Read “Henry Ford” and “Boom, Crash, Bang” and answer the questions that follow.
1. Henry Ford was born on a farm in Michigan. He did not like farm work. Henry Ford dreamed of moving to the city. Even at an early age he was good at building things. He knew he would someday find a job.
2. At age 16, he moved to the city of Detroit, Michigan. He found a job as a machinist. A
machinist uses tools and machines to make parts out of metal or wood. This was hard and dangerous work. Many workers got hurt while making parts.
3. Henry Ford tinkered with the gasoline engine. He worked on motors for fun. He used his money for his hobby. Henry Ford put a motor on what looked like a wagon. Later, he worked with Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb. Thomas Edison liked Henry Ford’s idea. In 1898, Henry Ford made his second gas car.
4. Henry Ford started out with groups of two or three workers to put the cars together. He knew he needed the best workers he could find. He paid five dollars a day for the best help. His team used parts from other businesses. This made the cars cost a lot of money.
5. He is most famous for the assembly line. Henry Ford made the assembly line better so he could make more cars. In an assembly line, each worker has a job. The car moves in a line to be put together.
6. It was all downhill after that. Ford’s company grew rapidly. Soon his company was not just in Michigan but all over the world.
7. Today, people drive cars made by the Ford Motor Company. The Beach Boys wrote a song about a Ford car. The song was called, “Fun, Fun, and Fun 57 T-Bird.” Henry Ford’s cars also made it in the movies. The 1967 Ford Mustang was in the movie, Gone in 60 Seconds. Henry Ford’s cars are loved by many. Henry Ford died on April 7, 1947. His dream did not die with him but lives on through Ford Motor Company.
