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Pancakes Pay for the Fire Hose

5th grade nonfiction passage about volunteer fire companies: 201 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction volunteer fire companies 201 words

Pancakes Pay for the Fire Hose

In some small towns, the firefighters are neighbors who do the job for free. These are volunteer fire companies. A volunteer might work as a teacher or a plumber during the day. When the alarm sounds, the volunteer leaves and rushes to help.

Volunteers still need a lot of equipment. A fire company must have trucks, hoses, ladders, helmets and special coats. These things cost money, and some towns cannot pay for everything. So many fire companies hold fundraisers.

One popular fundraiser is a pancake breakfast. On a Saturday morning, the firefighters set up tables in the fire station. Some volunteers flip pancakes on big griddles. Others pour juice, collect tickets and wash dishes. Families walk in, eat together and often meet people they have not seen for a while. The money from the tickets goes toward new equipment or training.

Volunteers also spend many hours learning. They practice using the equipment and learn first aid, so they know what to do when someone needs help.

A pancake breakfast works because both sides gain. The town enjoys a friendly morning, and the firefighters get what they need to help in return. It is one way a community takes care of itself.

Questions

  1. What is a volunteer fire company? in the text

  2. What are three things a fire company needs? in the text

  3. What jobs do volunteers do at a pancake breakfast? in the text

  4. Where does the money from the tickets go? in the text

  5. Why do fire companies hold fundraisers? think about it

  6. How do both sides gain from a pancake breakfast? think about it

Words to know

volunteer
a person who does a job without being paid
equipment
the tools and gear needed to do a job
fundraisers
events that are held to raise money
griddles
flat metal pans used for cooking pancakes
training
practice that teaches a skill
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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 · 192 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5

In some small towns, the firefighters are neighbors who work for free. These are volunteer fire companies. A volunteer might be a teacher or a plumber by day. When the alarm sounds, the volunteer leaves and rushes to help.

Volunteers still need a lot of gear. A fire company needs trucks, hoses, ladders, helmets and special coats. These cost money. Some towns cannot pay for everything. So many fire companies hold fundraisers.

One popular fundraiser is a pancake breakfast. On a Saturday morning, the firefighters set up tables in the fire station. Some volunteers flip pancakes on big griddles. Others pour juice, take tickets and wash dishes. Families come in, eat together and meet people they have not seen in a while. The money from the tickets goes toward new gear or training.

Volunteers also spend many hours learning. They practice with the gear and learn first aid. Then they know what to do when someone needs help.

A pancake breakfast works because both sides gain. The town has a friendly morning. The firefighters get what they need to help in return. It is one way a community takes care of itself.

▲ This passage · 201 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.2

In some small towns, the firefighters are neighbors who do the job for free. These are volunteer fire companies. A volunteer might work as a teacher or a plumber during the day. When the alarm sounds, the volunteer leaves and rushes to help.

Volunteers still need a lot of equipment. A fire company must have trucks, hoses, ladders, helmets and special coats. These things cost money, and some towns cannot pay for everything. So many fire companies hold fundraisers.

One popular fundraiser is a pancake breakfast. On a Saturday morning, the firefighters set up tables in the fire station. Some volunteers flip pancakes on big griddles. Others pour juice, collect tickets and wash dishes. Families walk in, eat together and often meet people they have not seen for a while. The money from the tickets goes toward new equipment or training.

Volunteers also spend many hours learning. They practice using the equipment and learn first aid, so they know what to do when someone needs help.

A pancake breakfast works because both sides gain. The town enjoys a friendly morning, and the firefighters get what they need to help in return. It is one way a community takes care of itself.

■ Harder · 224 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.9

In some small towns, the firefighters are ordinary neighbors who perform the job without pay. These groups are known as volunteer fire companies. A volunteer might work as a teacher or a plumber during the day, but when the alarm sounds, he or she drops everything and rushes to help.

Even so, volunteers require a great deal of equipment. A fire company must have trucks, hoses, ladders, helmets and special protective coats. These items are expensive, and some towns cannot afford to pay for all of them. As a result, many fire companies organize fundraisers.

One popular fundraiser is the pancake breakfast. On a Saturday morning, the firefighters arrange tables inside the fire station. Some volunteers flip pancakes on enormous griddles, while others pour juice, collect tickets and wash dishes. Families wander in, eat together and often meet people they have not seen for a while. The money from the tickets is put toward new equipment or training.

Volunteers also devote many hours to learning. They practice using the equipment and study first aid, so that they know what to do when someone needs help.

A pancake breakfast succeeds because both sides benefit. The town enjoys a friendly morning, and the firefighters obtain what they need in order to help in return. It is one way in which a community takes care of itself.

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 volunteer, equipment, fundraisers, griddles and training 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 "Pancakes Pay for the Fire Hose"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 201 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.2. 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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