Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

I Second the Motion: How a Group Decides

4th grade nonfiction passage about meeting rules: 176 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction meeting rules 176 words

I Second the Motion: How a Group Decides

When a club, a school board or a town council holds a meeting, it needs a way to keep things orderly. Otherwise everyone might talk at once, and nothing would get decided. Many groups follow a set of steps that has been used for a very long time.

First, a member makes a motion. A motion is a proposal, such as "I move that we hold a bake sale." Next, a second member says, "I second the motion." This shows that at least one other person thinks the idea deserves to be talked about. If nobody seconds it, the idea usually stops right there.

Then the group discusses the motion. Members take turns, and the person leading the meeting makes sure each speaker gets a fair chance. When the talking is done, the group votes. The leader counts the votes and announces whether the motion passed.

These steps may seem slow, but they have good reasons. They protect quieter members, because everyone gets a turn. They also keep one loud voice from running the whole meeting.

Questions

  1. What is a motion? in the text

  2. Why does a motion need a second? in the text

  3. What usually happens if nobody seconds a motion? in the text

  4. Who makes sure each speaker gets a fair chance? in the text

  5. What does the group do when the talking is done? in the text

  6. How do these steps protect quieter members? think about it

Words to know

orderly
neat and calm, with everything done in the right order
motion
a proposal that a member offers at a meeting
proposal
an idea that is offered for others to think about
discusses
talks about something together
passed
won enough votes to be accepted
Share

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 · 170 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2

A club, a school board or a town council holds meetings. It needs a way to keep things in order. If everyone talked at once, nothing would get decided. So many groups follow a set of steps. People have used these steps for a very long time.

First, a member makes a motion. A motion is a proposal. It might be "I move that we hold a bake sale." Next, a second member says, "I second the motion." That shows one more person thinks the idea is worth talking about. If nobody seconds it, the idea usually stops there.

Then the group talks about the motion. Members take turns. The person leading the meeting gives each speaker a fair chance. When the talking is done, the group votes. The leader counts the votes. Then the leader says if the motion passed.

These steps can seem slow. But they have good reasons. They protect quiet members, because everyone gets a turn. They also stop one loud voice from running the meeting.

▲ This passage · 176 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.9

When a club, a school board or a town council holds a meeting, it needs a way to keep things orderly. Otherwise everyone might talk at once, and nothing would get decided. Many groups follow a set of steps that has been used for a very long time.

First, a member makes a motion. A motion is a proposal, such as "I move that we hold a bake sale." Next, a second member says, "I second the motion." This shows that at least one other person thinks the idea deserves to be talked about. If nobody seconds it, the idea usually stops right there.

Then the group discusses the motion. Members take turns, and the person leading the meeting makes sure each speaker gets a fair chance. When the talking is done, the group votes. The leader counts the votes and announces whether the motion passed.

These steps may seem slow, but they have good reasons. They protect quieter members, because everyone gets a turn. They also keep one loud voice from running the whole meeting.

■ Harder · 185 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.2

Whenever a club, a school board or a town council holds a meeting, it requires a dependable method for keeping the discussion orderly. Otherwise everyone might speak simultaneously, and nothing would ever be decided. For that reason, many organizations follow a sequence of steps that has been used for a very long time.

First, a member makes a motion, which is a proposal such as "I move that we hold a bake sale." Next, a second member declares, "I second the motion." This demonstrates that at least one other person believes the idea deserves to be discussed. If nobody seconds the motion, the idea usually ends right there.

After that, the group discusses the motion. Members take turns speaking, and the person leading the meeting ensures that each speaker receives a fair opportunity. Once the discussion is finished, the group votes, and the leader counts the votes and announces whether the motion passed.

These steps may appear slow, yet they serve important purposes. They protect quieter members, since everyone is guaranteed a turn, and they prevent a single forceful voice from dominating the entire meeting.

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 orderly, motion, proposal, discusses and passed 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 "I Second the Motion: How a Group Decides"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 176 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.9. 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.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.