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The Quiet Float That Refills the Toilet Tank

8th grade nonfiction passage about the toilet tank float valve: 299 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade nonfiction the toilet tank float valve 299 words

The Quiet Float That Refills the Toilet Tank

Lift the lid off a toilet tank and you will find a small, ingenious machine that has been working in homes for well over a century. Its single responsibility is to fill the tank with exactly the right amount of water and then stop, and nobody has to watch it or turn it off.

The machine has two main assemblies. One is the flush valve at the bottom, a rubber flap that covers the drain opening, and the other is the fill valve, which brings fresh water in from the supply pipe. A float, either a ball on an arm or a cup that slides up a pole, tells the fill valve when to stop.

When you press the handle, a chain lifts the flap, water rushes out of the tank into the bowl, and the level in the tank drops quickly. Because the float rests on the surface, it falls along with the water, and that movement opens the fill valve so that fresh water begins to flow in.

Once the flap drops back into place, the tank starts to refill, and the float rises with the water. A lever or linkage carries the movement to the valve, and at the correct height the float has pushed the lever far enough to shut the valve completely. The water stops, and the tank is ready for the next use.

Engineers added a safety feature as well. A vertical overflow tube stands in the tank, taller than the water level should ever be, so if the float ever fails, the extra water spills down the tube and into the bowl instead of onto the floor. Like the governor on a steam engine, the float is a tiny feedback machine that uses the water level itself to decide when to stop.

Questions

  1. What is the single job of the toilet tank machine? in the text

  2. What does the rubber flap at the bottom of the tank cover? in the text

  3. What opens the fill valve after a flush? in the text

  4. What does the overflow tube do if the float fails? in the text

  5. Why does the float rise as the tank refills? think about it

  6. Why is the float compared to a governor on a steam engine? think about it

Words to know

float
a light object that rests on top of a liquid
valve
a part that opens and closes to control flow
linkage
a set of connected bars that pass motion along
overflow
extra liquid that spills over the top
supply
an amount of something that is provided for use
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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 · 281 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2

Lift the lid off a toilet tank and you will find a small, clever machine. It has worked in homes for over a hundred years. It has one job. It fills the tank with the right amount of water and then stops. Nobody has to watch it or turn it off.

The machine has two main parts. One is the flush valve at the bottom. It is a rubber flap that covers the drain hole. The other is the fill valve, which lets in fresh water from the supply pipe. A float tells the fill valve when to stop. The float may be a ball on an arm or a cup that slides up a pole.

When you press the handle, a chain lifts the flap. Water rushes out of the tank into the bowl, and the water level drops fast. The float rests on the water, so it drops too. That movement opens the fill valve, and fresh water starts to flow in.

Then the flap falls back into place, and the tank starts to fill. The float rises with the water. A lever carries the movement to the valve. At the right height, the float pushes the lever far enough to shut the valve. The water stops, and the tank is ready again.

Engineers added a safety feature too. A tall overflow tube stands in the tank. It is taller than the water should ever be. If the float fails, the extra water spills down the tube into the bowl and not onto the floor. Like the governor on a steam engine, the float is a small feedback machine. It uses the water level to decide when to stop.

▲ This passage · 299 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9

Lift the lid off a toilet tank and you will find a small, ingenious machine that has been working in homes for well over a century. Its single responsibility is to fill the tank with exactly the right amount of water and then stop, and nobody has to watch it or turn it off.

The machine has two main assemblies. One is the flush valve at the bottom, a rubber flap that covers the drain opening, and the other is the fill valve, which brings fresh water in from the supply pipe. A float, either a ball on an arm or a cup that slides up a pole, tells the fill valve when to stop.

When you press the handle, a chain lifts the flap, water rushes out of the tank into the bowl, and the level in the tank drops quickly. Because the float rests on the surface, it falls along with the water, and that movement opens the fill valve so that fresh water begins to flow in.

Once the flap drops back into place, the tank starts to refill, and the float rises with the water. A lever or linkage carries the movement to the valve, and at the correct height the float has pushed the lever far enough to shut the valve completely. The water stops, and the tank is ready for the next use.

Engineers added a safety feature as well. A vertical overflow tube stands in the tank, taller than the water level should ever be, so if the float ever fails, the extra water spills down the tube and into the bowl instead of onto the floor. Like the governor on a steam engine, the float is a tiny feedback machine that uses the water level itself to decide when to stop.

■ Harder · 310 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.7

Lift the lid off a toilet tank and you will discover a small, ingenious machine that has been working quietly in homes for well over a century. Its single responsibility is to fill the tank with exactly the right quantity of water and then to stop, and nobody ever has to watch it or turn it off.

The machine consists of two main assemblies. One is the flush valve at the bottom, a rubber flap that covers the drain opening. The other is the fill valve, which brings fresh water in from the supply pipe. A float, which may be either a ball on an arm or a cup that slides up a pole, informs the fill valve when to stop.

When you press the handle, a chain lifts the flap, water rushes out of the tank into the bowl, and the level in the tank drops rapidly. Because the float rests on the surface, it falls along with the water, and that downward movement opens the fill valve so that fresh water begins to flow in.

Once the flap drops back into place, the tank starts to refill, and the float gradually rises with the water. A lever or linkage carries the movement to the valve, and at the correct height the float has pushed the lever far enough to shut the valve completely, so the flow ceases and the tank is ready for its next use.

Engineers added a thoughtful safety feature as well. A vertical overflow tube stands in the tank, taller than the water level should ever be, so that if the float ever fails, the surplus water spills down the tube and into the bowl instead of onto the floor. Like the governor on a steam engine, the float is a tiny feedback machine that uses the water level itself to decide when to stop.

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 float, valve, linkage, overflow and supply 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 "The Quiet Float That Refills the Toilet Tank"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 299 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 9.0. 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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