1st grade nonfiction passage about fire drills at school: 100 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
1st gradenonfictionfire drills at school100 words
Practice Makes a Fire Drill Calm
A fire drill is a practice. The bell rings. There is no fire. But the school wants to be ready.
Why practice? If there is ever a real fire, a person might feel scared. When you have practiced, your feet know what to do.
Here is what you do. You stop what you are doing. You line up with your class. You walk out the door. You stay with your teacher.
You do not run. You do not push. A calm line is safe and fast.
Outside, the teacher counts the class. Everyone is here! Then you walk back in.
Questions
What is a fire drill? in the text
What do you do first when the bell rings? in the text
Who do you stay with? in the text
What does the teacher do outside? in the text
Why do schools practice fire drills? think about it
Words to know
drill
a practice of what to do in a hurry
practice
to do something again to get better
calm
quiet and not upset
line
people standing one behind another
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Practice Makes a Fire Drill Calm
1st grade reading passage
A fire drill is a practice. The bell rings. There is no fire. But the school wants to be ready.
Why practice? If there is ever a real fire, a person might feel scared. When you have practiced, your feet know what to do.
Here is what you do. You stop what you are doing. You line up with your class. You walk out the door. You stay with your teacher.
You do not run. You do not push. A calm line is safe and fast.
Outside, the teacher counts the class. Everyone is here! Then you walk back in.
Questions
What is a fire drill?
What do you do first when the bell rings?
Who do you stay with?
What does the teacher do outside?
Why do schools practice fire drills?
Words to know
drill: a practice of what to do in a hurry
practice: to do something again to get better
calm: quiet and not upset
line: people standing one behind another
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/1/practice-makes-a-fire-drill-calm
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One passage, three levels
The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.
● Easier · 88 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.5
A fire drill is a practice. The bell rings. There is no fire. The school wants to be ready.
Why practice? In a real fire, a person might feel scared. When you have practiced, your feet know what to do.
Here is what to do. Stop what you are doing. Line up with your class. Walk out the door. Stay with your teacher.
Do not run. Do not push. A calm line is safe.
Outside, the teacher counts the class. Everyone is here! Then you walk back in.
▲ This passage · 100 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.3
A fire drill is a practice. The bell rings. There is no fire. But the school wants to be ready.
Why practice? If there is ever a real fire, a person might feel scared. When you have practiced, your feet know what to do.
Here is what you do. You stop what you are doing. You line up with your class. You walk out the door. You stay with your teacher.
You do not run. You do not push. A calm line is safe and fast.
Outside, the teacher counts the class. Everyone is here! Then you walk back in.
■ Harder · 115 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3
A fire drill is a practice. When the bell rings, there is no real fire, but the school wants everyone to be ready just in case.
Why practice at all? If there were ever a real fire, a person might feel frightened. After lots of practice, your feet already know what to do.
The steps are simple. You stop whatever you are doing. You line up with your class and walk out the door, staying close to your teacher.
You never run, and you never push. A calm line is both safe and quick.
Once you are outside, the teacher counts the class to make sure everyone is there. Then the class walks back inside.
A fire drill is a practice. The bell rings. There is no fire. The school wants to be ready.
Why practice? In a real fire, a person might feel scared. When you have practiced, your feet know what to do.
Here is what to do. Stop what you are doing. Line up with your class. Walk out the door. Stay with your teacher.
Do not run. Do not push. A calm line is safe.
Outside, the teacher counts the class. Everyone is here! Then you walk back in.
Questions
What is a fire drill?
What do you do first when the bell rings?
Who do you stay with?
What does the teacher do outside?
Why does a school practice fire drills?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Practice Makes a Fire Drill Calm
A fire drill is a practice. The bell rings. There is no fire. But the school wants to be ready.
Why practice? If there is ever a real fire, a person might feel scared. When you have practiced, your feet know what to do.
Here is what you do. You stop what you are doing. You line up with your class. You walk out the door. You stay with your teacher.
You do not run. You do not push. A calm line is safe and fast.
Outside, the teacher counts the class. Everyone is here! Then you walk back in.
Questions
What is a fire drill?
What do you do first when the bell rings?
Who do you stay with?
What does the teacher do outside?
Why do schools practice fire drills?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Practice Makes a Fire Drill Calm
A fire drill is a practice. When the bell rings, there is no real fire, but the school wants everyone to be ready just in case.
Why practice at all? If there were ever a real fire, a person might feel frightened. After lots of practice, your feet already know what to do.
The steps are simple. You stop whatever you are doing. You line up with your class and walk out the door, staying close to your teacher.
You never run, and you never push. A calm line is both safe and quick.
Once you are outside, the teacher counts the class to make sure everyone is there. Then the class walks back inside.
Questions
What is a fire drill?
What is the first thing you do when the bell rings?
Who do you stay close to?
What does the teacher do once everyone is outside?
Why do schools practice fire drills?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Practice Makes a Fire Drill Calm
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.5)
A practice for what to do in a fire.
Stop what you are doing.
Your teacher.
Counts the class.
So everyone knows what to do and stays calm in a real fire.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.3)
A practice for what to do in a fire.
You stop what you are doing.
Your teacher.
The teacher counts the class.
So everyone knows what to do and stays calm if there is a real fire.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3)
A practice for what to do in a fire.
You stop whatever you are doing.
Your teacher.
The teacher counts the class.
So everyone knows what to do and stays calm if there is ever a real fire.
Free at teach.peabody.kids
How to use it
Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.
Ideas for class
Before reading, put drill, practice, calm and line on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 1 minute to read aloud.
Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.
What reading level is "Practice Makes a Fire Drill Calm"?
It was written for 1st grade. It has 100 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about below 1. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.
What do the questions ask?
There are five. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 1 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.
How long does it take to read?
About 1 minute read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.
Can I print it?
Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.
Is this passage from a published book?
No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.
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