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The Clerk Who Writes Down Every Decision

4th grade nonfiction passage about town clerk and records: 206 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction town clerk and records 206 words

The Clerk Who Writes Down Every Decision

Every town has records, and many towns have a person in charge of them called the clerk. The clerk works in the town office and keeps important papers safe. These can include copies of local laws and records of meetings. In many towns, the clerk also helps run elections.

At each council meeting, the clerk or an assistant writes notes called minutes. The minutes list who came, what was proposed, and how each vote turned out. At the next meeting, the council checks that the minutes are correct. Once they are approved, they become part of the official record.

Why go to all this trouble? A town makes many decisions over the years. Without written records, people would forget. They might disagree about what was decided. A resident who wonders why a stop sign stands on a corner can ask to see the minutes. In many places, anyone can read the records. The government works for the people who live there.

Records help in another way. Long from now, historians can read them. They can learn how the town lived and what mattered to it. A good clerk has to be careful and fair. The clerk writes what truly happened, not what someone wishes had happened.

Questions

  1. What kinds of things does the town clerk keep safe? in the text

  2. What are minutes? in the text

  3. What happens before minutes become the official record? in the text

  4. Why might a resident ask to see the minutes? in the text

  5. Why are records open for anyone to read in many places? in the text

  6. How can old records help historians? think about it

Words to know

clerk
a person who keeps records and does office work
minutes
the written notes that tell what happened at a meeting
records
papers or files that keep facts for later
official
approved by people in charge and counted as the real one
historians
people who study the past
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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 · 214 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.7

Every town has records. Many towns have a person in charge of them. This person is called the clerk. The clerk works in the town office. The clerk keeps important papers safe. These can be copies of local laws and records of meetings. In many towns, the clerk also helps run elections.

At each council meeting, the clerk or an assistant writes notes called minutes. The minutes tell who came. They tell what was proposed. They tell how each vote turned out. At the next meeting, the council checks that the minutes are correct. Once they are approved, they become part of the official record.

Why go to all this trouble? A town makes many decisions over the years. Without written records, people would forget. They might not agree on what was decided. A resident might wonder why a stop sign stands on a corner. That person can ask to see the minutes. In many places, anyone can read the records. The government works for the people who live there.

Records help in another way. Long from now, historians can read them. They can learn how the town lived and what mattered to it. A good clerk must be careful and fair. The clerk writes what truly happened, not what someone wishes had happened.

▲ This passage · 206 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.8

Every town has records, and many towns have a person in charge of them called the clerk. The clerk works in the town office and keeps important papers safe. These can include copies of local laws and records of meetings. In many towns, the clerk also helps run elections.

At each council meeting, the clerk or an assistant writes notes called minutes. The minutes list who came, what was proposed, and how each vote turned out. At the next meeting, the council checks that the minutes are correct. Once they are approved, they become part of the official record.

Why go to all this trouble? A town makes many decisions over the years. Without written records, people would forget. They might disagree about what was decided. A resident who wonders why a stop sign stands on a corner can ask to see the minutes. In many places, anyone can read the records. The government works for the people who live there.

Records help in another way. Long from now, historians can read them. They can learn how the town lived and what mattered to it. A good clerk has to be careful and fair. The clerk writes what truly happened, not what someone wishes had happened.

■ Harder · 230 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.8

Every town accumulates records, and many towns assign a person to be responsible for them, who is known as the clerk. The clerk works in the town office and keeps important documents safe, including copies of local laws and the records of meetings. In many towns, the clerk also assists with the administration of elections.

At every council meeting, the clerk or an assistant writes notes called minutes. The minutes list who attended, what was proposed, and how each vote turned out. At the following meeting, the council confirms that the minutes are accurate, and once they have been approved, they become part of the official record.

Why go to all this trouble? Over the years, a town makes an enormous number of decisions. Without written records, people would forget, or they might disagree about what had actually been decided. A resident who wonders why a stop sign stands on a particular corner can request to see the minutes. In many places, the records are open for anyone to read, because the government works on behalf of the people who live there.

Records are valuable in yet another way. Long into the future, historians can read them to learn how the town lived and what mattered to its people. A good clerk must be careful and fair, writing down what truly happened rather than what someone might wish had happened.

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 clerk, minutes, records, official and historians 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 "The Clerk Who Writes Down Every Decision"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 206 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.8. 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. 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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