5th grade nonfiction passage about outback schooling: 204 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
5th gradenonfictionoutback schooling204 words
School by Radio in the Australian Outback
In the Australian Outback, some families live on huge farms called stations. The nearest town may be a long drive away, and the nearest neighbor may be even farther. A child on one of these stations cannot simply walk to a school down the road.
For many years, a special program called the School of the Air solved this problem. It began in the middle of the twentieth century. Children sat at home near a two-way radio. Their teacher sat in a studio in a faraway town. The teacher spoke into a microphone, and every child in the "classroom" could hear the lesson across the empty land.
Children also mailed their finished work to the teacher and received corrections in return. Parents or tutors helped at home during the day. Today the lessons usually come by internet and video, so students can see their teacher and their classmates on a screen.
Even so, the program has not lost its purpose. Students still meet in person on special days, when they can play games and make friends face to face. The School of the Air shows how people can use new tools to bring learning to a place where schools are hard to build.
Questions
What are the large farms in the Outback called? in the text
How did the first School of the Air lessons reach children? in the text
How did students get their work corrected in the early days? in the text
Why could a child in the Outback not just walk to school? think about it
How have the lessons changed in recent times? in the text
Why do you think students still meet in person on special days? think about it
Words to know
Outback
the huge, dry, thinly settled inland part of Australia
station
a very large farm in Australia
studio
a room set up for broadcasting or recording
program
a planned set of lessons or activities
tutor
a person who helps someone learn
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
School by Radio in the Australian Outback
5th grade reading passage
In the Australian Outback, some families live on huge farms called stations. The nearest town may be a long drive away, and the nearest neighbor may be even farther. A child on one of these stations cannot simply walk to a school down the road.
For many years, a special program called the School of the Air solved this problem. It began in the middle of the twentieth century. Children sat at home near a two-way radio. Their teacher sat in a studio in a faraway town. The teacher spoke into a microphone, and every child in the "classroom" could hear the lesson across the empty land.
Children also mailed their finished work to the teacher and received corrections in return. Parents or tutors helped at home during the day. Today the lessons usually come by internet and video, so students can see their teacher and their classmates on a screen.
Even so, the program has not lost its purpose. Students still meet in person on special days, when they can play games and make friends face to face. The School of the Air shows how people can use new tools to bring learning to a place where schools are hard to build.
Questions
What are the large farms in the Outback called?
How did the first School of the Air lessons reach children?
How did students get their work corrected in the early days?
Why could a child in the Outback not just walk to school?
How have the lessons changed in recent times?
Why do you think students still meet in person on special days?
Words to know
Outback: the huge, dry, thinly settled inland part of Australia
station: a very large farm in Australia
studio: a room set up for broadcasting or recording
program: a planned set of lessons or activities
tutor: a person who helps someone learn
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/5/school-by-radio-australian-outback
Share
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 · 141 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.8
In the Australian Outback, some families live on very big farms called stations. The nearest town may be far away. A child cannot walk to school.
A program called the School of the Air helped. It began in the middle of the last century. Children sat at home by a two-way radio. The teacher sat in a studio in a faraway town. The teacher spoke, and the children heard the lesson over the empty land.
Children mailed their work to the teacher. The teacher mailed back corrections. A parent or tutor helped at home.
Now the lessons come by internet and video. Students can see their teacher and classmates on a screen. They still meet in person on special days. They play games and make friends. The School of the Air uses new tools to bring school to faraway homes.
▲ This passage · 204 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.4
In the Australian Outback, some families live on huge farms called stations. The nearest town may be a long drive away, and the nearest neighbor may be even farther. A child on one of these stations cannot simply walk to a school down the road.
For many years, a special program called the School of the Air solved this problem. It began in the middle of the twentieth century. Children sat at home near a two-way radio. Their teacher sat in a studio in a faraway town. The teacher spoke into a microphone, and every child in the "classroom" could hear the lesson across the empty land.
Children also mailed their finished work to the teacher and received corrections in return. Parents or tutors helped at home during the day. Today the lessons usually come by internet and video, so students can see their teacher and their classmates on a screen.
Even so, the program has not lost its purpose. Students still meet in person on special days, when they can play games and make friends face to face. The School of the Air shows how people can use new tools to bring learning to a place where schools are hard to build.
■ Harder · 211 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.3
In the Australian Outback, some families live on enormous farms known as stations. The closest town may be a long drive away, and the nearest neighbor may be even farther, so a child on one of these stations cannot simply walk to a school down the road.
