3rd grade nonfiction passage about inca record keeping: 159 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictioninca record keeping159 words
The Inca Cords That Held Numbers
The Inca people lived long ago in the high mountains of South America. They ran a huge land with many towns and roads. Someone had to keep track of it all. They did not write with letters as we do. They used knots.
A knotted set of strings is called a quipu. It had one thick main cord. Many thinner cords hung down from it like a fringe. Each hanging cord had knots tied in it.
The knots stood for numbers. The place of a knot on the cord mattered. Knots near the bottom stood for ones. Knots higher up stood for tens, and higher still for hundreds. A quipu could count things like corn, cloth, or the people in a village.
The cords came in different colors, and the colors may have had meaning too. Special keepers made and read the quipus. They carried them along the roads, so that news and counts could travel across the land.
Questions
Where did the Inca people live? in the text
What is a knotted set of strings called? in the text
What did the knots stand for? in the text
What could a quipu be used to count? in the text
Why did the Inca need a way to keep records? think about it
Why did the place of a knot on a cord matter? think about it
Words to know
Inca
the people who built a great empire in the Andes mountains
quipu
a set of knotted cords used to keep records
cord
a thin rope or thick string
fringe
a edge of hanging threads
keepers
people who take care of something
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Inca Cords That Held Numbers
3rd grade reading passage
The Inca people lived long ago in the high mountains of South America. They ran a huge land with many towns and roads. Someone had to keep track of it all. They did not write with letters as we do. They used knots.
A knotted set of strings is called a quipu. It had one thick main cord. Many thinner cords hung down from it like a fringe. Each hanging cord had knots tied in it.
The knots stood for numbers. The place of a knot on the cord mattered. Knots near the bottom stood for ones. Knots higher up stood for tens, and higher still for hundreds. A quipu could count things like corn, cloth, or the people in a village.
The cords came in different colors, and the colors may have had meaning too. Special keepers made and read the quipus. They carried them along the roads, so that news and counts could travel across the land.
Questions
Where did the Inca people live?
What is a knotted set of strings called?
What did the knots stand for?
What could a quipu be used to count?
Why did the Inca need a way to keep records?
Why did the place of a knot on a cord matter?
Words to know
Inca: the people who built a great empire in the Andes mountains
quipu: a set of knotted cords used to keep records
cord: a thin rope or thick string
fringe: a edge of hanging threads
keepers: people who take care of something
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/inca-knotted-cord-quipu
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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 · 129 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9
The Inca people lived long ago in the high mountains of South America. They ran a huge land with many towns. Someone had to keep track of it all. They did not write with letters. They used knots.
A set of knotted strings is called a quipu. It had one thick main cord. Many thin cords hung down from it. Each thin cord had knots.
The knots stood for numbers. The place of a knot mattered. Knots near the bottom stood for ones. Knots higher up stood for tens. Higher still were hundreds. A quipu could count corn, cloth, or the people in a village.
The cords had different colors. The colors may have had meaning too. Keepers made and read the quipus. They carried them along the roads.
▲ This passage · 159 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.8
The Inca people lived long ago in the high mountains of South America. They ran a huge land with many towns and roads. Someone had to keep track of it all. They did not write with letters as we do. They used knots.
A knotted set of strings is called a quipu. It had one thick main cord. Many thinner cords hung down from it like a fringe. Each hanging cord had knots tied in it.
The knots stood for numbers. The place of a knot on the cord mattered. Knots near the bottom stood for ones. Knots higher up stood for tens, and higher still for hundreds. A quipu could count things like corn, cloth, or the people in a village.
The cords came in different colors, and the colors may have had meaning too. Special keepers made and read the quipus. They carried them along the roads, so that news and counts could travel across the land.
■ Harder · 183 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.8
The Inca people lived long ago in the high mountains of South America, where they governed an enormous land of many towns and roads. Someone had to keep track of everything within it. They did not write with letters as we do, but they kept their records with knots.
