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Asking the City to Close Your Street for a Party

6th grade nonfiction passage about block party permits: 227 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction block party permits 227 words

Asking the City to Close Your Street for a Party

Closing a street for a party sounds fun, but a street belongs to everyone. Fire trucks, delivery drivers and people who live nearby all depend on it. That is why most cities require a permit, a written permission slip from the city, before neighbors can block the road.

The process usually begins with a form. The organizer gives the date, the hours, and the exact stretch of street to be closed. Many cities also ask the organizer to collect signatures from neighbors, which shows that the people who live there agree. Applications often must arrive several weeks early so that city workers have time to review them.

Safety is a big part of the review. The city may require barricades at each end of the block, and it may ask for a plan to let emergency vehicles pass if needed. Some places have rules about noise and about cleaning up afterward. Details differ from city to city, so organizers should check with their own local office.

Is all this paperwork worth it? The permit tells city departments about the closure, so drivers can be directed around it and police and fire crews will know. It also gives neighbors a way to speak up early, before the cones go out. When the paperwork is done, the party can go forward knowing that the street is being shared fairly.

Questions

  1. What is a permit? in the text

  2. Whose signatures do many cities ask the organizer to collect? in the text

  3. Why must applications often arrive several weeks early? in the text

  4. What safety steps might the city require? in the text

  5. Why does the writer say a street belongs to everyone? think about it

  6. How does the permit help drivers and emergency crews? think about it

Words to know

permit
written permission from an official office
organizer
the person who plans an event
signatures
names written by hand to show agreement
barricades
barriers that block a road
review
to look over carefully before deciding
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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 · 208 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2

Closing a street for a party sounds fun. But a street belongs to everyone. Fire trucks use it. So do delivery drivers and the people who live nearby. That is why most cities ask for a permit. A permit is a written permission slip from the city. Neighbors need one before they block the road.

It usually starts with a form. The organizer gives the date and the hours. The organizer also names the stretch of street to close. Many cities ask for signatures from neighbors. This shows that the people who live there agree. The form often must come in several weeks early. City workers need time to review it.

Safety is a big part of the review. The city may ask for barricades at each end of the block. It may ask for a plan to let emergency vehicles pass. Some places have rules about noise and about cleaning up. Details differ in each city. So organizers should ask their own local office.

Is the paperwork worth it? The permit tells city departments about the closed street. Drivers can go around it. Police and fire crews will know. Neighbors can also speak up early. Then the party can go on, and the street is shared fairly.

▲ This passage · 227 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.7

Closing a street for a party sounds fun, but a street belongs to everyone. Fire trucks, delivery drivers and people who live nearby all depend on it. That is why most cities require a permit, a written permission slip from the city, before neighbors can block the road.

The process usually begins with a form. The organizer gives the date, the hours, and the exact stretch of street to be closed. Many cities also ask the organizer to collect signatures from neighbors, which shows that the people who live there agree. Applications often must arrive several weeks early so that city workers have time to review them.

Safety is a big part of the review. The city may require barricades at each end of the block, and it may ask for a plan to let emergency vehicles pass if needed. Some places have rules about noise and about cleaning up afterward. Details differ from city to city, so organizers should check with their own local office.

Is all this paperwork worth it? The permit tells city departments about the closure, so drivers can be directed around it and police and fire crews will know. It also gives neighbors a way to speak up early, before the cones go out. When the paperwork is done, the party can go forward knowing that the street is being shared fairly.

■ Harder · 246 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.3

Closing a street for a party sounds delightful, yet a street belongs to the entire community. Fire trucks, delivery drivers and the people who live nearby all depend on it. That explains why most cities require a permit, a written permission slip issued by the city, before neighbors may block the road.

The process generally begins with an application form. The organizer supplies the date, the hours, and the exact stretch of street that is to be closed. Many cities also ask the organizer to gather signatures from neighbors, which demonstrates that the people who live there are in agreement. Applications frequently must arrive several weeks in advance so that city workers have enough time to review them thoroughly.

Safety forms a major part of that review. The city may insist on barricades at each end of the block, and it may request a plan for allowing emergency vehicles to pass if necessary. Some places also have rules concerning noise and cleaning up afterward. Because the details differ from one city to another, organizers should consult their own local office.

Is all of this paperwork worthwhile? The permit informs city departments about the closure, so drivers can be directed around it and police and fire crews will be aware of it. It also gives neighbors a way to voice concerns early, before the cones are set out. Once the paperwork is complete, the party can proceed in the knowledge that the street is being shared fairly.

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 permit, organizer, signatures, barricades and review 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 "Asking the City to Close Your Street for a Party"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 227 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.7. 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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