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Why AMBULANCE Is Spelled Backward on the Hood

4th grade nonfiction passage about mirrors and reflection: 216 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction mirrors and reflection 216 words

Why AMBULANCE Is Spelled Backward on the Hood

If you see an ambulance in your car's mirror, the word on its front looks normal. But if you see the ambulance head on, the letters seem to be written backward. Why would anyone paint a word that way?

The answer lies in how mirrors work. A mirror has a smooth, shiny surface. Light that hits it bounces off in an orderly way, so that it makes a picture of whatever is in front of it. Scientists call this bounce reflection.

A mirror does not really swap left and right. What it does is flip the picture front to back, like a glove turned inside out. Because of this, the letters that face the mirror come out reversed. The first letter you see in the mirror is the last one on the vehicle.

Try writing your name on a piece of paper, then hold the paper up to a mirror. The writing will look backward. Now try holding a page of a book to the mirror. It will be hard to read, too.

Ambulance makers want the driver ahead to read the word easily in the rear-view mirror. So they paint the word backward on the hood. The mirror reverses it, and the word looks right. That lets the driver know to move aside quickly.

Questions

  1. What does the word on an ambulance look like in a car's mirror? in the text

  2. What is reflection? in the text

  3. What kind of surface does a mirror have? in the text

  4. Which letter of the word do you see first in the mirror? in the text

  5. Why is the word painted backward on the hood? think about it

  6. What could you do with your own name to see mirror reversing? in the text

Words to know

reflection
the bouncing of light off a surface
reversed
turned around so it faces the other way
surface
the outside or top part of something
orderly
neat and in a regular pattern
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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 · 182 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.7

Look at an ambulance in your car's mirror. The word on its front looks normal. But if you see the ambulance head on, the letters look backward. Why paint a word that way?

The answer is how mirrors work. A mirror has a smooth, shiny surface. Light bounces off it in an orderly way. It makes a picture of what is in front of it. Scientists call this bounce reflection.

A mirror does not really swap left and right. It flips the picture front to back, like a glove turned inside out. So the letters that face the mirror come out reversed. The first letter you see in the mirror is the last one on the vehicle.

Try this. Write your name on paper. Hold the paper up to a mirror. The writing looks backward. A page of a book is hard to read in a mirror, too.

Ambulance makers want the driver ahead to read the word easily in the mirror. So they paint it backward. The mirror reverses it, and it looks right. The driver knows to move aside fast.

▲ This passage · 216 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9

If you see an ambulance in your car's mirror, the word on its front looks normal. But if you see the ambulance head on, the letters seem to be written backward. Why would anyone paint a word that way?

The answer lies in how mirrors work. A mirror has a smooth, shiny surface. Light that hits it bounces off in an orderly way, so that it makes a picture of whatever is in front of it. Scientists call this bounce reflection.

A mirror does not really swap left and right. What it does is flip the picture front to back, like a glove turned inside out. Because of this, the letters that face the mirror come out reversed. The first letter you see in the mirror is the last one on the vehicle.

Try writing your name on a piece of paper, then hold the paper up to a mirror. The writing will look backward. Now try holding a page of a book to the mirror. It will be hard to read, too.

Ambulance makers want the driver ahead to read the word easily in the rear-view mirror. So they paint the word backward on the hood. The mirror reverses it, and the word looks right. That lets the driver know to move aside quickly.

■ Harder · 222 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.2

If an ambulance appears in your car's rear-view mirror, the word printed across its front looks perfectly normal. Yet when the same ambulance is seen head on, the letters seem to have been written backward. Why would anyone paint a word that way?

The answer lies in the way mirrors work. A mirror has a smooth, shiny surface, and light striking it bounces off in a regular, orderly pattern, which produces a picture of whatever stands in front of it. Scientists call this bouncing of light reflection.

A mirror does not truly swap left and right. Instead, it flips the picture from front to back, rather like a glove turned inside out. As a result, the letters that face the mirror come out reversed, and the first letter you notice in the mirror is actually the last one on the vehicle.

Try writing your name on a sheet of paper and holding it up to a mirror, and the writing will look backward. A page from a book is awkward to read in a mirror as well.

Ambulance makers want the driver ahead to read the word easily in the rear-view mirror, so they paint it backward on the hood. The mirror reverses it, the word appears correct, and the driver understands that it is time to move aside quickly.

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 reflection, reversed, surface and orderly 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 "Why AMBULANCE Is Spelled Backward on the Hood"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 216 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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