1870, Thomas Mundy Peterson cast his ballot in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, for a new town charter. While that might seem like a typical act of citizenship, this momentous demonstration came weeks after the United States made it unlawful to deny men the right to vote based on race, color, or previous servitude.

In this 2-page worksheet, students will read an informational passage about Thomas Mundy Peterson. They’ll practice word recognition and decode unknown words and phrases through context clues. Then they’ll answer 4 reading comprehension questions to confirm they grasp the significance of this event in Black and American history. 

An answer key is included with this resource for easy grading. 

Ways to Use This Reading Comprehension Activity

This download is more than a worksheet!

In addition to being an inspiring figure to study during Black History Month, use this worksheet as a: 

• Fast finisher activity
• Reading center activity
• Post-lesson exit ticket 
• Homework assignment
• Whole-class review (via smartboard)

Sustainability Tips: Print on cardstock and slip the pages into dry-erase sleeves. Students can record their answers with a dry-erase marker, then erase and reuse. You can also project the worksheet and work through it as a class, having students record their answers in their notebooks.

Before You Download

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the Google Slides version, full-color PDF, or black-and-white PDF. Depending on your lesson, you can also opt to:

1. Print the poster on tabloid paper and display it as a poster in your classroom during Black History Month.
2. Print the poster and comprehension questions on letter-size paper for your students to use independently.
3. Download the Google Slides version and print it as in-class worksheets or assign it virtually to your remote learning students.

Give your students an enriching learning experience with even more activities and lesson-planning tools! 

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