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A Backyard Map With a Scale

4th grade nonfiction passage about map scale and distance: 211 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction map scale and distance 211 words

A Backyard Map With a Scale

Mapmakers have a problem. The places they draw are far bigger than any sheet of paper. A backyard may be 60 feet wide, yet a map of it must fit on a page. The solution is a scale.

A scale tells you how a distance on the map matches a distance in real life. Suppose a backyard map says that 1 inch equals 5 feet. That means every inch you measure on the paper stands for 5 feet on the grass.

Now let us use it. On the map, the oak tree is 6 inches from the garden shed. How far apart are they in the yard? Each inch is worth 5 feet, so you multiply. Six times 5 is 30. The tree and the shed are 30 feet apart.

You can also work backward. If you want to know how a 10-foot sandbox should look on the map, divide 10 by 5. The answer is 2, so you draw it 2 inches long.

Scales are not always the same. A map of a whole city might use 1 inch for a mile or more. A small scale lets you see a huge place. A large scale shows a small place with more detail. When you read any map, look for the scale first. It turns a flat drawing into a guide you can measure.

Questions

  1. What problem do mapmakers have? in the text

  2. What does a scale tell you? in the text

  3. On the sample map, how many feet does 1 inch stand for? in the text

  4. How far apart are the oak tree and the shed in the yard? in the text

  5. How long should a 10-foot sandbox be drawn on the map? in the text

  6. Why should you look for the scale first when you read a map? think about it

Words to know

scale
a rule that shows how map sizes match real sizes
distance
the amount of space between two places
equals
is the same amount as
detail
a small part that you can see clearly
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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 · 149 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7

Mapmakers have a problem. The places they draw are much bigger than a sheet of paper. A backyard may be 60 feet wide, but the map must fit on a page. The answer is a scale.

A scale tells how a distance on the map matches a distance in real life. Say a map says 1 inch equals 5 feet. Each inch on the paper means 5 feet on the grass.

Let us try it. On the map, the oak tree is 6 inches from the shed. How far apart are they in the yard? Each inch is 5 feet, so multiply. Six times 5 is 30. They are 30 feet apart.

You can go the other way. A 10-foot sandbox is 10 divided by 5, which is 2. Draw it 2 inches long.

Scales can be different. A map of a city may use 1 inch for a mile or more. Look for the scale first. It lets you measure a map.

▲ This passage · 211 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.5

Mapmakers have a problem. The places they draw are far bigger than any sheet of paper. A backyard may be 60 feet wide, yet a map of it must fit on a page. The solution is a scale.

A scale tells you how a distance on the map matches a distance in real life. Suppose a backyard map says that 1 inch equals 5 feet. That means every inch you measure on the paper stands for 5 feet on the grass.

Now let us use it. On the map, the oak tree is 6 inches from the garden shed. How far apart are they in the yard? Each inch is worth 5 feet, so you multiply. Six times 5 is 30. The tree and the shed are 30 feet apart.

You can also work backward. If you want to know how a 10-foot sandbox should look on the map, divide 10 by 5. The answer is 2, so you draw it 2 inches long.

Scales are not always the same. A map of a whole city might use 1 inch for a mile or more. A small scale lets you see a huge place. A large scale shows a small place with more detail. When you read any map, look for the scale first. It turns a flat drawing into a guide you can measure.

■ Harder · 229 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.9

Mapmakers face an interesting difficulty. The places they want to draw are enormously bigger than any sheet of paper. A backyard might measure 60 feet across, yet a map of it has to fit on a single page. The solution that mapmakers rely on is called a scale.

A scale explains how a distance measured on the map corresponds to a distance in real life. Suppose a backyard map states that 1 inch equals 5 feet. That means every inch you measure on the paper represents 5 feet on the actual grass.

Now let us put it to work. On the map, the oak tree sits 6 inches from the garden shed. How far apart are they in the yard? Since each inch is worth 5 feet, you multiply, and 6 times 5 is 30. The tree and the shed are therefore 30 feet apart.

You can also work in reverse. To learn how a 10-foot sandbox should appear on the map, divide 10 by 5. The answer is 2, so you would draw the sandbox 2 inches long.

Scales are not always the same, of course. A map of an entire city might use 1 inch for a mile or more. A small scale lets you see a huge place, while a large scale shows a small place with extra detail. Whenever you read a map, look for the scale first, because it transforms a flat drawing into a guide you can measure.

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 scale, distance, equals and detail 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 6 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 "A Backyard Map With a Scale"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 211 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. 5 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 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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