Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

When Every Town Kept Its Own Time

7th grade nonfiction passage about railroads and standard time: 242 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

7th grade nonfiction railroads and standard time 242 words

When Every Town Kept Its Own Time

Imagine a country where nearly every town had a different time. For much of history, that was normal. People set their clocks by the sun, and noon came when the sun stood highest in the sky. Because the sun reaches that point earlier in the east and later in the west, a town just a few miles away could be a few minutes ahead or behind its neighbor.

For farmers and shopkeepers, this hardly mattered. Travel was slow, so no one noticed small differences. The railroads changed everything. A train could cross many towns in a single afternoon, and each town's clocks disagreed. Timetables became confusing, and a traveler could miss a connection or worry about a collision of schedules. Some railroad companies kept their own time and printed several different times in a single timetable.

The solution came from the railroads themselves. On November 18, 1883, the major railroads in the United States and Canada began using standard time. The continent was divided into time zones, and all the clocks inside a zone showed the same hour. Many cities soon agreed, because a shared time made life simpler.

Some towns objected at first, since they preferred their own local noon. Years passed before standard time became national law in the United States, in 1918. Still, the change shows how a new invention can force people to change habits. Every time you check a clock, you use an idea that railroads helped to make ordinary.

Questions

  1. How did people in the past decide when it was noon? in the text

  2. Why did towns a few miles apart have different times? in the text

  3. What did railroads begin using on November 18, 1883? in the text

  4. When did standard time become national law in the United States? in the text

  5. Why did different local times matter once trains arrived? think about it

  6. Why did many cities agree to the new system? think about it

Words to know

timetables
lists showing when trains or buses arrive and leave
connection
a second train or bus a traveler changes to
standard
the same everywhere, set as a common rule
zones
areas set apart for a certain purpose
objected
said that they disagreed with something
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 · 222 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5

Picture a country where nearly every town had its own time. For much of history, that was normal. People set clocks by the sun. Noon came when the sun was highest. The sun gets there earlier in the east and later in the west. So a town a few miles away could be a few minutes ahead or behind its neighbor.

For farmers and shopkeepers, this did not matter much. Travel was slow. No one saw the small gaps. The railroads changed that. A train could pass through many towns in one afternoon. Each town's clocks did not match. Timetables got confusing. A traveler could miss a connection. Some railroad companies kept their own time. They printed several different times in one timetable.

The fix came from the railroads. On November 18, 1883, the big railroads in the United States and Canada began to use standard time. The land was split into time zones. All the clocks in a zone showed the same hour. Many cities soon agreed. A shared time made life easier.

Some towns said no at first. They liked their own local noon. Years went by before standard time became national law in the United States, in 1918. The change shows how a new invention can change habits. When you check a clock, you use an idea the railroads helped make normal.

▲ This passage · 242 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.4

Imagine a country where nearly every town had a different time. For much of history, that was normal. People set their clocks by the sun, and noon came when the sun stood highest in the sky. Because the sun reaches that point earlier in the east and later in the west, a town just a few miles away could be a few minutes ahead or behind its neighbor.

For farmers and shopkeepers, this hardly mattered. Travel was slow, so no one noticed small differences. The railroads changed everything. A train could cross many towns in a single afternoon, and each town's clocks disagreed. Timetables became confusing, and a traveler could miss a connection or worry about a collision of schedules. Some railroad companies kept their own time and printed several different times in a single timetable.

The solution came from the railroads themselves. On November 18, 1883, the major railroads in the United States and Canada began using standard time. The continent was divided into time zones, and all the clocks inside a zone showed the same hour. Many cities soon agreed, because a shared time made life simpler.

Some towns objected at first, since they preferred their own local noon. Years passed before standard time became national law in the United States, in 1918. Still, the change shows how a new invention can force people to change habits. Every time you check a clock, you use an idea that railroads helped to make ordinary.

■ Harder · 256 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9

Imagine a country in which nearly every town kept a different time. For much of history, that was entirely ordinary. People set their clocks by the sun, and noon arrived when the sun stood at its highest point in the sky. Because the sun reaches that position earlier in the east and later in the west, a town only a few miles away could be several minutes ahead of or behind its neighbor.

For farmers and shopkeepers, this scarcely mattered. Travel was slow, so nobody noticed such small differences. The railroads altered everything. A train could cross many towns in a single afternoon, and each town's clocks disagreed with the next. Timetables became bewildering, and a traveler could easily miss a connection. Some railroad companies maintained their own time and even printed several different times within a single timetable.

The remedy came from the railroads themselves. On November 18, 1883, the major railroads of the United States and Canada began operating on standard time. The continent was divided into time zones, and every clock within a zone displayed the same hour. Many cities soon agreed to follow, because a common time made daily life considerably simpler.

Certain towns protested at first, since they preferred to keep their own local noon. Many years passed before standard time became national law in the United States, in 1918. Nevertheless, the change illustrates how a new invention can compel people to alter their habits. Each time you glance at a clock, you rely on an idea that the railroads helped to make ordinary.

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 timetables, connection, standard, zones and objected 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 "When Every Town Kept Its Own Time"?

It was written for 7th grade. It has 242 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.3. 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.

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