The Fourth of July

Fun Facts
• Fireworks were invented in China by Natalie Goldstein
about one thousand years ago.
• The first fireworks were yellow.
• In 1776 people wrote with pens made
from bird feathers.

Comprehension
Genre Text Features
Skill
Nonfiction Recall and Retell • Glossary
• Illustrations
• Captions
• Headings

Scott Foresman Social Studies

ISBN 0-328-14802-4

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Americans love to celebrate the Fourth
of July! In this book you will read about Write to It!
how this holiday started.
The Fourth of July is celebrated in
Vocabulary The Fourth of July
many ways.
colony Write two or three sentences
freedom by Natalie
about your family’sGoldstein
favorite way
holiday to celebrate this holiday.
President
citizen
Write your sentences on another
sheet of paper.

Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for
photographic material. The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to
ISBN: 0-328-14802-4
correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc.
Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the property of Scott Foresman,
a division of Pearson Education.
All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is
protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher Editorial
Photo Offices:
locators Glenview,
denoted Illinois
as follows: Top• Parsippany, NewBottom
(T), Center (C), Jersey •(B),
New York,
Left New York
(L), Right (R),
prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission Sales Offices:
Background (Bkgd)Needham, Massachusetts • Duluth, Georgia • Glenview, Illinois
in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or Coppell, Texas • Sacramento, California • Mesa, Arizona
likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Permissions Department,
Opener: Corbis; 1 Corbis; 2 Corbis; 3 The Granger Collection, New York; The Granger
Scott Foresman, 1900 East Lake Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025.
Collection, New York; 5 Corbis; 6 ©Comstock Inc.; 7 Corbis
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 The signing of the Declaration of Independence

The Colonies
Long ago people lived in colonies. The
colonies were ruled by England. The
colonists wanted freedom.
Thomas Jefferson
On July 4, 1776, a group of leaders
in the colonies agreed on an important Most of the Declaration of Independence
paper. It was called the Declaration of was written by Thomas Jefferson. July 4
Independence. became an American holiday to
celebrate freedom.

2 3
 The Fight for Freedom The First Celebration
The colonists had an army to help fight The first Independence Day was
for freedom. George Washington led the celebrated in 1777 in Philadelphia.
army.
The Americans won the war! George
Washington became the first President
of the United States.

George Washington

Cannons and fireworks were

fired on July 4, 1777.

4 5
 Americans celebrate the Fourth of July
with fireworks.
Fireworks
In 1800 New York City celebrated
Independence Day with fireworks.
American citizens loved the fireworks.
Later, Boston and some other places
began to celebrate with fireworks too!
6 7
People celebrate the Fourth of July with parades.
Celebrating Today
Today, Americans celebrate
Independence Day with parades.
Some people wave flags.
At night many people go to see
the fireworks. Americans have fun
celebrating on July 4.
 Americans love to celebrate the Fourth
of July! In this book you will read about Write to It!
Glossary
how this holiday started.
The Fourth of July is celebrated in
Vocabulary many ways.
citizen a member of a state and
colony
country Write two or three sentences
freedom about your family’s favorite way
colony
holidaya place that is ruled by a to celebrate this holiday.
country
Presidentthat is far away
citizen a person’s right to make
freedom
Write your sentences on another
choices sheet of paper.
holiday a special day
President our country’s leader

Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for
photographic material. The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to
ISBN: 0-328-14802-4
correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc.
Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the property of Scott Foresman,
a division of Pearson Education.
All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is
protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher
Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R),
prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission
Background (Bkgd)
in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Permissions Department,
Opener: Corbis; 1 Corbis; 2 Corbis; 3 The Granger Collection, New York; The Granger
Scott Foresman, 1900 East Lake Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025.
Collection, New York; 5 Corbis; 6 ©Comstock Inc.; 7 Corbis

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