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The Great Stink and London's Sewers

6th grade nonfiction passage about london sewers: 241 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction london sewers 241 words

The Great Stink and London's Sewers

In the summer of 1858, the city of London was hit by a smell so awful that people called it the Great Stink. The cause was the River Thames. For years, homes and factories had sent their waste into the river, and the city had grown so large that the water could no longer carry it all away. When a long spell of hot weather arrived, the stench rose over the whole city.

The smell was bad enough to trouble the lawmakers, because the Parliament building stood right beside the river. Many people also knew that dirty water could spread sickness, so the problem could not wait any longer. Within weeks, Parliament agreed to pay for a new plan.

An engineer named Joseph Bazalgette had already designed it. Instead of letting waste flow into the Thames in the middle of the city, his system caught it in a network of brick sewers. These tunnels sloped gently downhill and carried the waste east, past the built-up streets, before releasing it into the river where the tide could sweep it out to sea. In places where the land was too flat, steam-powered pumps lifted the waste and sent it on its way.

The work took years, and the crews laid enormous numbers of bricks. When the job was done, the river in the city grew cleaner, and serious outbreaks of disease became less common. Many of Bazalgette's sewers still serve London today.

Questions

  1. What was the Great Stink? in the text

  2. Why could the river no longer carry the waste away? in the text

  3. Why did Parliament act quickly? in the text

  4. Where did Bazalgette's sewers carry the waste? in the text

  5. What job did the steam-powered pumps do? in the text

  6. Why were the sewer tunnels built to slope downhill? think about it

Words to know

stench
a very strong and unpleasant smell
lawmakers
people who make the laws for a country
engineer
a person who plans and designs big building projects
network
a group of connected parts that work together
sewers
underground pipes or tunnels that carry away waste water
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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 · 174 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.7

In the summer of 1858, London had a terrible smell. People called it the Great Stink. It came from the River Thames. For years, homes and factories had sent their waste into the river. The city was so big that the water could not carry it all away. Then the weather turned hot, and the smell filled the city.

The smell even bothered the lawmakers. Their Parliament building was right beside the river. People also knew that dirty water could make them sick. Soon Parliament agreed to pay for a new plan.

A man named Joseph Bazalgette had made the plan. He was an engineer. His plan was to catch the waste in brick sewers. The tunnels sloped downhill. They carried the waste east, past the city, and let it out into the river there. Where the land was flat, steam pumps lifted the waste.

The work took years. When it was done, the river in the city got cleaner. Fewer people got badly sick. Many of the sewers are still used in London today.

▲ This passage · 241 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.4

In the summer of 1858, the city of London was hit by a smell so awful that people called it the Great Stink. The cause was the River Thames. For years, homes and factories had sent their waste into the river, and the city had grown so large that the water could no longer carry it all away. When a long spell of hot weather arrived, the stench rose over the whole city.

The smell was bad enough to trouble the lawmakers, because the Parliament building stood right beside the river. Many people also knew that dirty water could spread sickness, so the problem could not wait any longer. Within weeks, Parliament agreed to pay for a new plan.

An engineer named Joseph Bazalgette had already designed it. Instead of letting waste flow into the Thames in the middle of the city, his system caught it in a network of brick sewers. These tunnels sloped gently downhill and carried the waste east, past the built-up streets, before releasing it into the river where the tide could sweep it out to sea. In places where the land was too flat, steam-powered pumps lifted the waste and sent it on its way.

The work took years, and the crews laid enormous numbers of bricks. When the job was done, the river in the city grew cleaner, and serious outbreaks of disease became less common. Many of Bazalgette's sewers still serve London today.

■ Harder · 248 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.5

During the summer of 1858, the great city of London was overwhelmed by a smell so dreadful that people named it the Great Stink. Its source was the River Thames. For many years, households and factories had poured their waste into the river, and the city had expanded so enormously that the water could no longer carry all of it away. When an extended spell of hot weather settled over the region, the stench drifted across the entire city.

The odor was powerful enough to disturb the lawmakers, since the Parliament building stood directly beside the river. Many citizens also understood that contaminated water could spread illness, so the problem could not be postponed any longer. Within weeks, Parliament approved the money for a new plan.

An engineer named Joseph Bazalgette had already designed it. Rather than allowing waste to enter the Thames in the center of the city, his system intercepted it in an extensive network of brick sewers. These tunnels sloped gently downhill and conveyed the waste eastward, beyond the crowded streets, before releasing it into the river where the tide could sweep it out to sea. In places where the ground was too level, steam-powered pumps raised the waste and sent it onward.

The project lasted for years, and the crews laid staggering numbers of bricks. When it was finally complete, the river within the city became cleaner, and serious outbreaks of disease grew less common. Many of Bazalgette's sewers continue to serve London today.

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 stench, lawmakers, engineer, network and sewers 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 Great Stink and London's Sewers"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 241 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.

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