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How to Ask a Government Office for Its Paperwork

8th grade nonfiction passage about public records requests: 266 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade nonfiction public records requests 266 words

How to Ask a Government Office for Its Paperwork

In a free country, citizens are meant to be able to find out what their government is doing. One tool for this is a public records law, which lets people ask to see documents held by government offices. At the national level, the law is called the Freedom of Information Act, which Congress passed in 1966. Every state has its own version as well, and the names and details differ.

Suppose a student wants to know how a town spent money on a new playground. The student can write a request that describes the documents as clearly as possible, such as the contract with the builder or the bills the town paid. The request is sent to the office that keeps those papers. The office then searches for the records and, in most cases, must reply within a set number of days. It may charge a small fee to cover copying.

Not every record is open. Laws usually protect certain kinds of information, such as private details about individuals, or facts that could put public safety at risk. When an office withholds something, it is generally expected to give a reason, and the requester can often appeal the decision.

Why does this matter? Records let reporters and residents check facts for themselves rather than rely on someone's say-so. They can show whether money was spent wisely or whether rules were followed. Because the public is able to look, officials have a reason to keep careful, honest files. The right to ask is a simple one, but it keeps the government answerable to the people it serves.

Questions

  1. What does a public records law let people do? in the text

  2. What is the national public records law called? in the text

  3. What might an office charge a small fee for? in the text

  4. What is one kind of information that laws usually protect? in the text

  5. Why should a request describe the documents as clearly as possible? think about it

  6. How does the public's right to look help keep files honest? think about it

Words to know

records
written papers and files that keep facts about what happened
request
a polite and formal ask for something
contract
a written agreement between two sides
withholds
keeps something back instead of giving it
appeal
to ask for a decision to be looked at again
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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 · 258 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.6

In a free country, citizens should be able to find out what their government is doing. One tool is a public records law. It lets people ask to see documents held by government offices. The national law is called the Freedom of Information Act. Congress passed it in 1966. Every state has its own version too. The names and details are different.

Say a student wants to know how a town spent money on a new playground. The student can write a request. It should describe the papers as clearly as possible. For example, it might ask for the contract with the builder or the bills the town paid. The request goes to the office that keeps those papers. The office searches for the records. In most cases, it must answer within a set number of days. It may charge a small fee for copies.

Not every record is open. Laws usually protect some kinds of information. Private details about people are one kind. Facts that could put public safety at risk are another. When an office withholds something, it is usually expected to give a reason. The requester can often appeal the decision.

Why does this matter? Records let reporters and residents check facts for themselves. They do not have to trust someone's say-so. Records can show whether money was spent wisely or whether rules were followed. Because the public can look, officials have a reason to keep careful, honest files. The right to ask is simple. It keeps the government answerable to the people it serves.

▲ This passage · 266 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.1

In a free country, citizens are meant to be able to find out what their government is doing. One tool for this is a public records law, which lets people ask to see documents held by government offices. At the national level, the law is called the Freedom of Information Act, which Congress passed in 1966. Every state has its own version as well, and the names and details differ.

Suppose a student wants to know how a town spent money on a new playground. The student can write a request that describes the documents as clearly as possible, such as the contract with the builder or the bills the town paid. The request is sent to the office that keeps those papers. The office then searches for the records and, in most cases, must reply within a set number of days. It may charge a small fee to cover copying.

Not every record is open. Laws usually protect certain kinds of information, such as private details about individuals, or facts that could put public safety at risk. When an office withholds something, it is generally expected to give a reason, and the requester can often appeal the decision.

Why does this matter? Records let reporters and residents check facts for themselves rather than rely on someone's say-so. They can show whether money was spent wisely or whether rules were followed. Because the public is able to look, officials have a reason to keep careful, honest files. The right to ask is a simple one, but it keeps the government answerable to the people it serves.

■ Harder · 290 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.6

In a free country, citizens are expected to be able to discover what their government is doing on their behalf. One instrument for accomplishing this is a public records law, which allows people to request access to documents held by government offices. At the national level, the law is called the Freedom of Information Act, which Congress passed in 1966. Every state has enacted its own version as well, and the names and details vary considerably.

Suppose that a student wants to learn how a town spent its money on a new playground. The student can compose a request that describes the documents as precisely as possible, such as the contract with the builder or the bills the town paid. The request is then sent to the office that keeps those papers. The office searches for the records and, in most cases, is obligated to reply within a set number of days. It may charge a small fee to cover the cost of copying.

Not every record is open to the public. Laws usually protect certain categories of information, such as private details about individuals, or facts that could place public safety at risk. When an office withholds something, it is generally expected to explain its reasons, and the person making the request can often appeal the decision.

Why does all of this matter? Records allow reporters and residents to verify facts for themselves rather than relying on someone's say-so. They can reveal whether money was spent wisely or whether the rules were followed. Because the public is able to look, officials have a strong reason to maintain careful, honest files. The right to ask is a simple one, yet it keeps the government answerable to the people it serves.

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 records, request, contract, withholds and appeal 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 3 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 to Ask a Government Office for Its Paperwork"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 266 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 8.1. 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 3 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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