4th grade nonfiction passage about indus valley city: 169 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
4th gradenonfictionindus valley city169 words
The Tidy Streets of Mohenjo-daro
More than four thousand years ago, a city called Mohenjo-daro stood beside the Indus River in what is now Pakistan. It was part of a civilization that stretched across a large region. Its people were skilled planners.
The streets of Mohenjo-daro were laid out in straight lines, and many crossed each other at right angles, like the squares on a checkerboard. The houses were built from baked bricks. Amazingly, the bricks were nearly the same size in many places, so builders could use them anywhere.
The most surprising thing about the city was its water system. Many houses had a bathing room, and used water flowed out through a drain. The drains joined larger covered channels that ran under the streets. Wells gave people clean water to drink.
Archaeologists, who study the remains of the past, have found small carved seals with pictures and signs. Nobody today can read these signs. So there is still a lot we do not know about the people who lived there.
Questions
Beside what river did Mohenjo-daro stand? in the text
What were the houses built from? in the text
Where did the larger drains run? in the text
What did wells give the people? in the text
What do the straight streets and matching bricks suggest about the builders? think about it
Why do we still not know much about these people's writing? in the text
Words to know
civilization
a large, organized group of people with cities, laws and skills
archaeologists
scientists who study the past by digging up old objects and buildings
channels
long, narrow paths that carry water
seals
small carved stones used to stamp a picture or sign
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Tidy Streets of Mohenjo-daro
4th grade reading passage
More than four thousand years ago, a city called Mohenjo-daro stood beside the Indus River in what is now Pakistan. It was part of a civilization that stretched across a large region. Its people were skilled planners.
The streets of Mohenjo-daro were laid out in straight lines, and many crossed each other at right angles, like the squares on a checkerboard. The houses were built from baked bricks. Amazingly, the bricks were nearly the same size in many places, so builders could use them anywhere.
The most surprising thing about the city was its water system. Many houses had a bathing room, and used water flowed out through a drain. The drains joined larger covered channels that ran under the streets. Wells gave people clean water to drink.
Archaeologists, who study the remains of the past, have found small carved seals with pictures and signs. Nobody today can read these signs. So there is still a lot we do not know about the people who lived there.
Questions
Beside what river did Mohenjo-daro stand?
What were the houses built from?
Where did the larger drains run?
What did wells give the people?
What do the straight streets and matching bricks suggest about the builders?
Why do we still not know much about these people's writing?
Words to know
civilization: a large, organized group of people with cities, laws and skills
archaeologists: scientists who study the past by digging up old objects and buildings
channels: long, narrow paths that carry water
seals: small carved stones used to stamp a picture or sign
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/4/the-tidy-streets-of-mohenjo-daro
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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 · 147 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9
More than four thousand years ago, a city called Mohenjo-daro stood by the Indus River. That place is in Pakistan today. The city was part of a civilization that spread across a large area. The people there were good planners.
The streets ran in straight lines. Many crossed at right angles, like the squares on a checkerboard. The houses were made of baked bricks. Many of the bricks were nearly the same size, so builders could use them anywhere.
The city had a clever water system. Many houses had a bathing room. Used water ran out through a drain. The drains joined big covered channels under the streets. Wells gave people clean water to drink.
Archaeologists, who study the past, found small carved seals. They have pictures and signs. No one today can read the signs. So we still do not know much about these people.
▲ This passage · 169 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6
More than four thousand years ago, a city called Mohenjo-daro stood beside the Indus River in what is now Pakistan. It was part of a civilization that stretched across a large region. Its people were skilled planners.
The streets of Mohenjo-daro were laid out in straight lines, and many crossed each other at right angles, like the squares on a checkerboard. The houses were built from baked bricks. Amazingly, the bricks were nearly the same size in many places, so builders could use them anywhere.
The most surprising thing about the city was its water system. Many houses had a bathing room, and used water flowed out through a drain. The drains joined larger covered channels that ran under the streets. Wells gave people clean water to drink.
Archaeologists, who study the remains of the past, have found small carved seals with pictures and signs. Nobody today can read these signs. So there is still a lot we do not know about the people who lived there.
■ Harder · 176 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 10.5
More than four thousand years ago, a city named Mohenjo-daro flourished beside the Indus River in what is now Pakistan. It belonged to a civilization that extended across an enormous region, and its inhabitants were remarkably skilled planners.
