5th grade nonfiction passage about orchestra librarians: 190 words, seven questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
5th gradenonfictionorchestra librarians190 words
The Orchestra Librarian Marks Every Bow Stroke
When an orchestra plays, the audience hears one big sound. Behind that sound is a lot of paper. Someone has to keep it all in order. That person is the orchestra librarian.
Each musician reads from a part. A part is a sheet that shows only the notes for that instrument. The conductor reads from a score, which shows every instrument at once. For one piece, the librarian may hand out dozens of parts. Each one must go to the right player.
The librarian also marks the music. In the string section, every violinist should move the bow the same way at the same time. If not, the section would look messy and sound uneven. The librarian pencils small signs into each part to show which way the bow should go. The conductor and section leaders decide these markings. The librarian copies them into every part.
After the concert, the work is not done. The librarian collects all the music and erases some pencil marks. Then everything is filed so it can be found again. One missing page can stop a rehearsal, so the librarian counts and checks every time.
Questions
What is a part in an orchestra? in the text
What does the conductor read from? in the text
Why does the librarian mark the bow directions in the string parts? in the text
Who decides the bow markings? in the text
What does the librarian do after the concert? in the text
Why does the librarian count and check the music every time? think about it
Why would the orchestra look messy if the bow markings were left out? think about it
Words to know
orchestra
a large group of musicians who play together
librarian
a person who takes care of a collection
conductor
the person who leads the musicians
score
written music showing all the parts together
rehearsal
a practice before a show
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Orchestra Librarian Marks Every Bow Stroke
5th grade reading passage
When an orchestra plays, the audience hears one big sound. Behind that sound is a lot of paper. Someone has to keep it all in order. That person is the orchestra librarian.
Each musician reads from a part. A part is a sheet that shows only the notes for that instrument. The conductor reads from a score, which shows every instrument at once. For one piece, the librarian may hand out dozens of parts. Each one must go to the right player.
The librarian also marks the music. In the string section, every violinist should move the bow the same way at the same time. If not, the section would look messy and sound uneven. The librarian pencils small signs into each part to show which way the bow should go. The conductor and section leaders decide these markings. The librarian copies them into every part.
After the concert, the work is not done. The librarian collects all the music and erases some pencil marks. Then everything is filed so it can be found again. One missing page can stop a rehearsal, so the librarian counts and checks every time.
Questions
What is a part in an orchestra?
What does the conductor read from?
Why does the librarian mark the bow directions in the string parts?
Who decides the bow markings?
What does the librarian do after the concert?
Why does the librarian count and check the music every time?
Why would the orchestra look messy if the bow markings were left out?
Words to know
orchestra: a large group of musicians who play together
librarian: a person who takes care of a collection
conductor: the person who leads the musicians
score: written music showing all the parts together
rehearsal: a practice before a show
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/5/orchestra-librarian-marks-every-bow-stroke
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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 · 188 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.7
When an orchestra plays, the crowd hears one big sound. Behind that sound is a lot of paper. Someone has to keep it all in order. That person is the orchestra librarian.
Each player reads from a part. A part is a sheet with the notes for one instrument. The conductor reads from a score. A score shows all the instruments at once. For one piece, the librarian may hand out dozens of parts. Each one must go to the right player.
The librarian also marks the music. Think about the string players. Each violinist should move the bow the same way at the same time. If not, the group looks messy and sounds uneven. The librarian writes small signs in pencil to show which way the bow goes. The conductor and the section leaders choose the marks. The librarian copies them into every part.
After the concert, there is more work. The librarian collects all the music. Some pencil marks are erased. Then everything is filed so it can be found again. One missing page can stop a rehearsal. So the librarian counts and checks each time.
▲ This passage · 190 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.4
When an orchestra plays, the audience hears one big sound. Behind that sound is a lot of paper. Someone has to keep it all in order. That person is the orchestra librarian.
Each musician reads from a part. A part is a sheet that shows only the notes for that instrument. The conductor reads from a score, which shows every instrument at once. For one piece, the librarian may hand out dozens of parts. Each one must go to the right player.
The librarian also marks the music. In the string section, every violinist should move the bow the same way at the same time. If not, the section would look messy and sound uneven. The librarian pencils small signs into each part to show which way the bow should go. The conductor and section leaders decide these markings. The librarian copies them into every part.
After the concert, the work is not done. The librarian collects all the music and erases some pencil marks. Then everything is filed so it can be found again. One missing page can stop a rehearsal, so the librarian counts and checks every time.
■ Harder · 201 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 10.3
When an orchestra performs, the audience hears one enormous, unified sound. Behind that sound lies an astonishing quantity of paper, and somebody must keep all of it organized. That person is the orchestra librarian.
Each musician reads from a part, which is a sheet displaying only the notes for that particular instrument. The conductor, meanwhile, reads from a score, which presents every instrument simultaneously. For a single piece, the librarian may need to distribute dozens of different parts, and each one has to reach the correct player.
