5th grade nonfiction passage about stone money of yap: 182 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
5th gradenonfictionstone money of yap182 words
Yap's Giant Stone Money
On the island of Yap, in the western Pacific Ocean, people once used huge stone discs as money. These discs are called rai stones. They are made of limestone and have a hole in the middle. Some are small enough to carry, but others are taller than a person.
The stone was not found on Yap. Workers carved the discs on islands far away, such as Palau, and brought them home on rafts and canoes. A trip across open sea took skill and was risky. A stone that arrived safely was valued highly.
The strangest part is how this money worked. A big rai stone was far too heavy to move every time something was bought. So it simply stayed where it was. When one person paid another, everyone in the village agreed that the stone now belonged to the new owner. The stone did not have to go anywhere.
Rai stones still stand along paths and beside houses on Yap. They are not used like everyday coins now, but people still treasure them as part of Yapese tradition and family history.
Questions
Where is the island of Yap? in the text
What are rai stones made of? in the text
Where were the stone discs carved? in the text
How were the discs brought home? in the text
How could a big stone be paid without being moved? think about it
Why was a stone that arrived safely valued highly? think about it
Words to know
limestone
a kind of rock used for building and carving
discs
flat, round shapes
rafts
flat boats made of logs tied together
valued
thought to be worth a lot
tradition
a custom handed down for many years
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Yap's Giant Stone Money
5th grade reading passage
On the island of Yap, in the western Pacific Ocean, people once used huge stone discs as money. These discs are called rai stones. They are made of limestone and have a hole in the middle. Some are small enough to carry, but others are taller than a person.
The stone was not found on Yap. Workers carved the discs on islands far away, such as Palau, and brought them home on rafts and canoes. A trip across open sea took skill and was risky. A stone that arrived safely was valued highly.
The strangest part is how this money worked. A big rai stone was far too heavy to move every time something was bought. So it simply stayed where it was. When one person paid another, everyone in the village agreed that the stone now belonged to the new owner. The stone did not have to go anywhere.
Rai stones still stand along paths and beside houses on Yap. They are not used like everyday coins now, but people still treasure them as part of Yapese tradition and family history.
Questions
Where is the island of Yap?
What are rai stones made of?
Where were the stone discs carved?
How were the discs brought home?
How could a big stone be paid without being moved?
Why was a stone that arrived safely valued highly?
Words to know
limestone: a kind of rock used for building and carving
discs: flat, round shapes
rafts: flat boats made of logs tied together
valued: thought to be worth a lot
tradition: a custom handed down for many years
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/5/yap-giant-stone-money
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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 · 166 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.4
On the island of Yap, people once used big stone discs as money. They are called rai stones. They are made of limestone. Each has a hole in the middle. Some are small enough to carry. Others are taller than a person.
Yap has no such stone. Workers carved the discs on islands far away, such as Palau. They brought them home on rafts and canoes. The trip across open sea took skill and was risky. A stone that arrived safely was valued highly.
The money worked in a strange way. A big stone was too heavy to move each time someone bought something. So it stayed where it was. When one person paid another, everyone in the village agreed that the stone now belonged to the new owner. The stone did not have to go anywhere.
Rai stones still stand by paths and houses on Yap. They are not used like coins now. But people treasure them as part of their tradition and family history.
▲ This passage · 182 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.2
On the island of Yap, in the western Pacific Ocean, people once used huge stone discs as money. These discs are called rai stones. They are made of limestone and have a hole in the middle. Some are small enough to carry, but others are taller than a person.
The stone was not found on Yap. Workers carved the discs on islands far away, such as Palau, and brought them home on rafts and canoes. A trip across open sea took skill and was risky. A stone that arrived safely was valued highly.
The strangest part is how this money worked. A big rai stone was far too heavy to move every time something was bought. So it simply stayed where it was. When one person paid another, everyone in the village agreed that the stone now belonged to the new owner. The stone did not have to go anywhere.
Rai stones still stand along paths and beside houses on Yap. They are not used like everyday coins now, but people still treasure them as part of Yapese tradition and family history.
■ Harder · 192 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.3
On the island of Yap, located in the western Pacific Ocean, people once used enormous stone discs as a form of money. These discs, known as rai stones, are carved from limestone and have a hole through the middle. Some are small enough to carry, while others are taller than a grown person.
