3rd grade nonfiction passage about mail trains: 161 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionmail trains161 words
Sorting Letters on a Moving Train
Before airplanes and big trucks carried most of the mail, trains did the job. Some trains had a special car just for letters. Inside, clerks worked while the train rolled down the track.
The mail car was full of small wooden boxes, called slots. Each slot stood for a town or a region. A clerk picked up a letter, read the address, and tossed it into the right slot. The work was fast, and the floor swayed and shook the whole time.
By the time the train reached a town, the letters for that place were already sorted and tied in a bundle. That saved a lot of time.
Small towns got their mail in a clever way. The train did not always stop. A bag of mail hung on a tall post beside the track. A hook on the train snatched the bag as it raced by. At the same moment, a clerk tossed out a bag for the town.
Questions
What were the small wooden boxes in the mail car called? in the text
What did a clerk do with each letter? in the text
Why was the work hard in a mail car? in the text
How did a small town get its mail if the train did not stop? in the text
Why did sorting letters on the train save time? think about it
Why did clerks have to work fast? think about it
Words to know
clerks
workers who do jobs like sorting and keeping records
slots
narrow openings or small boxes for holding things
address
the place where a person lives or gets mail
region
a large area of land
bundle
a group of things tied together
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Sorting Letters on a Moving Train
3rd grade reading passage
Before airplanes and big trucks carried most of the mail, trains did the job. Some trains had a special car just for letters. Inside, clerks worked while the train rolled down the track.
The mail car was full of small wooden boxes, called slots. Each slot stood for a town or a region. A clerk picked up a letter, read the address, and tossed it into the right slot. The work was fast, and the floor swayed and shook the whole time.
By the time the train reached a town, the letters for that place were already sorted and tied in a bundle. That saved a lot of time.
Small towns got their mail in a clever way. The train did not always stop. A bag of mail hung on a tall post beside the track. A hook on the train snatched the bag as it raced by. At the same moment, a clerk tossed out a bag for the town.
Questions
What were the small wooden boxes in the mail car called?
What did a clerk do with each letter?
Why was the work hard in a mail car?
How did a small town get its mail if the train did not stop?
Why did sorting letters on the train save time?
Why did clerks have to work fast?
Words to know
clerks: workers who do jobs like sorting and keeping records
slots: narrow openings or small boxes for holding things
address: the place where a person lives or gets mail
region: a large area of land
bundle: a group of things tied together
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/sorting-letters-on-a-moving-train
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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 · 143 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.8
Long ago, trains carried most of the mail. Some trains had a car just for letters. Clerks worked inside while the train rolled down the track.
The car was full of small wooden boxes called slots. Each slot stood for a town. A clerk picked up a letter and read the address. Then he tossed it into the right slot. He had to work fast. The floor swayed and shook.
When the train reached a town, the letters for that place were already sorted. They were tied in a bundle. That saved time.
Small towns got mail in a clever way. The train did not always stop. A bag of mail hung on a post by the track. A hook on the train snatched the bag as it raced by. At the same time, a clerk tossed out a bag for the town.
▲ This passage · 161 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.5
Before airplanes and big trucks carried most of the mail, trains did the job. Some trains had a special car just for letters. Inside, clerks worked while the train rolled down the track.
The mail car was full of small wooden boxes, called slots. Each slot stood for a town or a region. A clerk picked up a letter, read the address, and tossed it into the right slot. The work was fast, and the floor swayed and shook the whole time.
By the time the train reached a town, the letters for that place were already sorted and tied in a bundle. That saved a lot of time.
Small towns got their mail in a clever way. The train did not always stop. A bag of mail hung on a tall post beside the track. A hook on the train snatched the bag as it raced by. At the same moment, a clerk tossed out a bag for the town.
■ Harder · 181 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.8
Before airplanes and large trucks carried most of the mail, trains were responsible for delivering it. Some trains included a special car reserved just for letters, and inside it, clerks worked busily while the train rumbled along the track.
The mail car was lined with small wooden boxes called slots, and each slot represented a particular town or region. A clerk would pick up a letter, read the address, and toss it into the correct slot. The work had to be done quickly, even though the floor swayed and shook the entire time.
