Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

The Notice on the Pole Before a Big Decision

4th grade nonfiction passage about public notices: 217 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction public notices 217 words

The Notice on the Pole Before a Big Decision

Before a town makes some kinds of big decisions, it must tell people about them first. This is called giving notice. A notice is a short message that says what will be decided, and when and where the meeting will be held.

Towns post notices in places that many people will see. These can include the door of the town hall, a board at the library, a local newspaper, a pole at the edge of the land, or the town website. In some places, the town also mails a letter to the neighbors who live close by.

Why does this matter? A town belongs to the people who live in it. Imagine if a council voted on a new parking lot in secret. Neighbors might wake up one morning and find bulldozers beside their homes. Notice gives residents time to learn about the plan, ask questions, and decide whether to speak at the meeting.

The rules about how many days ahead a notice must be posted are different from place to place. But the idea is the same everywhere. Public means open to everyone. You do not need to be a grown-up or a voter to read a public notice. It is an easy way for a young person to learn what is going on nearby.

Questions

  1. What is a notice? in the text

  2. Where might a town post a notice? in the text

  3. Why does a town give notice before big decisions? in the text

  4. Are the rules for how many days ahead the same everywhere? in the text

  5. Who is allowed to read a public notice? in the text

  6. What might happen if a town gave no notice at all? think about it

Words to know

notice
a message that tells people something ahead of time
decisions
choices that people make after thinking
residents
people who live in a certain place
bulldozers
powerful machines that push dirt and clear land
public
open to everyone
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 · 216 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.7

Before a town makes some big decisions, it must tell people first. This is called giving notice. A notice is a short message. It says what will be decided. It also says when and where the meeting will be.

Towns post notices where many people will see them. These can be the door of the town hall or a board at the library. They can be a local newspaper, a pole at the edge of the land, or the town website. In some places, the town also mails a letter to the neighbors who live close by.

Why does this matter? A town belongs to the people who live in it. Imagine a council voted on a new parking lot in secret. Neighbors might wake up one morning and find bulldozers by their homes. Notice gives residents time. They can learn about the plan. They can ask questions. They can decide if they want to speak at the meeting.

The rules about how many days ahead are different from place to place. But the idea is the same. Public means open to everyone. You do not need to be a grown-up or a voter to read a public notice. It is an easy way for a young person to learn what is going on nearby.

▲ This passage · 217 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.6

Before a town makes some kinds of big decisions, it must tell people about them first. This is called giving notice. A notice is a short message that says what will be decided, and when and where the meeting will be held.

Towns post notices in places that many people will see. These can include the door of the town hall, a board at the library, a local newspaper, a pole at the edge of the land, or the town website. In some places, the town also mails a letter to the neighbors who live close by.

Why does this matter? A town belongs to the people who live in it. Imagine if a council voted on a new parking lot in secret. Neighbors might wake up one morning and find bulldozers beside their homes. Notice gives residents time to learn about the plan, ask questions, and decide whether to speak at the meeting.

The rules about how many days ahead a notice must be posted are different from place to place. But the idea is the same everywhere. Public means open to everyone. You do not need to be a grown-up or a voter to read a public notice. It is an easy way for a young person to learn what is going on nearby.

■ Harder · 243 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.2

Before a town makes certain kinds of significant decisions, it is required to inform people about them in advance. This is known as giving notice. A notice is a brief message stating exactly what will be decided, along with the time and place of the meeting where the decision will be made.

Towns display notices in locations where large numbers of people will see them. These may include the door of the town hall, a board at the library, a local newspaper, a pole at the edge of the land in question, or the town website. In some communities, the town also mails a letter to the neighbors who live nearby.

Why does this matter so much? A town belongs to the people who live in it. Imagine that a council voted on a new parking lot in secret. Neighbors might wake up one morning and discover bulldozers beside their homes. Notice gives residents the time to learn about the plan, to ask questions, and to decide whether they wish to speak at the meeting.

The rules about how many days in advance a notice must be posted vary from one place to another, but the underlying idea is identical everywhere. The word public means open to everyone, so you do not need to be an adult or a voter to read a public notice. Reading them is a simple way for a young person to learn what is happening in the neighborhood.

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 notice, decisions, residents, bulldozers and public 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 Notice on the Pole Before a Big Decision"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 217 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.6. 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.