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A Spring Hidden in a Safety Pin

4th grade nonfiction passage about safety pins and springs: 213 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction safety pins and springs 213 words

A Spring Hidden in a Safety Pin

Before safety pins, people held cloth together with straight pins. A straight pin was easy to lose, and its sharp point could stick the person who wore it. An inventor in the 1800s looked for a better way. He bent a single piece of wire into a clever shape, and the safety pin was born.

Look at one closely. The wire is bent into a small coil at one end. This coil is a spring. When you squeeze the pin open, the spring is pushed out of shape. When you let go, the spring pushes the wire back to where it started. That push is what keeps the pin snapped shut.

The other end of the pin has a small cover called the clasp. The sharp point tucks into the clasp, so it cannot poke anyone. To open the pin, you press the point out of the clasp and swing it free. To close it, you push the point back into the clasp until it clicks.

Because it is made from one piece of wire, a safety pin has no loose parts to lose. Parents use them on cloth diapers, and tailors use them to hold cloth in place. A spring and a clasp make a simple tool that is safe to carry.

Questions

  1. What did people use before safety pins? in the text

  2. What was a problem with a straight pin? in the text

  3. What is the small coil at one end of a safety pin? in the text

  4. What does the spring do after you squeeze the pin open? in the text

  5. What does the clasp do with the sharp point? in the text

  6. Why is it a good thing that a safety pin is made from one piece of wire? think about it

Words to know

spring
a coil of wire that pushes back into shape after it is bent
clasp
a small part that holds something closed
coil
a shape made of rings wound one above another
inventor
a person who thinks up and makes something new
tailors
people who sew and fix clothes for a living
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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 · 179 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7

Before safety pins, people held cloth together with straight pins. A straight pin was easy to lose. Its sharp point could stick the person wearing it. An inventor in the 1800s wanted a better way. He bent one piece of wire into a clever shape. That was the safety pin.

Look at one. The wire is bent into a small coil at one end. The coil is a spring. When you squeeze the pin open, the spring is bent out of shape. When you let go, the spring pushes the wire back. That push keeps the pin shut.

The other end has a small cover called the clasp. The sharp point tucks into the clasp. Then it cannot poke anyone. To open the pin, press the point out of the clasp. To close it, push the point back in until it clicks.

A safety pin is one piece of wire. It has no loose parts to lose. Parents use them on cloth diapers. Tailors use them to hold cloth. A spring and a clasp make a simple, safe tool.

▲ This passage · 213 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3

Before safety pins, people held cloth together with straight pins. A straight pin was easy to lose, and its sharp point could stick the person who wore it. An inventor in the 1800s looked for a better way. He bent a single piece of wire into a clever shape, and the safety pin was born.

Look at one closely. The wire is bent into a small coil at one end. This coil is a spring. When you squeeze the pin open, the spring is pushed out of shape. When you let go, the spring pushes the wire back to where it started. That push is what keeps the pin snapped shut.

The other end of the pin has a small cover called the clasp. The sharp point tucks into the clasp, so it cannot poke anyone. To open the pin, you press the point out of the clasp and swing it free. To close it, you push the point back into the clasp until it clicks.

Because it is made from one piece of wire, a safety pin has no loose parts to lose. Parents use them on cloth diapers, and tailors use them to hold cloth in place. A spring and a clasp make a simple tool that is safe to carry.

■ Harder · 220 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.8

Before the invention of safety pins, people fastened cloth together with straight pins. A straight pin was easy to misplace, and its sharp point could prick the person who wore it. An inventor in the 1800s searched for a better solution. He bent a single piece of wire into an ingenious shape, and the safety pin was born.

Examine one closely. The wire is bent into a small coil at one end, and this coil is a spring. When you squeeze the pin open, the spring is forced out of shape. When you let go, the spring pushes the wire back to where it began, and that push is what keeps the pin snapped shut.

The opposite end of the pin has a small cover called the clasp. The sharp point tucks into the clasp, so it cannot poke anyone. To open the pin, you press the point out of the clasp and swing it free. To close it, you push the point back into the clasp until it clicks.

Because it is made from one piece of wire, a safety pin has no loose parts that could be lost. Parents use them on cloth diapers, and tailors use them to hold cloth in place. A spring and a clasp together create a simple tool that is safe to carry.

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 spring, clasp, coil, inventor and tailors 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 "A Spring Hidden in a Safety Pin"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 213 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.3. 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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