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The Two Cutting Boards Rule

4th grade nonfiction passage about kitchen food safety: 203 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction kitchen food safety 203 words

The Two Cutting Boards Rule

Many cooks keep two cutting boards in the kitchen. One board is for raw chicken, fish and meat. The other is for foods that will not be cooked, like salad, bread and fruit. Why would anyone need two?

Raw meat, chicken and eggs can carry germs that make people sick. Cooking all the way kills those germs, so cooked food is safe. But a salad is eaten raw. Suppose a cook chops chicken and then slices tomatoes on the same board with the same knife. Germs from the chicken can move onto the tomatoes. Nothing will cook them away. This problem has a name, cross-contamination.

The solution is simple. Keep the boards apart. Some families use a different color for each board, like red for raw meat and green for vegetables. If there is only one board, wash it and the knife in hot, soapy water before using them for anything else. Always wash your hands after touching raw meat.

The fridge needs a rule too. Raw meat goes on the bottom shelf in a covered dish. That way, nothing can drip down onto the food below it.

With a few easy habits, everyone at the table can enjoy a safe meal.

Questions

  1. What is the first cutting board used for? in the text

  2. What is the second cutting board used for? in the text

  3. What does cooking all the way do to germs? in the text

  4. What is the name of the problem when germs move from one food to another? in the text

  5. Where should raw meat go in the fridge? in the text

  6. Why is it risky to slice tomatoes on a board that held raw chicken? think about it

Words to know

raw
not cooked yet
germs
tiny living things that can make people sick
cross-contamination
the spread of germs from one food to another
solution
an answer to a problem
habits
things you do again and again
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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 · 190 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3

Many cooks keep two cutting boards in the kitchen. One is for raw chicken, fish and meat. The other is for foods that will not be cooked, like salad, bread and fruit. Why two?

Raw meat, chicken and eggs can carry germs that make people sick. Cooking all the way kills the germs. So cooked food is safe. But salad is eaten raw. Say a cook cuts chicken, then slices tomatoes on the same board with the same knife. Germs from the chicken can get on the tomatoes. Nothing will cook them away. This problem is called cross-contamination.

The fix is simple. Keep the boards apart. Some families use one color for each board, like red for raw meat and green for vegetables. If there is only one board, wash it and the knife in hot, soapy water before you use them for anything else. Wash your hands after you touch raw meat.

The fridge needs a rule too. Raw meat goes on the bottom shelf in a covered dish. Then nothing can drip onto the food below.

With a few easy habits, everyone can enjoy a safe meal.

▲ This passage · 203 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9

Many cooks keep two cutting boards in the kitchen. One board is for raw chicken, fish and meat. The other is for foods that will not be cooked, like salad, bread and fruit. Why would anyone need two?

Raw meat, chicken and eggs can carry germs that make people sick. Cooking all the way kills those germs, so cooked food is safe. But a salad is eaten raw. Suppose a cook chops chicken and then slices tomatoes on the same board with the same knife. Germs from the chicken can move onto the tomatoes. Nothing will cook them away. This problem has a name, cross-contamination.

The solution is simple. Keep the boards apart. Some families use a different color for each board, like red for raw meat and green for vegetables. If there is only one board, wash it and the knife in hot, soapy water before using them for anything else. Always wash your hands after touching raw meat.

The fridge needs a rule too. Raw meat goes on the bottom shelf in a covered dish. That way, nothing can drip down onto the food below it.

With a few easy habits, everyone at the table can enjoy a safe meal.

■ Harder · 212 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.9

Many experienced cooks keep two separate cutting boards in the kitchen. One board is reserved for raw chicken, fish and meat. The other is for foods that will not be cooked, such as salad, bread and fruit. Why would anyone need two?

Raw meat, chicken and eggs can carry germs that make people sick. Cooking food all the way through kills those germs, so cooked food is safe. A salad, however, is eaten raw. Suppose a cook chops chicken and then slices tomatoes on the same board with the same knife. Germs from the chicken can move onto the tomatoes, and nothing will cook them away. This problem has a name, cross-contamination.

The solution is simple. Keep the boards apart. Some families assign a different color to each board, such as red for raw meat and green for vegetables. If there is only one board, wash it and the knife in hot, soapy water before using them for anything else. Always wash your hands after touching raw meat.

The fridge needs a rule as well. Raw meat belongs on the bottom shelf in a covered dish, so that nothing can drip down onto the food beneath it.

With a few easy habits, everyone at the table can enjoy a safe meal.

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 raw, germs, cross-contamination, solution and habits 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 Two Cutting Boards Rule"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 203 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?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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