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Wash Day Before Washing Machines

3rd grade nonfiction passage about laundry long ago: 160 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade nonfiction laundry long ago 160 words

Wash Day Before Washing Machines

Today you can put dirty clothes in a machine, press a button, and walk away. A long time ago, washing clothes took most of the day. In many homes it was a big job that came once a week, and people called it wash day.

First, someone had to bring in water. Water often came from a well or a pump and was carried in buckets. Then it was heated in a big kettle over a fire.

Next came the scrubbing. A person rubbed each piece of clothing against a washboard, which was a board with ridges. Soap and hard work lifted out the dirt. After that, the clothes were rinsed. Each one was twisted by hand to wring out the water. Later, a wringer with two rollers did the squeezing.

Last, the wet clothes were hung on a line in the sun and wind to dry. By evening, the wash was done. Everyone was glad when machines came along.

Questions

  1. What was wash day? in the text

  2. Where did water for washing often come from? in the text

  3. How was the water heated? in the text

  4. What was a washboard for? in the text

  5. Why did wash day take most of the day? think about it

  6. Why were people glad when washing machines came along? think about it

Words to know

laundry
clothes that need to be washed or have been washed
kettle
a large pot for heating water
washboard
a ridged board for scrubbing clothes
wring
to squeeze and twist water out of cloth
rinsed
washed with clean water to remove soap
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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 · 135 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1

Today you can put dirty clothes in a machine and press a button. A long time ago, washing clothes took most of the day. In many homes it was a big job once a week. People called it wash day.

First, someone brought in water. It often came from a well or a pump. It was carried in buckets. Then it was heated in a big kettle over a fire.

Next came the scrubbing. A person rubbed each piece of clothing on a washboard. A washboard had ridges. Soap and hard work took out the dirt. Then the clothes were rinsed. Each one was twisted by hand to wring out the water.

Last, the wet clothes hung on a line to dry. By evening, the wash was done. Everyone was glad when machines came along.

▲ This passage · 160 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3

Today you can put dirty clothes in a machine, press a button, and walk away. A long time ago, washing clothes took most of the day. In many homes it was a big job that came once a week, and people called it wash day.

First, someone had to bring in water. Water often came from a well or a pump and was carried in buckets. Then it was heated in a big kettle over a fire.

Next came the scrubbing. A person rubbed each piece of clothing against a washboard, which was a board with ridges. Soap and hard work lifted out the dirt. After that, the clothes were rinsed. Each one was twisted by hand to wring out the water. Later, a wringer with two rollers did the squeezing.

Last, the wet clothes were hung on a line in the sun and wind to dry. By evening, the wash was done. Everyone was glad when machines came along.

■ Harder · 172 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.3

Today you can drop your dirty clothes into a machine, press a button, and walk away. A long time ago, however, washing clothes consumed most of the day. In many homes it was an enormous job that came around once a week, and people called it wash day.

First, someone had to fetch the water, which often came from a well or a pump and was carried inside in heavy buckets. Then it was heated in a big kettle over a fire.

Next came the scrubbing. A person rubbed each piece of clothing against a washboard, a board covered in ridges, and the combination of soap and hard work lifted out the dirt. After that, the clothes were rinsed, and each one was twisted by hand to wring out the water. Later, a wringer with two rollers did the squeezing instead.

Finally, the wet clothes were hung on a line to dry in the sun and the wind. By evening, the wash was finished, and everyone was delighted when machines came along.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put laundry, kettle, washboard, wring and rinsed 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.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Wash Day Before Washing Machines"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 160 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.3. 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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