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Delivery Day in a City With No Roads

6th grade nonfiction passage about everyday life in Venice: 215 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction everyday life in Venice 215 words

Delivery Day in a City With No Roads

In the Italian city of Venice, a delivery driver does not use a truck. The main streets are canals, and the people who bring bread, furniture, and fresh vegetables arrive by boat. Venice stands on over a hundred small islands in a shallow lagoon, linked together by hundreds of bridges. Cars are not allowed in the old city at all.

The buildings rest on wooden poles. Long ago builders pushed thousands of tree trunks deep into the soft mud of the lagoon until they reached firmer ground beneath. Stone platforms were laid on top, and the houses went on top of those. The wood stays strong because the mud keeps oxygen away from it and slows rot.

Daily life has been shaped by the water. Boats carry everything, from garbage collectors to ambulances. The public bus is a water bus called a vaporetto. Children may go to school on foot, over bridges and narrow lanes, or by boat. Shops open early so that goods can be unloaded before the walkways fill up with people.

Packages that arrive by boat still have to be carried the last distance by hand or on a small cart. Even a bridge with steps can make a simple delivery a challenge, so couriers have learned the shortest routes by heart.

Questions

  1. How do deliveries reach shops in Venice? in the text

  2. What do Venice's buildings rest on? in the text

  3. What is a vaporetto? in the text

  4. Why does the wood under the buildings stay strong? in the text

  5. Why do shops in Venice open early? think about it

  6. Why have couriers learned the shortest routes by heart? think about it

Words to know

canals
waterways dug by people for boats
lagoon
a shallow body of water separated from the sea
oxygen
a gas in the air that living things need
courier
a person who carries packages to others
unloaded
taken off a boat or truck
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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 · 189 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5

In Venice, Italy, a delivery driver does not use a truck. The main streets are canals. People bring bread, furniture, and fresh vegetables by boat. Venice stands on over a hundred small islands in a shallow lagoon. Hundreds of bridges link them. Cars are not allowed in the old city.

The buildings rest on wooden poles. Long ago, builders pushed thousands of tree trunks deep into the soft mud until they hit firmer ground. They laid stone platforms on top, and the houses went on those. The wood stays strong because the mud keeps oxygen away and slows rot.

Life in Venice is shaped by the water. Boats carry everything, from garbage collectors to ambulances. The public bus is a water bus called a vaporetto. Children walk to school over bridges and along narrow lanes, or go by boat. Shops open early so that goods can be unloaded before the walkways fill up.

Packages that come by boat must still be carried the last bit by hand or on a small cart. A bridge with steps makes a simple delivery hard. So couriers learn the shortest routes by heart.

▲ This passage · 215 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.6

In the Italian city of Venice, a delivery driver does not use a truck. The main streets are canals, and the people who bring bread, furniture, and fresh vegetables arrive by boat. Venice stands on over a hundred small islands in a shallow lagoon, linked together by hundreds of bridges. Cars are not allowed in the old city at all.

The buildings rest on wooden poles. Long ago builders pushed thousands of tree trunks deep into the soft mud of the lagoon until they reached firmer ground beneath. Stone platforms were laid on top, and the houses went on top of those. The wood stays strong because the mud keeps oxygen away from it and slows rot.

Daily life has been shaped by the water. Boats carry everything, from garbage collectors to ambulances. The public bus is a water bus called a vaporetto. Children may go to school on foot, over bridges and narrow lanes, or by boat. Shops open early so that goods can be unloaded before the walkways fill up with people.

Packages that arrive by boat still have to be carried the last distance by hand or on a small cart. Even a bridge with steps can make a simple delivery a challenge, so couriers have learned the shortest routes by heart.

■ Harder · 222 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.3

In the Italian city of Venice, a delivery driver never climbs into a truck. The principal thoroughfares are canals, and the people who bring bread, furniture, and fresh vegetables arrive by boat. Venice occupies more than a hundred small islands scattered across a shallow lagoon, joined together by hundreds of bridges, and automobiles are forbidden throughout the old city.

The buildings rest upon wooden poles. Centuries ago, builders drove thousands of tree trunks deep into the soft mud of the lagoon until they reached firmer ground beneath. Stone platforms were laid across the tops of the poles, and the houses were constructed on those platforms. The wood remains strong because the mud keeps oxygen away from it and slows decay.

Daily life has been molded by the surrounding water. Boats carry nearly everything, from garbage collectors to ambulances, and the public bus is a water bus called a vaporetto. Children may travel to school on foot, crossing bridges and winding lanes, or by boat. Shops open at dawn so that merchandise can be unloaded before the walkways become crowded.

Even when a package arrives by boat, it must still be carried the final distance by hand or on a small cart. A bridge with steps can turn a simple delivery into a real challenge, and so couriers have memorized the shortest routes.

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 canals, lagoon, oxygen, courier and unloaded 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 "Delivery Day in a City With No Roads"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 215 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.6. 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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