The city's streets were laid out in straight lines, and many of them intersected at right angles, much like the squares on a checkerboard. Houses were constructed from baked bricks, and astonishingly, the bricks were nearly uniform in size in many places, so builders could use them interchangeably.
The most impressive feature of the city was its water system. Many homes included a bathing room, and used water drained out through a pipe or channel. These smaller drains connected to larger covered channels that ran beneath the streets, while wells supplied the residents with clean drinking water.
Archaeologists, who investigate the remains of the past, have discovered small carved seals bearing pictures and signs. Since nobody today can read these signs, there is still a great deal we do not understand about the people who lived there.
More than four thousand years ago, a city called Mohenjo-daro stood by the Indus River. That place is in Pakistan today. The city was part of a civilization that spread across a large area. The people there were good planners.
The streets ran in straight lines. Many crossed at right angles, like the squares on a checkerboard. The houses were made of baked bricks. Many of the bricks were nearly the same size, so builders could use them anywhere.
The city had a clever water system. Many houses had a bathing room. Used water ran out through a drain. The drains joined big covered channels under the streets. Wells gave people clean water to drink.
Archaeologists, who study the past, found small carved seals. They have pictures and signs. No one today can read the signs. So we still do not know much about these people.
Questions
Beside what river did Mohenjo-daro stand?
What were the houses made of?
Where did the big drains run?
What did wells give the people?
What do the straight streets and matching bricks show about the builders?
Why do we still not know much about their writing?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Tidy Streets of Mohenjo-daro
More than four thousand years ago, a city called Mohenjo-daro stood beside the Indus River in what is now Pakistan. It was part of a civilization that stretched across a large region. Its people were skilled planners.
The streets of Mohenjo-daro were laid out in straight lines, and many crossed each other at right angles, like the squares on a checkerboard. The houses were built from baked bricks. Amazingly, the bricks were nearly the same size in many places, so builders could use them anywhere.
The most surprising thing about the city was its water system. Many houses had a bathing room, and used water flowed out through a drain. The drains joined larger covered channels that ran under the streets. Wells gave people clean water to drink.
Archaeologists, who study the remains of the past, have found small carved seals with pictures and signs. Nobody today can read these signs. So there is still a lot we do not know about the people who lived there.
Questions
Beside what river did Mohenjo-daro stand?
What were the houses built from?
Where did the larger drains run?
What did wells give the people?
What do the straight streets and matching bricks suggest about the builders?
Why do we still not know much about these people's writing?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Tidy Streets of Mohenjo-daro
More than four thousand years ago, a city named Mohenjo-daro flourished beside the Indus River in what is now Pakistan. It belonged to a civilization that extended across an enormous region, and its inhabitants were remarkably skilled planners.
The city's streets were laid out in straight lines, and many of them intersected at right angles, much like the squares on a checkerboard. Houses were constructed from baked bricks, and astonishingly, the bricks were nearly uniform in size in many places, so builders could use them interchangeably.
The most impressive feature of the city was its water system. Many homes included a bathing room, and used water drained out through a pipe or channel. These smaller drains connected to larger covered channels that ran beneath the streets, while wells supplied the residents with clean drinking water.
Archaeologists, who investigate the remains of the past, have discovered small carved seals bearing pictures and signs. Since nobody today can read these signs, there is still a great deal we do not understand about the people who lived there.
Questions
Beside which river did Mohenjo-daro flourish?
What material was used to construct the houses?
Where did the larger drains run?
What did the wells provide for the residents?
What do the straight streets and uniform bricks suggest about the builders?
Why is so much about these people's writing still unknown?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Tidy Streets of Mohenjo-daro
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9)
The Indus River.
Baked bricks.
They were covered channels under the streets.
Clean water to drink.
They planned the city carefully before they built it.
No one today can read the signs on the seals.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6)
The Indus River.
Baked bricks.
They were covered channels under the streets.
Clean water to drink.
They planned the city carefully before they built it.
Nobody today can read the signs on the carved seals.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 10.5)
The Indus River.
Baked bricks.
They were covered channels beneath the streets.
Clean drinking water.
They planned the city carefully before they built it.
Nobody today can read the signs on the carved seals.
Free at teach.peabody.kids
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Ideas for class
Before reading, put civilization, archaeologists, channels and seals 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 "The Tidy Streets of Mohenjo-daro"?
It was written for 4th grade. It has 169 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.0. 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.
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