4th grade nonfiction passage about roman roads: 164 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
4th gradenonfictionroman roads164 words
Milestones Along a Roman Road
The ancient Romans built thousands of miles of roads. Soldiers marched on them. Messengers hurried along them, and traders pulled carts of goods to far-off towns. A good road helped the whole empire stay connected.
Roman builders did not just flatten the dirt. First they dug a long trench. Then they filled it with layers. Big stones went at the bottom, then smaller stones and gravel. The top was often made of flat, tight-fitting paving stones. The middle of the road was a little higher than the sides, so rain ran off into ditches instead of making puddles and mud.
Along the way, workers set up tall stone markers called milestones. Each one told travelers how far they had come or how far they still had to go. A tired walker could look at a milestone and know how much farther the next town was.
The roads were built so well that pieces of some of them can still be seen today.
Questions
Who used Roman roads? in the text
What went at the very bottom of the trench? in the text
Why was the middle of the road a little higher than the sides? in the text
What did a milestone tell a traveler? in the text
Why might a road with many layers last so long? think about it
How did good roads help the Roman empire? in the text
Words to know
empire
a large group of lands ruled by one government
trench
a long, narrow hole dug in the ground
paving stones
flat stones used to make the top of a road
milestones
stone markers that show distances along a road
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Milestones Along a Roman Road
4th grade reading passage
The ancient Romans built thousands of miles of roads. Soldiers marched on them. Messengers hurried along them, and traders pulled carts of goods to far-off towns. A good road helped the whole empire stay connected.
Roman builders did not just flatten the dirt. First they dug a long trench. Then they filled it with layers. Big stones went at the bottom, then smaller stones and gravel. The top was often made of flat, tight-fitting paving stones. The middle of the road was a little higher than the sides, so rain ran off into ditches instead of making puddles and mud.
Along the way, workers set up tall stone markers called milestones. Each one told travelers how far they had come or how far they still had to go. A tired walker could look at a milestone and know how much farther the next town was.
The roads were built so well that pieces of some of them can still be seen today.
Questions
Who used Roman roads?
What went at the very bottom of the trench?
Why was the middle of the road a little higher than the sides?
What did a milestone tell a traveler?
Why might a road with many layers last so long?
How did good roads help the Roman empire?
Words to know
empire: a large group of lands ruled by one government
trench: a long, narrow hole dug in the ground
paving stones: flat stones used to make the top of a road
milestones: stone markers that show distances along a road
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/4/milestones-along-a-roman-road
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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 · 134 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3
The ancient Romans built many roads. Soldiers marched on them. Messengers ran along them. Traders pulled carts of goods to faraway towns. Good roads kept the empire together.
The builders dug a long trench. They filled it with layers. Big stones went at the bottom. Small stones and gravel went on top of those. The top was flat paving stones that fit tight. The middle of the road was a little higher than the sides. Rain ran off into ditches, so there was no mud.
Workers also put up stone markers called milestones. Each one told how far a traveler had walked or how far to go. A tired walker could read it and know how far the next town was.
The roads were built so well that some pieces are still there today.
▲ This passage · 164 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9
The ancient Romans built thousands of miles of roads. Soldiers marched on them. Messengers hurried along them, and traders pulled carts of goods to far-off towns. A good road helped the whole empire stay connected.
Roman builders did not just flatten the dirt. First they dug a long trench. Then they filled it with layers. Big stones went at the bottom, then smaller stones and gravel. The top was often made of flat, tight-fitting paving stones. The middle of the road was a little higher than the sides, so rain ran off into ditches instead of making puddles and mud.
Along the way, workers set up tall stone markers called milestones. Each one told travelers how far they had come or how far they still had to go. A tired walker could look at a milestone and know how much farther the next town was.
The roads were built so well that pieces of some of them can still be seen today.
■ Harder · 173 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8
The ancient Romans constructed thousands of miles of roads across their empire. Soldiers marched along them, messengers hurried over them, and merchants hauled carts of goods to distant towns. Reliable roads helped a vast empire remain connected and organized.
Roman engineers did not merely flatten the soil. They began by digging a deep, narrow trench, which they filled in careful layers. Large stones went at the bottom, followed by smaller stones and gravel. The surface was frequently built from flat, tightly fitted paving stones. Because the center of the road stood slightly higher than its edges, rainwater drained into side ditches rather than collecting in puddles and turning the road into mud.