The librarian also performs meticulous marking. In the string section, for instance, every violinist ought to move the bow in the same direction at the same moment. Otherwise the section would appear untidy and sound uneven. The librarian pencils small symbols into each part to indicate the direction of the bow. The conductor and the section leaders determine these markings, and the librarian copies them into every part.
Once the concert is over, the work continues. The librarian gathers all the music, erases certain pencil marks, and files everything so that it can be located again. Because a single missing page can halt a rehearsal, the librarian counts and inspects the music every time.
When an orchestra plays, the crowd hears one big sound. Behind that sound is a lot of paper. Someone has to keep it all in order. That person is the orchestra librarian.
Each player reads from a part. A part is a sheet with the notes for one instrument. The conductor reads from a score. A score shows all the instruments at once. For one piece, the librarian may hand out dozens of parts. Each one must go to the right player.
The librarian also marks the music. Think about the string players. Each violinist should move the bow the same way at the same time. If not, the group looks messy and sounds uneven. The librarian writes small signs in pencil to show which way the bow goes. The conductor and the section leaders choose the marks. The librarian copies them into every part.
After the concert, there is more work. The librarian collects all the music. Some pencil marks are erased. Then everything is filed so it can be found again. One missing page can stop a rehearsal. So the librarian counts and checks each time.
Questions
What is a part in an orchestra?
What does the conductor read from?
Why does the librarian mark bow directions?
Who chooses the marks?
What does the librarian do after the concert?
Why does the librarian count and check the music each time?
Why would the group look messy without the bow marks?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Orchestra Librarian Marks Every Bow Stroke
When an orchestra plays, the audience hears one big sound. Behind that sound is a lot of paper. Someone has to keep it all in order. That person is the orchestra librarian.
Each musician reads from a part. A part is a sheet that shows only the notes for that instrument. The conductor reads from a score, which shows every instrument at once. For one piece, the librarian may hand out dozens of parts. Each one must go to the right player.
The librarian also marks the music. In the string section, every violinist should move the bow the same way at the same time. If not, the section would look messy and sound uneven. The librarian pencils small signs into each part to show which way the bow should go. The conductor and section leaders decide these markings. The librarian copies them into every part.
After the concert, the work is not done. The librarian collects all the music and erases some pencil marks. Then everything is filed so it can be found again. One missing page can stop a rehearsal, so the librarian counts and checks every time.
Questions
What is a part in an orchestra?
What does the conductor read from?
Why does the librarian mark the bow directions in the string parts?
Who decides the bow markings?
What does the librarian do after the concert?
Why does the librarian count and check the music every time?
Why would the orchestra look messy if the bow markings were left out?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Orchestra Librarian Marks Every Bow Stroke
When an orchestra performs, the audience hears one enormous, unified sound. Behind that sound lies an astonishing quantity of paper, and somebody must keep all of it organized. That person is the orchestra librarian.
Each musician reads from a part, which is a sheet displaying only the notes for that particular instrument. The conductor, meanwhile, reads from a score, which presents every instrument simultaneously. For a single piece, the librarian may need to distribute dozens of different parts, and each one has to reach the correct player.
The librarian also performs meticulous marking. In the string section, for instance, every violinist ought to move the bow in the same direction at the same moment. Otherwise the section would appear untidy and sound uneven. The librarian pencils small symbols into each part to indicate the direction of the bow. The conductor and the section leaders determine these markings, and the librarian copies them into every part.
Once the concert is over, the work continues. The librarian gathers all the music, erases certain pencil marks, and files everything so that it can be located again. Because a single missing page can halt a rehearsal, the librarian counts and inspects the music every time.
Questions
What is a part in an orchestra?
What does the conductor read from?
Why does the librarian mark the bow directions in the string parts?
Who determines the bow markings?
What does the librarian do once the concert is over?
Why does the librarian count and inspect the music every time?
Why would the section appear untidy if the bow markings were omitted?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Orchestra Librarian Marks Every Bow Stroke
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.7)
A sheet with the notes for one instrument.
A score that shows all the instruments at once.
So every player moves the bow the same way at the same time.
The conductor and the section leaders.
Collects the music, erases some marks, and files it.
One missing page can stop a rehearsal.
Players might move their bows in different ways, so the group would not look or sound together.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.4)
A sheet that shows only the notes for one instrument.
A score that shows every instrument at once.
So every player moves the bow the same way at the same time.
The conductor and the section leaders.
Collects the music, erases some marks, and files it.
A single missing page can stop a rehearsal.
Players might move their bows in different directions, so the section would not look or sound together.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 10.3)
A sheet displaying only the notes for one particular instrument.
A score that presents every instrument simultaneously.
So every player moves the bow in the same direction at the same moment.
The conductor and the section leaders.
Gathers the music, erases certain marks, and files everything.
A single missing page can halt a rehearsal.
Players might move their bows in different directions, so the section would not look or sound unified.
Free at teach.peabody.kids
How to use it
Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.
Ideas for class
Before reading, put orchestra, librarian, conductor, score and rehearsal 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.
What reading level is "The Orchestra Librarian Marks Every Bow Stroke"?
It was written for 5th grade. It has 190 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.4. 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 seven. 5 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?
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