For many years, a special program called the School of the Air solved this problem. It began in the middle of the twentieth century. Children sat at home beside a two-way radio, while their teacher sat in a studio in a distant town. The teacher spoke into a microphone, and every child in the scattered "classroom" could hear the lesson travel across the empty land.
Children also mailed their completed work to the teacher and received corrections in return, and parents or tutors supported them at home during the day. Today the lessons usually arrive by internet and video, which allows students to see their teacher and their classmates on a screen.
Even so, the program has kept its original purpose. Students still gather in person on special occasions, when they can play games and build friendships face to face. The School of the Air demonstrates how people can adopt new tools to bring learning to places where schools are difficult to build.
In the Australian Outback, some families live on very big farms called stations. The nearest town may be far away. A child cannot walk to school.
A program called the School of the Air helped. It began in the middle of the last century. Children sat at home by a two-way radio. The teacher sat in a studio in a faraway town. The teacher spoke, and the children heard the lesson over the empty land.
Children mailed their work to the teacher. The teacher mailed back corrections. A parent or tutor helped at home.
Now the lessons come by internet and video. Students can see their teacher and classmates on a screen. They still meet in person on special days. They play games and make friends. The School of the Air uses new tools to bring school to faraway homes.
Questions
What are the big farms in the Outback called?
How did the first lessons reach the children?
How did children get their work corrected?
Why could a child not walk to school?
How do the lessons come now?
Why do students meet in person on special days?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
School by Radio in the Australian Outback
In the Australian Outback, some families live on huge farms called stations. The nearest town may be a long drive away, and the nearest neighbor may be even farther. A child on one of these stations cannot simply walk to a school down the road.
For many years, a special program called the School of the Air solved this problem. It began in the middle of the twentieth century. Children sat at home near a two-way radio. Their teacher sat in a studio in a faraway town. The teacher spoke into a microphone, and every child in the "classroom" could hear the lesson across the empty land.
Children also mailed their finished work to the teacher and received corrections in return. Parents or tutors helped at home during the day. Today the lessons usually come by internet and video, so students can see their teacher and their classmates on a screen.
Even so, the program has not lost its purpose. Students still meet in person on special days, when they can play games and make friends face to face. The School of the Air shows how people can use new tools to bring learning to a place where schools are hard to build.
Questions
What are the large farms in the Outback called?
How did the first School of the Air lessons reach children?
How did students get their work corrected in the early days?
Why could a child in the Outback not just walk to school?
How have the lessons changed in recent times?
Why do you think students still meet in person on special days?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
School by Radio in the Australian Outback
In the Australian Outback, some families live on enormous farms known as stations. The closest town may be a long drive away, and the nearest neighbor may be even farther, so a child on one of these stations cannot simply walk to a school down the road.
For many years, a special program called the School of the Air solved this problem. It began in the middle of the twentieth century. Children sat at home beside a two-way radio, while their teacher sat in a studio in a distant town. The teacher spoke into a microphone, and every child in the scattered "classroom" could hear the lesson travel across the empty land.
Children also mailed their completed work to the teacher and received corrections in return, and parents or tutors supported them at home during the day. Today the lessons usually arrive by internet and video, which allows students to see their teacher and their classmates on a screen.
Even so, the program has kept its original purpose. Students still gather in person on special occasions, when they can play games and build friendships face to face. The School of the Air demonstrates how people can adopt new tools to bring learning to places where schools are difficult to build.
Questions
What are the enormous farms of the Outback called?
How did the first School of the Air lessons reach children?
How did students receive corrections in the early days?
Why could a child on a station not simply walk to school?
In what way have the lessons changed in recent times?
Why do you think students still gather in person on special occasions?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: School by Radio in the Australian Outback
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.8)
They are called stations.
By two-way radio from a studio in a faraway town.
They mailed it to the teacher and got corrections back.
The nearest town is very far away.
By internet and video.
To play games and make friends face to face.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.4)
They are called stations.
By two-way radio from a studio in a faraway town.
They mailed it to the teacher and got corrections back.
The nearest town and neighbors are very far away.
They now usually come by internet and video.
So they can make friends and play together face to face, which a screen cannot fully do.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.3)
They are called stations.
By two-way radio from a studio in a distant town.
They mailed their work to the teacher and got corrections back.
The nearest town and neighbors are very far away.
They usually arrive by internet and video.
To play and build friendships face to face, which a screen cannot fully offer.
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 Outback, station, studio, program and tutor 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 4 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 "School by Radio in the Australian Outback"?
It was written for 5th grade. It has 204 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.4. 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 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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