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How a Club Rulebook Learns to Change

5th grade nonfiction passage about how amendments work: 220 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction how amendments work 220 words

How a Club Rulebook Learns to Change

Imagine a chess club writes a short rulebook. It says when the club meets, how officers are chosen and how members vote. This kind of rulebook is often called a constitution. It is the club's most important set of rules.

A few months later, the members notice a problem. The club meets on Thursdays, but many students now have band practice that day. The members want to move the meeting to Wednesdays. Can they change the rulebook?

They can, if the rulebook itself explains how. A change to a constitution is called an amendment. Many clubs say that an amendment must be announced at one meeting and voted on at the next. That gives everyone time to think and to come, so that a handful of members cannot sneak in a change. The rule may also say that more than half of the members, or even a larger share, must vote yes.

The Constitution of the United States works in a similar way. It includes a process for amendments, and the process is hard on purpose. Many people across the country have to agree before a change can be made. The country has used this process several times.

A rulebook that cannot change may stop fitting. One that changes too easily cannot be trusted. A good amendment process balances both.

Questions

  1. What is another name for a club's most important set of rules? in the text

  2. What problem do the chess club members notice? in the text

  3. What is a change to a constitution called? in the text

  4. Why do many clubs announce an amendment at one meeting and vote at the next? in the text

  5. Why is the process for amending the United States Constitution hard on purpose? think about it

  6. Why would a rulebook that never changes be a problem? think about it

Words to know

constitution
the main written rules for a group or a country
amendment
a change made to a rulebook or constitution
officers
members chosen to lead a group
announced
told to everyone in public
process
a set of steps for getting something done
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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 · 200 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.4

Say a chess club writes a short rulebook. It tells when the club meets, how officers are chosen and how members vote. This kind of rulebook is often called a constitution. It is the club's most important set of rules.

A few months later, the members see a problem. The club meets on Thursdays. But many students now have band practice that day. The members want to meet on Wednesdays. Can they change the rulebook?

They can, if the rulebook says how. A change to a constitution is called an amendment. Many clubs say that an amendment must be announced at one meeting and voted on at the next. This gives everyone time to think and to come. A few members cannot sneak in a change. The rule may also say that more than half of the members must vote yes.

The Constitution of the United States works this way too. It has a process for amendments, and the process is hard on purpose. Many people across the country must agree. The country has used this process several times.

A rulebook that cannot change may stop fitting. One that changes too easily cannot be trusted. A good process balances both.

▲ This passage · 220 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.5

Imagine a chess club writes a short rulebook. It says when the club meets, how officers are chosen and how members vote. This kind of rulebook is often called a constitution. It is the club's most important set of rules.

A few months later, the members notice a problem. The club meets on Thursdays, but many students now have band practice that day. The members want to move the meeting to Wednesdays. Can they change the rulebook?

They can, if the rulebook itself explains how. A change to a constitution is called an amendment. Many clubs say that an amendment must be announced at one meeting and voted on at the next. That gives everyone time to think and to come, so that a handful of members cannot sneak in a change. The rule may also say that more than half of the members, or even a larger share, must vote yes.

The Constitution of the United States works in a similar way. It includes a process for amendments, and the process is hard on purpose. Many people across the country have to agree before a change can be made. The country has used this process several times.

A rulebook that cannot change may stop fitting. One that changes too easily cannot be trusted. A good amendment process balances both.

■ Harder · 242 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.9

Imagine that a chess club drafts a short rulebook. It describes when the club meets, how its officers are chosen and how members cast their votes. A rulebook of this kind is commonly called a constitution, and it serves as the club's most important set of rules.

A few months later, the members notice a difficulty. The club meets on Thursdays, but many students have since started band practice on that day. The members would like to move their meetings to Wednesdays. Are they permitted to change the rulebook?

They are, provided that the rulebook itself explains how. A change made to a constitution is called an amendment. Many clubs require that an amendment be announced at one meeting and voted on at the next. This delay gives everyone time to think it over and to attend, so a handful of members cannot slip in a change unnoticed. The rule may also state that more than half of the members, or even a larger share, must vote yes.

The Constitution of the United States operates in a comparable way. It contains a process for amendments, and that process is deliberately difficult. People across the whole country must agree before a change can be made, and the country has used the process several times.

A rulebook that can never change may eventually stop fitting its group, while one that changes too easily cannot be trusted. A well designed amendment process balances both concerns.

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 constitution, amendment, officers, announced and process 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 "How a Club Rulebook Learns to Change"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 220 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. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 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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