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How Paper Traveled West from China

7th grade nonfiction passage about the spread of papermaking: 239 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

7th grade nonfiction the spread of papermaking 239 words

How Paper Traveled West from China

Long before paper, people wrote on materials that were costly or awkward. Egyptians used papyrus, made from a tall river plant. Scribes in other lands used parchment, a thin sheet prepared from animal skin. Both worked well, but neither was cheap enough for everyday use.

Paper changed that. Chinese artisans developed it around two thousand years ago, and tradition credits an official named Cai Lun with improving the method in the early second century. Workers soaked plant fibers, such as bark, hemp, and old rags, until they broke down into a soft pulp. They spread the pulp thinly on a screen, pressed out the water, and let the sheet dry. The result was light, smooth, and inexpensive.

For centuries, the craft stayed mostly in East Asia. Then, as merchants and travelers moved along the trade routes of Central Asia, the skill moved with them. By the 700s, papermakers were working in the Islamic world, and in the centuries that followed, paper mills opened in cities such as Baghdad. Cheap paper helped fill libraries, schools, and government offices with written records.

The craft reached Europe much later. Some of its first mills appeared in Spain and Italy, where the same basic steps were followed with rags collected from towns. When printing arrived in Europe afterward, paper was already available to supply it. A material invented in China had crossed a continent, and it prepared the way for millions of books.

Questions

  1. What are papyrus and parchment? in the text

  2. What did Chinese paper makers use to make pulp? in the text

  3. How did the skill of papermaking travel beyond East Asia? in the text

  4. Which city is named as a place where paper mills opened in the Islamic world? in the text

  5. Why did cheap paper help libraries and schools grow? think about it

  6. Why was paper ready for printing when printing arrived in Europe? think about it

Words to know

scribes
people whose job was to copy or write documents by hand
artisans
skilled workers who make things by hand
pulp
a soft, wet mass of broken-down fibers
merchants
people who buy and sell goods
mills
buildings where a product is made by machinery or workers
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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 · 188 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3

Long ago, people wrote on things that cost a lot. Egyptians used papyrus, made from a tall river plant. Scribes in other lands used parchment, which was thin animal skin. They worked well. But they were not cheap.

Paper changed that. Chinese workers made it about two thousand years ago. Tradition says an official named Cai Lun improved how it was made. Workers soaked plant fibers like bark, hemp, and old rags. The fibers turned into soft pulp. They spread the pulp on a screen and pressed out the water. Then the sheet dried. Paper was light, smooth, and cheap.

For a long time, the craft stayed in East Asia. Then merchants and travelers took it along trade routes. By the 700s, people made paper in the Islamic world. Mills opened in cities like Baghdad. Cheap paper filled libraries, schools, and offices with records.

The craft came to Europe much later. Some of the first mills were in Spain and Italy. They used rags from towns. When printing came to Europe, paper was ready. A material from China had crossed a continent. It helped bring millions of books.

▲ This passage · 239 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.7

Long before paper, people wrote on materials that were costly or awkward. Egyptians used papyrus, made from a tall river plant. Scribes in other lands used parchment, a thin sheet prepared from animal skin. Both worked well, but neither was cheap enough for everyday use.

Paper changed that. Chinese artisans developed it around two thousand years ago, and tradition credits an official named Cai Lun with improving the method in the early second century. Workers soaked plant fibers, such as bark, hemp, and old rags, until they broke down into a soft pulp. They spread the pulp thinly on a screen, pressed out the water, and let the sheet dry. The result was light, smooth, and inexpensive.

For centuries, the craft stayed mostly in East Asia. Then, as merchants and travelers moved along the trade routes of Central Asia, the skill moved with them. By the 700s, papermakers were working in the Islamic world, and in the centuries that followed, paper mills opened in cities such as Baghdad. Cheap paper helped fill libraries, schools, and government offices with written records.

The craft reached Europe much later. Some of its first mills appeared in Spain and Italy, where the same basic steps were followed with rags collected from towns. When printing arrived in Europe afterward, paper was already available to supply it. A material invented in China had crossed a continent, and it prepared the way for millions of books.

■ Harder · 260 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 10.5

Long before the invention of paper, people recorded their words on materials that were either costly or inconvenient. Egyptians relied on papyrus, which was prepared from a tall river plant, while scribes in other lands turned to parchment, a thin sheet processed from animal skin. Both served admirably, yet neither was inexpensive enough for ordinary daily use.

Paper transformed that situation. Chinese artisans developed it roughly two thousand years ago, and tradition credits an official named Cai Lun with refining the method in the early second century. Workers soaked plant fibers, including bark, hemp, and discarded rags, until they dissolved into a soft pulp. They then spread the pulp thinly across a screen, pressed out the water, and allowed the sheet to dry. The finished product was light, smooth, and remarkably affordable.

For many centuries, the craft remained largely confined to East Asia. Eventually, as merchants and travelers journeyed along the great trade routes of Central Asia, the knowledge traveled with them. By the 700s, papermakers were at work in the Islamic world, and during the centuries that followed, paper mills opened in cities such as Baghdad. Inexpensive paper helped to stock libraries, schools, and government offices with written records.

The craft reached Europe considerably later. Some of its earliest mills appeared in Spain and Italy, where the same basic steps were carried out with rags collected from towns. When printing arrived in Europe afterward, paper was already available in quantity. A material invented in China had crossed an entire continent, and it paved the way for millions of books.

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 scribes, artisans, pulp, merchants and mills 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 "How Paper Traveled West from China"?

It was written for 7th grade. It has 239 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.7. 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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