By the time the train pulled into a town, the letters for that place had already been sorted and tied into a bundle, which saved a great deal of time.
Small towns received their mail in an especially clever way. The train often did not stop at all. Instead, a bag of mail hung from a tall post beside the track, and a hook on the train snatched the bag as it raced past. At that very moment, a clerk tossed out a bag meant for the town.
Long ago, trains carried most of the mail. Some trains had a car just for letters. Clerks worked inside while the train rolled down the track.
The car was full of small wooden boxes called slots. Each slot stood for a town. A clerk picked up a letter and read the address. Then he tossed it into the right slot. He had to work fast. The floor swayed and shook.
When the train reached a town, the letters for that place were already sorted. They were tied in a bundle. That saved time.
Small towns got mail in a clever way. The train did not always stop. A bag of mail hung on a post by the track. A hook on the train snatched the bag as it raced by. At the same time, a clerk tossed out a bag for the town.
Questions
What were the small wooden boxes called?
What did a clerk do with each letter?
Why was the work hard in a mail car?
How did a small town get mail if the train did not stop?
Why did sorting on the train save time?
Why did clerks have to work fast?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Sorting Letters on a Moving Train
Before airplanes and big trucks carried most of the mail, trains did the job. Some trains had a special car just for letters. Inside, clerks worked while the train rolled down the track.
The mail car was full of small wooden boxes, called slots. Each slot stood for a town or a region. A clerk picked up a letter, read the address, and tossed it into the right slot. The work was fast, and the floor swayed and shook the whole time.
By the time the train reached a town, the letters for that place were already sorted and tied in a bundle. That saved a lot of time.
Small towns got their mail in a clever way. The train did not always stop. A bag of mail hung on a tall post beside the track. A hook on the train snatched the bag as it raced by. At the same moment, a clerk tossed out a bag for the town.
Questions
What were the small wooden boxes in the mail car called?
What did a clerk do with each letter?
Why was the work hard in a mail car?
How did a small town get its mail if the train did not stop?
Why did sorting letters on the train save time?
Why did clerks have to work fast?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Sorting Letters on a Moving Train
Before airplanes and large trucks carried most of the mail, trains were responsible for delivering it. Some trains included a special car reserved just for letters, and inside it, clerks worked busily while the train rumbled along the track.
The mail car was lined with small wooden boxes called slots, and each slot represented a particular town or region. A clerk would pick up a letter, read the address, and toss it into the correct slot. The work had to be done quickly, even though the floor swayed and shook the entire time.
By the time the train pulled into a town, the letters for that place had already been sorted and tied into a bundle, which saved a great deal of time.
Small towns received their mail in an especially clever way. The train often did not stop at all. Instead, a bag of mail hung from a tall post beside the track, and a hook on the train snatched the bag as it raced past. At that very moment, a clerk tossed out a bag meant for the town.
Questions
What were the small wooden boxes in the mail car called?
What did a clerk do with each letter he picked up?
What made the work difficult inside the mail car?
How did a small town receive its mail if the train did not stop?
Why did sorting letters during the trip save so much time?
Why did the clerks have to work so quickly?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Sorting Letters on a Moving Train
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.8)
Slots.
Read the address and tossed it into the right slot.
The floor swayed and shook while the train rolled.
A bag hung on a post, and a hook on the train snatched it as it went by.
The letters for each town were already sorted when the train arrived.
The train kept moving toward the next town, and the letters had to be ready.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.5)
Slots.
Read the address and tossed it into the right slot.
The floor swayed and shook while the train rolled.
A bag hung on a post, and a hook on the train snatched it as it passed.
The letters for each town were already sorted when the train arrived.
The train kept moving toward the next town, and the letters had to be ready.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.8)
Slots.
Read the address and tossed it into the correct slot.
The floor swayed and shook the entire time.
A bag hung from a post, and a hook on the train snatched it as it raced past.
The letters for each town were already sorted when the train arrived.
The train kept moving toward the next town, and the letters had to be ready.
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 clerks, slots, address, region and bundle 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 "Sorting Letters on a Moving Train"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 161 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.5. 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?
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