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Colored Flags in the Grass Before Anyone Digs

6th grade nonfiction passage about calling before you dig: 226 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction calling before you dig 226 words

Colored Flags in the Grass Before Anyone Digs

Under a typical neighborhood lies a hidden web of pipes and cables. Some carry electricity or natural gas. Others bring in drinking water, carry away waste water, or hold telephone and internet lines. Because nobody can see them, a shovel can hit one by surprise.

To prevent that, the United States has a single phone number for anyone planning to dig: 811. A person who calls explains where the hole will go. The call is free, and the request is passed to the companies that own lines in that area. Each company sends a worker to mark where its lines run.

The markers use paint or small flags, and each color has a meaning. Red usually shows electric lines. Yellow warns of gas. Orange marks communication cables, blue shows drinking water, and green points to sewers. White outlines the spot where the digging will happen. Workers often need a few days to finish, so people are asked to call ahead instead of grabbing a shovel that afternoon.

Calling is the right thing to do, and in most places it is also the law. A broken gas pipe can be dangerous, and a cut cable can leave a whole street without power or internet. The rule protects the person digging and everyone who depends on the lines nearby. A free phone call saves neighbors a lot of trouble.

Questions

  1. What number should a person call before digging? in the text

  2. What do the companies that own the lines do after the call? in the text

  3. What does the color yellow usually warn about? in the text

  4. What does white paint or a white flag show? in the text

  5. Why are people asked to call a few days before they dig? think about it

  6. How does this rule help people who never touch a shovel? think about it

Words to know

cables
thick wires that carry power or signals
pipes
long tubes that carry water or gas
mark
to show a spot with paint or a flag
communication
phone, television or internet signals
depends
needs something and counts on it
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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 · 156 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

Under your street are pipes and cables. Some carry electricity or gas. Some carry water. Some carry phone and internet. You cannot see them. A shovel could hit one by surprise.

So there is a number to call before you dig. It is 811. The call is free. You tell them where you want to dig. Then the companies that own lines nearby send workers. The workers mark where the lines are.

They use paint or small flags. Each color means something. Red is for electric lines. Yellow is for gas. Orange is for communication cables. Blue is for drinking water. Green is for sewers. White shows where the digging will happen. The workers need a few days, so call ahead.

In most places, calling is the law. A broken gas pipe can be dangerous. A cut cable can leave a street without power or internet. The rule keeps the digger safe. It helps the neighbors too.

▲ This passage · 226 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.3

Under a typical neighborhood lies a hidden web of pipes and cables. Some carry electricity or natural gas. Others bring in drinking water, carry away waste water, or hold telephone and internet lines. Because nobody can see them, a shovel can hit one by surprise.

To prevent that, the United States has a single phone number for anyone planning to dig: 811. A person who calls explains where the hole will go. The call is free, and the request is passed to the companies that own lines in that area. Each company sends a worker to mark where its lines run.

The markers use paint or small flags, and each color has a meaning. Red usually shows electric lines. Yellow warns of gas. Orange marks communication cables, blue shows drinking water, and green points to sewers. White outlines the spot where the digging will happen. Workers often need a few days to finish, so people are asked to call ahead instead of grabbing a shovel that afternoon.

Calling is the right thing to do, and in most places it is also the law. A broken gas pipe can be dangerous, and a cut cable can leave a whole street without power or internet. The rule protects the person digging and everyone who depends on the lines nearby. A free phone call saves neighbors a lot of trouble.

■ Harder · 244 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.7

Beneath an ordinary neighborhood lies a concealed network of pipes and cables. Some deliver electricity or natural gas, others supply drinking water or carry away waste water, and still others hold telephone and internet lines. Since none of them can be seen from the surface, a careless shovel can strike one without warning.

To prevent such accidents, the United States has established one phone number for anyone planning to dig: 811. A person who calls describes where the hole will go. The call costs nothing, and the request is forwarded to every company that owns lines in the area, each of which sends a worker to mark the route of its own lines.

The markings consist of paint or small flags, and every color carries a meaning. Red usually indicates electric lines, yellow warns of gas, orange marks communication cables, blue shows drinking water, and green points to sewers. White outlines the place where the digging will happen. Because the workers often need a few days to finish, people are asked to call ahead instead of grabbing a shovel that same afternoon.

Calling is not only sensible but, in most places, required by law. A broken gas pipe can be dangerous, and a severed cable can leave an entire street without power or internet. The rule therefore protects the person digging as well as everyone who depends on the lines nearby, and a free phone call spares a whole neighborhood a great deal of trouble.

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 cables, pipes, mark, communication and depends 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 "Colored Flags in the Grass Before Anyone Digs"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 226 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.3. 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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