EnglishFreePrintable

Influenza to Independence Vocabulary

A free english worksheet ready for your classroom. Open in Kuraplan to grab the print-ready PDF, customize it for your students, or generate a fresh version in seconds.

Download now

Name:Date:

Influenza to Independence Vocabulary

Read the short passage, then use clues in the passage and the vocabulary list to solve each task. For written answers, explain your thinking in complete sentences.

In 1918, an influenza epidemic spread through New Zealand. An epidemic is an outbreak of disease that affects many people in a region. The illness reached the country during the final months of the First World War, and thousands of people died. Families and communities were scarred by grief and disruption. Scarred can mean physically marked, but it can also describe lasting emotional effects. People responded in different ways. Local groups organised food and care for neighbours who were ill. The government introduced policies, or planned courses of action, to limit the spread of infection. These measures could not prevent every loss, but they showed how decisions made by leaders affected everyday life. New Zealand’s path to independence was gradual, rather than a single sudden event. The country became a Dominion in 1907, gaining a stronger sense of its own identity while remaining closely connected to Britain. In 1947, New Zealand adopted the Statute of Westminster, giving its Parliament full legal power to make laws without needing approval from the British Parliament. The hardship of 1918 did not itself cause independence, but it was one important experience in a century of change. Words such as epidemic, policy, settlers, and independence help us describe that history precisely.

Meaning in context

Use the passage to work out how each word is being used.

1.Match each vocabulary word with its meaning.

epidemic
policy
scarred
independence

the ability to govern or make decisions for oneself
an outbreak of disease affecting many people in a region
a planned course of action, often made by a government
left with lasting physical or emotional marks

2.Complete the sentence: “The 1918 influenza ______ spread through New Zealand and affected many communities.”

settler
epidemic
policy
independence

3.In the passage, what does “scarred by grief and disruption” suggest about families and communities?

4.Which word does not name a kind of hardship or harmful event: epidemic, grief, disruption, independence? Explain your choice.

Word choice and history

Think about which words are accurate and what they help a reader understand.

5.Use one word from this list: policy, epidemic, settlers, independence. “A government is a planned course of action.”

6.The passage says that the 1918 influenza epidemic directly caused New Zealand to become independent.

TrueFalse

7.The passage says New Zealand became a Dominion in 1907 and adopted the Statute of Westminster in 1947. In your own words, explain how the vocabulary word “gradual” fits this timeline.

8.A writer wants to describe people who establish homes in a new place. Which word from the passage best fits: settlers, policies, or epidemics? Write the word and explain it.

9.Write one sentence connecting the words “policy” and “epidemic” to the passage. Make it clear what the policy was intended to respond to.

10.Write three or four sentences explaining how the passage links the 1918 epidemic with New Zealand’s longer story of change. Use at least three of these words accurately: epidemic, scarred, policy, gradual, independence.