A set of knotted strings is called a quipu. It consisted of one thick main cord, with many thinner cords hanging down from it like a fringe. Every one of the hanging cords had knots tied along its length.
The knots represented numbers, and the position of each knot was important. Knots near the bottom of a cord stood for ones, knots higher up stood for tens, and those higher still stood for hundreds. A quipu could be used to count items such as corn, cloth, or the people living in a village.
The cords came in a variety of colors, and the colors may have carried meaning as well. Special keepers made and read the quipus, and they carried them along the roads, so that news and counts could travel across the land.
The Inca people lived long ago in the high mountains of South America. They ran a huge land with many towns. Someone had to keep track of it all. They did not write with letters. They used knots.
A set of knotted strings is called a quipu. It had one thick main cord. Many thin cords hung down from it. Each thin cord had knots.
The knots stood for numbers. The place of a knot mattered. Knots near the bottom stood for ones. Knots higher up stood for tens. Higher still were hundreds. A quipu could count corn, cloth, or the people in a village.
The cords had different colors. The colors may have had meaning too. Keepers made and read the quipus. They carried them along the roads.
Questions
Where did the Inca people live?
What is a set of knotted strings called?
What did the knots stand for?
What could a quipu count?
Why did the Inca need a way to keep records?
Why did the place of a knot matter?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Inca Cords That Held Numbers
The Inca people lived long ago in the high mountains of South America. They ran a huge land with many towns and roads. Someone had to keep track of it all. They did not write with letters as we do. They used knots.
A knotted set of strings is called a quipu. It had one thick main cord. Many thinner cords hung down from it like a fringe. Each hanging cord had knots tied in it.
The knots stood for numbers. The place of a knot on the cord mattered. Knots near the bottom stood for ones. Knots higher up stood for tens, and higher still for hundreds. A quipu could count things like corn, cloth, or the people in a village.
The cords came in different colors, and the colors may have had meaning too. Special keepers made and read the quipus. They carried them along the roads, so that news and counts could travel across the land.
Questions
Where did the Inca people live?
What is a knotted set of strings called?
What did the knots stand for?
What could a quipu be used to count?
Why did the Inca need a way to keep records?
Why did the place of a knot on a cord matter?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Inca Cords That Held Numbers
The Inca people lived long ago in the high mountains of South America, where they governed an enormous land of many towns and roads. Someone had to keep track of everything within it. They did not write with letters as we do, but they kept their records with knots.
A set of knotted strings is called a quipu. It consisted of one thick main cord, with many thinner cords hanging down from it like a fringe. Every one of the hanging cords had knots tied along its length.
The knots represented numbers, and the position of each knot was important. Knots near the bottom of a cord stood for ones, knots higher up stood for tens, and those higher still stood for hundreds. A quipu could be used to count items such as corn, cloth, or the people living in a village.
The cords came in a variety of colors, and the colors may have carried meaning as well. Special keepers made and read the quipus, and they carried them along the roads, so that news and counts could travel across the land.
Questions
Where did the Inca people live?
What is a set of knotted strings called?
What did the knots represent?
What could a quipu be used to count?
Why did the Inca need a way to keep records?
Why was the position of each knot important?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Inca Cords That Held Numbers
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9)
In the high mountains of South America.
A quipu.
Numbers.
Corn, cloth, or the people in a village.
They ran a huge land with many towns, so someone had to keep track of it all.
Knots in different places stood for ones, tens, or hundreds.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.8)
In the high mountains of South America.
A quipu.
Numbers.
Things like corn, cloth, or the people in a village.
They ran a huge land with many towns, so someone had to keep track of it all.
Knots in different places stood for ones, tens, or hundreds.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.8)
In the high mountains of South America.
A quipu.
Numbers.
Items such as corn, cloth, or the people living in a village.
They governed an enormous land with many towns, so someone had to keep track of everything.
Knots in different positions stood for ones, tens, or hundreds.
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 Inca, quipu, cord, fringe and keepers 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 2 minutes 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 "The Inca Cords That Held Numbers"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 159 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.8. 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 2 minutes 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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