The stone itself was not found on Yap. Workers carved the discs on distant islands such as Palau and transported them home on rafts and canoes. A voyage across open water demanded great skill and was risky, so a stone that arrived safely was valued highly.
The most unusual feature of this money was the way it worked. A large rai stone was far too heavy to move whenever something was purchased, so it simply remained where it stood. When one person paid another, everyone in the village agreed that the stone now belonged to its new owner, and the stone never had to travel anywhere.
Rai stones still stand along paths and beside houses on Yap. Although they are not used like everyday coins now, people continue to treasure them as part of Yapese tradition and family history.
On the island of Yap, people once used big stone discs as money. They are called rai stones. They are made of limestone. Each has a hole in the middle. Some are small enough to carry. Others are taller than a person.
Yap has no such stone. Workers carved the discs on islands far away, such as Palau. They brought them home on rafts and canoes. The trip across open sea took skill and was risky. A stone that arrived safely was valued highly.
The money worked in a strange way. A big stone was too heavy to move each time someone bought something. So it stayed where it was. When one person paid another, everyone in the village agreed that the stone now belonged to the new owner. The stone did not have to go anywhere.
Rai stones still stand by paths and houses on Yap. They are not used like coins now. But people treasure them as part of their tradition and family history.
Questions
Where is the island of Yap?
What are rai stones made of?
Where were the discs carved?
How were the discs brought home?
How could a big stone be paid without being moved?
Why was a stone that arrived safely valued highly?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Yap's Giant Stone Money
On the island of Yap, in the western Pacific Ocean, people once used huge stone discs as money. These discs are called rai stones. They are made of limestone and have a hole in the middle. Some are small enough to carry, but others are taller than a person.
The stone was not found on Yap. Workers carved the discs on islands far away, such as Palau, and brought them home on rafts and canoes. A trip across open sea took skill and was risky. A stone that arrived safely was valued highly.
The strangest part is how this money worked. A big rai stone was far too heavy to move every time something was bought. So it simply stayed where it was. When one person paid another, everyone in the village agreed that the stone now belonged to the new owner. The stone did not have to go anywhere.
Rai stones still stand along paths and beside houses on Yap. They are not used like everyday coins now, but people still treasure them as part of Yapese tradition and family history.
Questions
Where is the island of Yap?
What are rai stones made of?
Where were the stone discs carved?
How were the discs brought home?
How could a big stone be paid without being moved?
Why was a stone that arrived safely valued highly?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Yap's Giant Stone Money
On the island of Yap, located in the western Pacific Ocean, people once used enormous stone discs as a form of money. These discs, known as rai stones, are carved from limestone and have a hole through the middle. Some are small enough to carry, while others are taller than a grown person.
The stone itself was not found on Yap. Workers carved the discs on distant islands such as Palau and transported them home on rafts and canoes. A voyage across open water demanded great skill and was risky, so a stone that arrived safely was valued highly.
The most unusual feature of this money was the way it worked. A large rai stone was far too heavy to move whenever something was purchased, so it simply remained where it stood. When one person paid another, everyone in the village agreed that the stone now belonged to its new owner, and the stone never had to travel anywhere.
Rai stones still stand along paths and beside houses on Yap. Although they are not used like everyday coins now, people continue to treasure them as part of Yapese tradition and family history.
Questions
In which part of the Pacific Ocean is the island of Yap located?
What material are rai stones carved from?
Where did workers carve the discs?
How were the discs transported back to Yap?
How could a large stone be used as payment without being moved?
Why was a stone that arrived safely valued so highly?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Yap's Giant Stone Money
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.4)
In the western Pacific Ocean.
Limestone.
On islands far away, such as Palau.
On rafts and canoes.
Everyone in the village agreed it now belonged to the new owner.
The trip across the sea took skill and was risky.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.2)
In the western Pacific Ocean.
Limestone.
On islands far from Yap, such as Palau.
On rafts and canoes.
Everyone in the village agreed that it now belonged to the new owner.
The trip across open sea took skill and was risky.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.3)
In the western Pacific Ocean.
Limestone.
On distant islands such as Palau.
On rafts and canoes.
Everyone in the village agreed that it now belonged to its new owner.
A voyage across open water demanded great skill and was risky.
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 limestone, discs, rafts, valued and tradition 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.
It was written for 5th grade. It has 182 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.2. 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?
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