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A Sailmaker Turns Flat Cloth Into a Curve

6th grade nonfiction passage about sailmaker: 232 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction sailmaker 232 words

A Sailmaker Turns Flat Cloth Into a Curve

A sail seems simple, but a good one is not flat. A flat sheet of cloth would flap in the wind and waste much of its push. A sail with a gentle curve, like the belly of a puffed-out shirt, holds the wind and pulls the boat forward more steadily. The sailmaker's job is to build that curve into the cloth before the sail ever leaves the shop.

Cloth is not bent into shape by magic. Instead, the sailmaker cuts the sail from many narrow panels, and each panel is cut with a slightly curved edge. When the panels are stitched or glued together, the curved edges pull against one another and shape the whole sail into a smooth curve. The plan for those cuts is made with care, since a small mistake in one panel can spoil the whole sail.

The sailmaker also thinks about strain. A sail gets pulled hard at its corners, so those spots are strengthened with extra layers of cloth and strong stitching. Different boats need different sails. A racing boat wants a sail that is stiff and light, while a boat on a long trip wants a sail that is tough and easy to repair.

Many sailmakers go out on the water to see how their work behaves. By watching the cloth fill with wind, they learn how to build the next sail even better.

Questions

  1. Why is a flat sail not a good one? in the text

  2. How does the sailmaker build the curve into the sail? in the text

  3. Why are the corners of a sail strengthened? in the text

  4. How is a sail for a racing boat different from one for a long trip? in the text

  5. Why might a small mistake in one panel spoil the sail? think about it

  6. Why do sailmakers go out on the water? think about it

Words to know

sailmaker
a person who designs and sews sails for boats
panels
flat pieces that are joined to make something larger
strain
the force that pulls or stretches something
stitching
rows of thread sewn through cloth to hold it together
steadily
in a smooth way, without sudden changes
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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 · 226 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1

A sail looks simple, but a good one is not flat. A flat sheet of cloth would flap in the wind. It would waste much of its push. A sail with a gentle curve holds the wind better. It is like the belly of a puffed-out shirt. It pulls the boat forward in a steady way. The sailmaker builds that curve into the cloth in the shop.

The cloth is not bent into shape by magic. The sailmaker cuts the sail from many narrow panels. Each panel has a slightly curved edge. The panels are stitched or glued together. The curved edges pull on each other. That shapes the whole sail into a smooth curve. The plan for the cuts is made with care. One small mistake in one panel can spoil the whole sail.

The sailmaker also thinks about strain. A sail is pulled hard at its corners. So those spots get extra layers of cloth and strong stitching. Each boat needs its own kind of sail. A racing boat wants a sail that is stiff and light. A boat on a long trip wants a sail that is tough and easy to fix.

Many sailmakers go out on the water to see how their sails work. They watch the cloth fill with wind. Then they know how to make the next sail better.

▲ This passage · 232 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.6

A sail seems simple, but a good one is not flat. A flat sheet of cloth would flap in the wind and waste much of its push. A sail with a gentle curve, like the belly of a puffed-out shirt, holds the wind and pulls the boat forward more steadily. The sailmaker's job is to build that curve into the cloth before the sail ever leaves the shop.

Cloth is not bent into shape by magic. Instead, the sailmaker cuts the sail from many narrow panels, and each panel is cut with a slightly curved edge. When the panels are stitched or glued together, the curved edges pull against one another and shape the whole sail into a smooth curve. The plan for those cuts is made with care, since a small mistake in one panel can spoil the whole sail.

The sailmaker also thinks about strain. A sail gets pulled hard at its corners, so those spots are strengthened with extra layers of cloth and strong stitching. Different boats need different sails. A racing boat wants a sail that is stiff and light, while a boat on a long trip wants a sail that is tough and easy to repair.

Many sailmakers go out on the water to see how their work behaves. By watching the cloth fill with wind, they learn how to build the next sail even better.

■ Harder · 247 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.6

A sail may seem like a simple object, but a truly good one is not flat. A flat sheet of cloth would flap uselessly in the wind and squander much of its pushing power. A sail with a gentle curve, resembling the belly of a puffed-out shirt, captures the wind and draws the boat forward far more steadily. The sailmaker's task is to build that curve into the cloth long before the sail ever leaves the shop.

Cloth cannot simply be bent into shape by wishing. Instead, the sailmaker cuts the sail from many narrow panels, and each panel is given a slightly curved edge. When the panels are stitched or glued together, those curved edges pull against one another and coax the entire sail into a smooth, graceful curve. The pattern for these cuts is prepared with great care, since one small error in a single panel can spoil the whole sail.

The sailmaker must also consider strain. A sail is tugged especially hard at its corners, so those places are reinforced with additional layers of cloth and heavy stitching. Different boats call for different sails. A racing boat benefits from a sail that is stiff and light, whereas a boat making a long voyage needs a sail that is tough and easy to repair.

Many sailmakers venture out onto the water to observe how their work performs. By watching the cloth fill with wind, they discover how to build the next sail even better.

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 sailmaker, panels, strain, stitching and steadily 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 "A Sailmaker Turns Flat Cloth Into a Curve"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 232 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.6. 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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