Safe, Clean Water for All
Turn on the tap at school and watch the water flow. It fills your cup so you can take a cool drink.
Our bodies need safe, clean water every single day. Drinking water helps us play, learn, and grow strong.
We also use clean water to make our food. Grown-ups use it to wash crunchy apples and fresh greens.
They use clean water to cook warm soup, pasta, and rice. Safe water helps keep our meals healthy to eat.
Water helps us keep our hands clean, too. Tiny germs can hide on our skin after we play or use the bathroom.
We wash our hands with soap and clean running water. The soap bubbles lift the germs away, and the water rinses them down the drain.
Did you know that clear water is not always safe to drink? Water in a pond or a stream might look bright and clean.
However, tiny germs or dirt that we cannot see can still hide inside it. Our eyes cannot spot these germs because they are too small.
That is why communities work together to keep water safe. Special water plants clean the water before it travels through pipes to our homes and schools.
- germs:
- Tiny living things that we cannot see that can make us sick.
- drain:
- The opening in a sink or tub where used water goes out.
- communities:
- Groups of people who live and work together in the same area.
- pipes:
- Long tubes that carry water to and from buildings.
- wastewater:
- Dirty water that has already been used in sinks or toilets.
One passage, many ways to practice
Reading-skill questions, word work and writing prompts — all built from this text.
Main Idea
Identify the central idea and explain how important details develop it.
Context Clues
Use clues in the passage to work out what words mean. A separate printable Vocabulary worksheet is also available.
Summarize
Select, organize, and restate the most important information without adding opinion.
Purpose
Analyze what the author aims to do and how choices serve audience and purpose.
Structure
Analyze how sections and organizational choices build the text's ideas or effects.
Vocabulary
Practice words from the passage with a printable worksheet.
Writing Prompts
Use the passage as a springboard for short written responses, from personal reflection to evidence-based arguments.
Fix the Sentence
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1What three things does drinking water help us do every day?
- 2How do grown-ups use clean water in the kitchen?
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About this informational passage for Lower Elementary
“Safe, Clean Water for All” is a informational reading passage about Safe Clean Water and Hygiene, written for Lower Elementary. It takes about 2 minutes to read (253 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.