Freedom’s First Celebration

This reading comprehension worksheet supports students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 as they learn about the origins of Juneteenth through an informational passage focused on the first celebration in Galveston, Texas, in 1865. Students build reading fluency, historical comprehension, summarization, and cause-and-effect reasoning as they explore how newly freed people responded to the announcement of emancipation and began traditions rooted in remembrance, joy, and freedom.

Learning Goals

• Informational Reading (Grades 4-6) – Identify key ideas, details, and historical facts in a nonfiction passage
• Historical Understanding – Explain the significance of Juneteenth and its first celebration
• Cause and Effect – Analyze how the announcement of emancipation led to lasting traditions
• Summarization Skills – Retell important events using clear and accurate language

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to align with ELA and U.S. history standards
• Text-Dependent Questions – Encourages careful reading and evidence-based responses
• Flexible Use – Ideal for social studies lessons, literacy blocks, holiday units, or independent practice
• Supports Reading Fluency – Builds confidence with historical informational texts

This Juneteenth reading worksheet helps students strengthen comprehension, historical reasoning, and summarization skills through meaningful content. By learning about the first Juneteenth celebration, students gain a deeper understanding of freedom, resilience, and African American history. It’s a no-prep resource for both classroom and homeschool settings that supports literacy growth and thoughtful engagement with U.S. history.

This worksheet is part of our Juneteenth collection.