Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

The Domesday Book: Counting All of England

6th grade nonfiction passage about domesday book survey: 213 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction domesday book survey 213 words

The Domesday Book: Counting All of England

In the year 1086, King William of England decided he wanted to know exactly what his kingdom held. He had become king twenty years earlier, and he needed to learn who owned the land and how much tax people could pay. So he sent officials all over the country to ask questions.

The officials traveled from county to county. In each place, they gathered local people and asked how much land each person held, how many farm workers and plows there were, and how many mills, ponds, and woods lay nearby. They even counted some of the animals. The answers were written down in Latin, the language used for important records at the time.

The final record was gathered into two large books, which together are known as the Domesday Book. One old explanation for the name is that people felt its answers could not be argued with. Once something was written in the book, it was treated as the last word on who owned what.

Today the Domesday Book is a treasure for historians. It paints a detailed picture of village life in England nearly a thousand years ago, from the size of the farms to the number of mills on a stream. The book is still kept safely in a national archive.

Questions

  1. Why did King William want a survey of his kingdom? in the text

  2. Who gathered the information? in the text

  3. What kinds of things did the officials ask about? in the text

  4. In what language were the answers written? in the text

  5. Why is the Domesday Book valuable to historians? in the text

  6. Why might some people have felt worried when the officials arrived? think about it

Words to know

survey
a careful count or study of many things
officials
people who do important jobs for a government
tax
money that people must pay to their government
county
a region of a country with its own local government
historians
people who study the past
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 · 178 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9

In 1086, King William of England wanted to know what was in his kingdom. He had been king for twenty years. He wanted to know who owned the land. He also wanted to know how much tax people could pay. So he sent officials all over the country to ask questions.

The officials went from county to county. In each place, they met with local people. They asked how much land each person had. They asked how many farm workers and plows there were. They asked about mills, ponds, and woods. They even counted some animals. The answers were written in Latin. Latin was used for important records then.

The records were put into two big books. Together they are called the Domesday Book. One old story about the name is that nobody could argue with the answers. What was written in the book was the last word on who owned what.

Today, historians love the book. It shows what village life in England was like almost a thousand years ago. It is kept safe in a national archive.

▲ This passage · 213 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.4

In the year 1086, King William of England decided he wanted to know exactly what his kingdom held. He had become king twenty years earlier, and he needed to learn who owned the land and how much tax people could pay. So he sent officials all over the country to ask questions.

The officials traveled from county to county. In each place, they gathered local people and asked how much land each person held, how many farm workers and plows there were, and how many mills, ponds, and woods lay nearby. They even counted some of the animals. The answers were written down in Latin, the language used for important records at the time.

The final record was gathered into two large books, which together are known as the Domesday Book. One old explanation for the name is that people felt its answers could not be argued with. Once something was written in the book, it was treated as the last word on who owned what.

Today the Domesday Book is a treasure for historians. It paints a detailed picture of village life in England nearly a thousand years ago, from the size of the farms to the number of mills on a stream. The book is still kept safely in a national archive.

■ Harder · 226 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.6

In the year 1086, King William of England resolved to learn precisely what his kingdom contained. He had held the crown for twenty years, and he needed to discover who owned the land and how much tax his people were capable of paying. For this purpose, he dispatched officials throughout the country to ask a long series of questions.

The officials traveled from county to county. In each location, they assembled the local people and inquired how much land each person held, how many farm laborers and plows there were, and how many mills, ponds, and woods lay in the neighborhood. They even counted some of the livestock. The answers were recorded in Latin, which was the language reserved for important documents at the time.

The finished record was compiled into two large volumes, which together are known as the Domesday Book. One old explanation for the name is that people believed its answers could not be disputed. Once a fact had been written in the book, it was regarded as the final word on who owned what.

Today the Domesday Book is a treasure for historians. It presents a richly detailed portrait of village life in England nearly a thousand years ago, from the size of the farms to the number of mills along a stream. The book is still carefully preserved in a national archive.

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 survey, officials, tax, county and historians 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 6 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 "The Domesday Book: Counting All of England"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 213 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.4. 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. 5 ask for something the text says directly and 1 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.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.