Along the route, workers erected tall stone markers called milestones. Each marker informed travelers how far they had journeyed or how much farther they needed to go. A weary walker could glance at a milestone and immediately know the distance to the next town.
The roads were constructed so skillfully that sections of some of them can still be seen today.
The ancient Romans built many roads. Soldiers marched on them. Messengers ran along them. Traders pulled carts of goods to faraway towns. Good roads kept the empire together.
The builders dug a long trench. They filled it with layers. Big stones went at the bottom. Small stones and gravel went on top of those. The top was flat paving stones that fit tight. The middle of the road was a little higher than the sides. Rain ran off into ditches, so there was no mud.
Workers also put up stone markers called milestones. Each one told how far a traveler had walked or how far to go. A tired walker could read it and know how far the next town was.
The roads were built so well that some pieces are still there today.
Questions
Who used Roman roads?
What went at the bottom of the trench?
Why was the middle of the road a little higher?
What did a milestone tell a traveler?
Why might a road with layers last so long?
How did good roads help the empire?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Milestones Along a Roman Road
The ancient Romans built thousands of miles of roads. Soldiers marched on them. Messengers hurried along them, and traders pulled carts of goods to far-off towns. A good road helped the whole empire stay connected.
Roman builders did not just flatten the dirt. First they dug a long trench. Then they filled it with layers. Big stones went at the bottom, then smaller stones and gravel. The top was often made of flat, tight-fitting paving stones. The middle of the road was a little higher than the sides, so rain ran off into ditches instead of making puddles and mud.
Along the way, workers set up tall stone markers called milestones. Each one told travelers how far they had come or how far they still had to go. A tired walker could look at a milestone and know how much farther the next town was.
The roads were built so well that pieces of some of them can still be seen today.
Questions
Who used Roman roads?
What went at the very bottom of the trench?
Why was the middle of the road a little higher than the sides?
What did a milestone tell a traveler?
Why might a road with many layers last so long?
How did good roads help the Roman empire?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Milestones Along a Roman Road
The ancient Romans constructed thousands of miles of roads across their empire. Soldiers marched along them, messengers hurried over them, and merchants hauled carts of goods to distant towns. Reliable roads helped a vast empire remain connected and organized.
Roman engineers did not merely flatten the soil. They began by digging a deep, narrow trench, which they filled in careful layers. Large stones went at the bottom, followed by smaller stones and gravel. The surface was frequently built from flat, tightly fitted paving stones. Because the center of the road stood slightly higher than its edges, rainwater drained into side ditches rather than collecting in puddles and turning the road into mud.
Along the route, workers erected tall stone markers called milestones. Each marker informed travelers how far they had journeyed or how much farther they needed to go. A weary walker could glance at a milestone and immediately know the distance to the next town.
The roads were constructed so skillfully that sections of some of them can still be seen today.
Questions
Who made use of Roman roads?
What was placed at the very bottom of the trench?
Why did the center of the road stand slightly higher than the edges?
What information did a milestone give a traveler?
Why might a road built in many layers survive for so long?
In what way did good roads benefit the Roman empire?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Milestones Along a Roman Road
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3)
Soldiers, messengers and traders used them.
Big stones went at the bottom.
Rain ran off into the ditches.
How far they had come or how far to go.
Stone and gravel stay firm and let water drain, so there is no mud.
They kept the empire together.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9)
Soldiers, messengers and traders used them.
Big stones went at the bottom.
Rain could run off into the ditches.
How far they had come or how far they still had to go.
Layers of stone and gravel stay firm and let water drain away, so the road does not turn to mud or wash out.
They kept the whole empire connected.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 8)
Soldiers, messengers and merchants used them.
Large stones were placed at the bottom.
So rainwater would drain into the side ditches.
How far they had journeyed or how much farther they had to go.
Layers of stone and gravel stay firm and drain water away, so the road does not wash out or turn to mud.
They kept the whole empire connected and organized.
Free at teach.peabody.kids
How to use it
Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.
Ideas for class
Before reading, put empire, trench, paving stones and milestones 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.
What reading level is "Milestones Along a Roman Road"?
It was written for 4th grade. It has 164 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.9. 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?
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