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What Happens When the Vote Is a Tie?

4th grade nonfiction passage about tie votes: 215 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction tie votes 215 words

What Happens When the Vote Is a Tie?

Suppose a council of six people votes on a new crosswalk. Three say yes and three say no. Nobody wins. What happens next?

Groups have different answers, and the answer is usually written in their rules. In many groups, a tie means the motion fails, because a proposal needs more yes votes than no votes to pass. The idea can be brought back on another day. Other groups let their leader cast one extra vote, but only when there is a tie. A few groups settle ties by chance, such as drawing a name from a hat.

That is one reason some groups have an odd number of members. With five or seven people, a tie is less likely, though it can still happen if someone chooses not to vote.

A tie teaches a few lessons. First, every vote really does count. Second, the rules for ties should be decided before the vote, not after. If rules were invented on the spot, people might argue about whether they are fair. Knowing the answer ahead of time keeps everyone calm.

A tie can also be a sign that the group should talk longer. Maybe the members can find a compromise, where each side gives up a little to reach a plan that nearly everyone can accept.

Questions

  1. How many yes and no votes make a tie in the council of six? in the text

  2. In many groups, what does a tie mean for the motion? in the text

  3. Why do some groups have an odd number of members? in the text

  4. What are two other ways groups settle a tie? in the text

  5. Why should the rules for a tie be decided before the vote? think about it

  6. What is a compromise? in the text

Words to know

council
a group of people chosen to make decisions for a town
crosswalk
a marked place where people can safely cross a street
odd
a number that cannot be split into two equal whole parts
chance
a way of choosing that no one can plan or control
compromise
an agreement where each side gives up a little
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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 · 203 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3

Say a council of six people votes on a new crosswalk. Three say yes. Three say no. Nobody wins. What happens next?

Groups have different answers. The answer is usually in their rules. In many groups, a tie means the motion fails. A proposal needs more yes votes than no votes to pass. The idea can come back another day. Other groups let their leader cast one extra vote. The leader may do it only when there is a tie. A few groups settle ties by chance. They might draw a name from a hat.

This is one reason some groups have an odd number of members. With five or seven people, a tie is less likely. It can still happen if someone chooses not to vote.

A tie teaches a few lessons. First, every vote really counts. Second, the rules for ties should be set before the vote. If rules were made up on the spot, people might argue about them. Knowing the answer ahead of time keeps everyone calm.

A tie can also mean the group should talk longer. Maybe they can find a compromise. In a compromise, each side gives up a little. Then nearly everyone can accept the plan.

▲ This passage · 215 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.1

Suppose a council of six people votes on a new crosswalk. Three say yes and three say no. Nobody wins. What happens next?

Groups have different answers, and the answer is usually written in their rules. In many groups, a tie means the motion fails, because a proposal needs more yes votes than no votes to pass. The idea can be brought back on another day. Other groups let their leader cast one extra vote, but only when there is a tie. A few groups settle ties by chance, such as drawing a name from a hat.

That is one reason some groups have an odd number of members. With five or seven people, a tie is less likely, though it can still happen if someone chooses not to vote.

A tie teaches a few lessons. First, every vote really does count. Second, the rules for ties should be decided before the vote, not after. If rules were invented on the spot, people might argue about whether they are fair. Knowing the answer ahead of time keeps everyone calm.

A tie can also be a sign that the group should talk longer. Maybe the members can find a compromise, where each side gives up a little to reach a plan that nearly everyone can accept.

■ Harder · 237 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.9

Suppose a council consisting of six people votes on whether to build a new crosswalk. Three members vote yes and three vote no, so nobody wins. What happens next?

Different groups provide different answers, and the answer is typically written into their rules. In many groups, a tie means that the motion fails, because a proposal must receive more yes votes than no votes in order to pass. The idea can be brought back for consideration on another day. Other groups permit their leader to cast one additional vote, but only when a tie occurs. A few groups resolve ties by chance, for example by drawing a name from a hat.

That is one reason why some groups choose an odd number of members. With five or seven people, a tie is considerably less likely, although it can still happen if a member decides not to vote.

A tie teaches several lessons. First, every single vote genuinely counts. Second, the rules for ties should be established before the vote rather than afterward. If rules were invented on the spot, people might argue about whether they are fair, whereas knowing the answer beforehand keeps everyone calm.

A tie can also be a signal that the group ought to continue talking. Perhaps the members can discover a compromise, in which each side gives up a little in order to reach a plan that nearly everyone is willing to accept.

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 council, crosswalk, odd, chance and compromise 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.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "What Happens When the Vote Is a Tie?"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 215 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.1. 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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