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The Laundry Room Sign-Up Sheet

4th grade nonfiction passage about shared spaces and fair rules: 197 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction shared spaces and fair rules 197 words

The Laundry Room Sign-Up Sheet

In an apartment building, many families share one laundry room. There are only a few washing machines, and everybody has clothes to wash. Without a plan, the machines would often be full, and people would get annoyed.

So the building makes some simple rules. One rule might be a sign-up sheet by the door. Each family writes a name beside a time. Another rule might say that you must take your clothes out when the cycle ends, so the next person can use the machine. A third rule might ask people to wipe up spills and clean the lint filter. Quiet hours may stop the machines from running late at night, because the noise can travel through the walls.

Notice that each rule has a reason. The sign-up sheet gives every family a fair turn. The clean-up rule shows respect for the next person who comes in.

Rules in a town work in much the same way. Laws about shared places, like parks and roads, exist so that many people can use them without trouble. When a rule seems silly, a good question to ask is, "What problem was this rule meant to solve?"

Questions

  1. Why does the laundry room need rules? in the text

  2. What is the sign-up sheet for? in the text

  3. Why must you take your clothes out when the cycle ends? in the text

  4. Why might a building have quiet hours? in the text

  5. How are the building rules like laws in a town? in the text

  6. Why does cleaning up after yourself show respect for others? think about it

Words to know

laundry
clothes and cloths that need washing
annoyed
a little bit angry or bothered
cycle
one full run of a machine from start to finish
spills
liquid that has accidentally run out of its container
respect
caring about other people and treating them well
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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 · 181 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.6

In an apartment building, many families share one laundry room. There are only a few washing machines. Everybody has clothes to wash. Without a plan, the machines would often be full. People would get annoyed.

So the building makes some simple rules. One rule might be a sign-up sheet by the door. Each family writes a name beside a time. Another rule might be to take your clothes out when the cycle ends. Then the next person can use the machine. A third rule might be to wipe up spills and clean the lint filter. There may be quiet hours. The machines should not run late at night. The noise can travel through the walls.

Each rule has a reason. The sign-up sheet gives every family a fair turn. The clean-up rule shows respect for the next person.

Rules in a town work in much the same way. Laws about shared places, like parks and roads, help many people use them without trouble. Sometimes a rule seems silly. Then ask, "What problem was this rule meant to solve?"

▲ This passage · 197 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.3

In an apartment building, many families share one laundry room. There are only a few washing machines, and everybody has clothes to wash. Without a plan, the machines would often be full, and people would get annoyed.

So the building makes some simple rules. One rule might be a sign-up sheet by the door. Each family writes a name beside a time. Another rule might say that you must take your clothes out when the cycle ends, so the next person can use the machine. A third rule might ask people to wipe up spills and clean the lint filter. Quiet hours may stop the machines from running late at night, because the noise can travel through the walls.

Notice that each rule has a reason. The sign-up sheet gives every family a fair turn. The clean-up rule shows respect for the next person who comes in.

Rules in a town work in much the same way. Laws about shared places, like parks and roads, exist so that many people can use them without trouble. When a rule seems silly, a good question to ask is, "What problem was this rule meant to solve?"

■ Harder · 217 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8

In an apartment building, numerous families share a single laundry room. The room contains only a few washing machines, yet everybody has clothes that need washing. Without an organized plan, the machines would frequently be occupied, and the residents would grow annoyed with one another.

For this reason, the building establishes several simple rules. One rule might be a sign-up sheet beside the door, on which each family writes a name next to a time. Another rule might require you to remove your clothes when the cycle ends, so that the next person is able to use the machine. A third rule might ask people to wipe up any spills and to clean the lint filter. Quiet hours may prevent the machines from running late at night, since the noise can travel through the walls.

Notice that every rule has a purpose. The sign-up sheet guarantees each family a fair turn, and the clean-up rule demonstrates respect for the next person who walks in.

Rules in a town function in much the same manner. Laws about shared places, such as parks and roads, exist so that large numbers of people can use them without trouble. Whenever a rule appears silly, a thoughtful question to ask is, "What problem was this rule meant to solve?"

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, annoyed, cycle, spills and respect 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 Laundry Room Sign-Up Sheet"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 197 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.3. 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. 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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