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How Switzerland Ships Goods Without a Coast

4th grade nonfiction passage about landlocked country trade: 181 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction landlocked country trade 181 words

How Switzerland Ships Goods Without a Coast

Switzerland has mountains, lakes, and cheese, but it does not have a seacoast. A country with no coast is called landlocked. Other countries surround it, so a ship cannot sail straight from Switzerland to the ocean. That makes selling goods around the world a puzzle. Swiss makers still send out watches, chocolate, and medicines. How do they do it?

One answer is the Rhine, a big river that runs along the edge of the country. The city of Basel has a busy river port. Boats are loaded there and carry goods north through Germany and the Netherlands. At the end of the trip, the cargo reaches the North Sea, where large ships wait to take it farther.

Trains are another answer. Swiss railways run through long tunnels dug under the Alps, so goods can roll right through the mountains to ports in neighboring countries. Trucks and planes help too.

Landlocked countries also make agreements with their neighbors. Switzerland has friendly arrangements that let its goods move across borders smoothly. Working with neighbors turns a problem of geography into an everyday routine.

Questions

  1. What is a landlocked country? in the text

  2. Which river carries goods from the port of Basel? in the text

  3. Which sea does the cargo reach at the end of the river trip? in the text

  4. How do trains help Switzerland ship goods? in the text

  5. Why can a ship not sail straight from Switzerland to the ocean? in the text

  6. Why does a landlocked country need to get along with its neighbors? think about it

Words to know

landlocked
having land all around and no coast on the sea
port
a place where ships load and unload goods
cargo
the goods carried by a ship, train or truck
tunnels
paths dug through a mountain or under the ground
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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 · 161 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3

Switzerland has mountains, lakes, and cheese. But it has no seacoast. A country with no coast is called landlocked. Other countries are all around it. A ship cannot sail from Switzerland to the sea. That makes it hard to sell goods far away. Still, Swiss makers send out watches, chocolate, and medicines. How?

One way is the Rhine. This big river runs along the edge of the country. The city of Basel has a busy river port. Boats are loaded there. They carry goods north through Germany and the Netherlands. At the end, the goods reach the North Sea. Large ships take them farther.

Trains are another way. Swiss trains go through long tunnels under the Alps. Goods can roll through the mountains to ports in nearby countries. Trucks and planes help too.

Landlocked countries also make deals with their neighbors. Switzerland has friendly deals that help its goods cross borders. Working with neighbors makes a hard problem into a routine.

▲ This passage · 181 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.5

Switzerland has mountains, lakes, and cheese, but it does not have a seacoast. A country with no coast is called landlocked. Other countries surround it, so a ship cannot sail straight from Switzerland to the ocean. That makes selling goods around the world a puzzle. Swiss makers still send out watches, chocolate, and medicines. How do they do it?

One answer is the Rhine, a big river that runs along the edge of the country. The city of Basel has a busy river port. Boats are loaded there and carry goods north through Germany and the Netherlands. At the end of the trip, the cargo reaches the North Sea, where large ships wait to take it farther.

Trains are another answer. Swiss railways run through long tunnels dug under the Alps, so goods can roll right through the mountains to ports in neighboring countries. Trucks and planes help too.

Landlocked countries also make agreements with their neighbors. Switzerland has friendly arrangements that let its goods move across borders smoothly. Working with neighbors turns a problem of geography into an everyday routine.

■ Harder · 192 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.6

Switzerland is famous for its mountains, lakes, and cheese, but it has no seacoast at all. A country without a coast is described as landlocked. Because other nations completely surround it, a ship cannot sail directly from Switzerland to the ocean, which complicates the business of selling goods around the world. Even so, Swiss manufacturers continue to export watches, chocolate, and medicines. How do they manage it?

One answer is the Rhine, a major river that runs along the edge of the country. The city of Basel operates a busy river port, where boats are loaded and carry cargo north through Germany and the Netherlands. At the end of the journey, the goods reach the North Sea, where much larger ships are waiting to transport them farther.

Railways provide another solution. Swiss trains travel through enormous tunnels bored under the Alps, so freight can pass right through the mountains to ports in neighboring countries. Trucks and aircraft assist as well.

Landlocked countries also negotiate agreements with their neighbors. Switzerland has friendly arrangements that allow its goods to cross borders smoothly. Cooperation with neighbors transforms a problem of geography into an ordinary routine.

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 landlocked, port, cargo and tunnels 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 "How Switzerland Ships Goods Without a Coast"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 181 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.5. 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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