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The Law That Expires Unless Renewed

6th grade nonfiction passage about laws with end dates: 230 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction laws with end dates 230 words

The Law That Expires Unless Renewed

Most laws stay in effect until someone changes them. Some laws, however, come with an end date written right into the text. These are called sunset provisions, because like a sunset, the law is built to fade away on a certain day.

Suppose a city passes a rule that lets food trucks park downtown. Lawmakers are not sure how it will work. Will the sidewalks get crowded? Will nearby restaurants lose customers? So they write the rule to last for two years. When the date arrives, the rule ends unless the council votes to keep it.

The advantage is that someone has to take a fresh look. Before the vote, council members read reports, listen to neighbors, and ask whether the rule solved the problem it was meant to solve. They can renew it as it is, improve it, or let it lapse. Without a sunset, a rule that no longer works might stay on the books for decades simply because no one remembered to review it.

Critics point out that sunsets have a price too. Reviewing takes time, and a good rule could be lost if the council is busy. Businesses and families may also find it hard to plan if a rule might vanish. Because of this, sunsets are often used for new or experimental rules rather than for the basic laws that people rely on every day.

Questions

  1. What is a sunset provision? in the text

  2. What happens on the end date if the council does nothing? in the text

  3. What is one thing council members do before deciding to renew a rule? in the text

  4. What is one price of using sunsets? in the text

  5. Why does the food truck rule last only two years? think about it

  6. Why are sunsets used more for new rules than for basic laws? think about it

Words to know

provisions
parts of a law that say what must happen
renew
to keep going for another period of time
lapse
to end because nothing was done to continue it
experimental
being tried out to see if it works
critics
people who point out the weak parts of something
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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 · 187 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.7

Most laws last until someone changes them. Some laws have an end date written inside. These are called sunset provisions. Like a sunset, the law fades away on a set day.

Say a city passes a rule that lets food trucks park downtown. Lawmakers are not sure how it will work. Will sidewalks get crowded? Will nearby restaurants lose customers? So they make the rule last two years. On that date, the rule ends. It stays only if the council votes to keep it.

This makes someone take a fresh look. Before the vote, council members read reports. They listen to neighbors. They ask if the rule fixed the problem. They can renew it, improve it, or let it lapse. Without a sunset, a bad rule might stay for decades. No one might remember to check it.

Sunsets have a price too. Reviews take time. A good rule could be lost if the council is busy. Families and businesses may find it hard to plan. So sunsets are often used for new or experimental rules. They are less common for the basic laws people use every day.

▲ This passage · 230 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.2

Most laws stay in effect until someone changes them. Some laws, however, come with an end date written right into the text. These are called sunset provisions, because like a sunset, the law is built to fade away on a certain day.

Suppose a city passes a rule that lets food trucks park downtown. Lawmakers are not sure how it will work. Will the sidewalks get crowded? Will nearby restaurants lose customers? So they write the rule to last for two years. When the date arrives, the rule ends unless the council votes to keep it.

The advantage is that someone has to take a fresh look. Before the vote, council members read reports, listen to neighbors, and ask whether the rule solved the problem it was meant to solve. They can renew it as it is, improve it, or let it lapse. Without a sunset, a rule that no longer works might stay on the books for decades simply because no one remembered to review it.

Critics point out that sunsets have a price too. Reviewing takes time, and a good rule could be lost if the council is busy. Businesses and families may also find it hard to plan if a rule might vanish. Because of this, sunsets are often used for new or experimental rules rather than for the basic laws that people rely on every day.

■ Harder · 237 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.3

Most laws remain in effect until somebody amends them. Certain laws, however, carry an expiration date written directly into their text. These are known as sunset provisions, because, much like a sunset, the law is designed to fade away on a particular day.

Suppose a city adopts a rule allowing food trucks to park downtown, and lawmakers are uncertain about the results. Will the sidewalks become crowded? Will nearby restaurants lose customers? To find out, they write the rule so that it lasts for two years. When that date arrives, the rule ends unless the council votes to keep it.

The advantage is that somebody is forced to take a fresh look. Before the vote, council members study reports, listen to neighbors, and consider whether the rule solved the problem it was intended to solve. They may renew it as it stands, improve it, or allow it to lapse. Without a sunset, a rule that no longer works could remain on the books for decades simply because no one remembered to review it.

Critics observe that sunsets carry a cost as well. Reviewing takes time, and a worthwhile rule could be lost if the council happens to be busy. Businesses and families may also struggle to plan if a rule might suddenly vanish. For that reason, sunsets are often applied to new or experimental rules rather than to the basic laws that people depend on every day.

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 provisions, renew, lapse, experimental and critics 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 "The Law That Expires Unless Renewed"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 230 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.2. 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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