3rd grade nonfiction passage about bookbinding: 136 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionbookbinding136 words
How a Bookbinder Sews a Book Together
A bookbinder makes books by hand. She does not print the pages. She puts them together so they stay together for a long time.
First, she folds sheets of paper in half. She stacks a few folded sheets inside one another. Each stack is called a signature. A book may have many signatures.
Next, she sews each signature along the fold. She uses a needle and strong thread. The thread links one signature to the next, so the pages cannot fall out.
Then she glues the back edge, which is called the spine. Last, she covers the book with stiff cardboard and cloth or leather.
Bookbinders also fix old books. A cover may be torn or a page may come loose. The bookbinder repairs it with care, so people can keep reading the book for years.
Questions
What does a bookbinder do? in the text
What is a stack of folded sheets called? in the text
What does she use to sew the signatures? in the text
What is the back edge of a book called? in the text
Why does the thread link one signature to the next? think about it
Why do bookbinders fix old books? think about it
Words to know
signature
a stack of folded sheets that are sewn together
spine
the back edge of a book where the pages are held
leather
a strong material made from animal skin
repairs
fixes something that is broken
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
How a Bookbinder Sews a Book Together
3rd grade reading passage
A bookbinder makes books by hand. She does not print the pages. She puts them together so they stay together for a long time.
First, she folds sheets of paper in half. She stacks a few folded sheets inside one another. Each stack is called a signature. A book may have many signatures.
Next, she sews each signature along the fold. She uses a needle and strong thread. The thread links one signature to the next, so the pages cannot fall out.
Then she glues the back edge, which is called the spine. Last, she covers the book with stiff cardboard and cloth or leather.
Bookbinders also fix old books. A cover may be torn or a page may come loose. The bookbinder repairs it with care, so people can keep reading the book for years.
Questions
What does a bookbinder do?
What is a stack of folded sheets called?
What does she use to sew the signatures?
What is the back edge of a book called?
Why does the thread link one signature to the next?
Why do bookbinders fix old books?
Words to know
signature: a stack of folded sheets that are sewn together
spine: the back edge of a book where the pages are held
leather: a strong material made from animal skin
repairs: fixes something that is broken
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/bookbinder-sews-a-book-together
Share
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 · 121 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.3
A bookbinder makes books by hand. She does not print the pages. She joins them so they stay put.
First, she folds paper in half. She puts a few folded sheets inside each other. This stack is called a signature. A book can have many signatures.
Next, she sews each signature along the fold. She uses a needle and strong thread. The thread links the stacks. Now the pages will not fall out.
Then she glues the back edge. It is called the spine. Last, she adds a stiff cover made of cardboard and cloth.
Bookbinders fix old books, too. A cover may tear. A page may come loose. The bookbinder mends it. Then people can read the book for years.
▲ This passage · 136 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1
A bookbinder makes books by hand. She does not print the pages. She puts them together so they stay together for a long time.
First, she folds sheets of paper in half. She stacks a few folded sheets inside one another. Each stack is called a signature. A book may have many signatures.
Next, she sews each signature along the fold. She uses a needle and strong thread. The thread links one signature to the next, so the pages cannot fall out.
Then she glues the back edge, which is called the spine. Last, she covers the book with stiff cardboard and cloth or leather.
Bookbinders also fix old books. A cover may be torn or a page may come loose. The bookbinder repairs it with care, so people can keep reading the book for years.
■ Harder · 158 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.1
A bookbinder constructs books entirely by hand. She does not print the pages. Instead, she assembles them so that they will hold together for a very long time.
To begin, she folds sheets of paper in half and nests several of the folded sheets inside one another. Each nested stack is known as a signature, and a single book may contain a great many of them.
After that, she sews every signature along its fold with a needle and strong thread. The thread connects one signature to the next, which prevents the pages from falling out.
Next, she glues the back edge, which is called the spine. Finally, she encloses the whole book in a cover of stiff cardboard and cloth or leather.
Bookbinders also repair old books. A cover may be torn, or a page may have come loose. The bookbinder mends the damage carefully, so that people can continue to read the book for many years.
A bookbinder makes books by hand. She does not print the pages. She joins them so they stay put.
First, she folds paper in half. She puts a few folded sheets inside each other. This stack is called a signature. A book can have many signatures.
Next, she sews each signature along the fold. She uses a needle and strong thread. The thread links the stacks. Now the pages will not fall out.
Then she glues the back edge. It is called the spine. Last, she adds a stiff cover made of cardboard and cloth.
Bookbinders fix old books, too. A cover may tear. A page may come loose. The bookbinder mends it. Then people can read the book for years.
Questions
What does a bookbinder do?
What is a stack of folded sheets called?
What does she use to sew the stacks?
What is the back edge of a book called?
Why does the thread link one stack to the next?
Why do bookbinders fix old books?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
How a Bookbinder Sews a Book Together
A bookbinder makes books by hand. She does not print the pages. She puts them together so they stay together for a long time.
First, she folds sheets of paper in half. She stacks a few folded sheets inside one another. Each stack is called a signature. A book may have many signatures.
Next, she sews each signature along the fold. She uses a needle and strong thread. The thread links one signature to the next, so the pages cannot fall out.
Then she glues the back edge, which is called the spine. Last, she covers the book with stiff cardboard and cloth or leather.
Bookbinders also fix old books. A cover may be torn or a page may come loose. The bookbinder repairs it with care, so people can keep reading the book for years.
Questions
What does a bookbinder do?
What is a stack of folded sheets called?
What does she use to sew the signatures?
What is the back edge of a book called?
Why does the thread link one signature to the next?
Why do bookbinders fix old books?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
How a Bookbinder Sews a Book Together
A bookbinder constructs books entirely by hand. She does not print the pages. Instead, she assembles them so that they will hold together for a very long time.
To begin, she folds sheets of paper in half and nests several of the folded sheets inside one another. Each nested stack is known as a signature, and a single book may contain a great many of them.
After that, she sews every signature along its fold with a needle and strong thread. The thread connects one signature to the next, which prevents the pages from falling out.
Next, she glues the back edge, which is called the spine. Finally, she encloses the whole book in a cover of stiff cardboard and cloth or leather.
Bookbinders also repair old books. A cover may be torn, or a page may have come loose. The bookbinder mends the damage carefully, so that people can continue to read the book for many years.
Questions
What does a bookbinder do?
What is each nested stack of folded sheets called?
What does she use to sew the signatures?
What is the back edge of a book called?
Why does the thread connect one signature to the next?
Why do bookbinders repair old books?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: How a Bookbinder Sews a Book Together
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.3)
She puts pages together to make a book by hand.
A signature.
A needle and strong thread.
The spine.
So the pages will not fall out.
So people can read them for years.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1)
She puts the pages together to make a book by hand.
A signature.
A needle and strong thread.
The spine.
So the pages cannot fall out.
So people can keep reading them for years.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.1)
She assembles the pages by hand to make a book that holds together.
A signature.
A needle and strong thread.
The spine.
It prevents the pages from falling out.
So that people can continue to read them for many years.
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 signature, spine, leather and repairs 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 "How a Bookbinder Sews a Book Together"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 136 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.1. 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 six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 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.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.