edHelper.com
The 1900's
The 1910's

Spring Forward, Fall Back

Spring Forward, Fall Back
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 5 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   5.42

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    Drive-in, penned, precautionary, economics, disrupt, germany, conserve, cope, dates, clocks, merely, inventor, evenings, oppose, each, hemisphere
     content words:    United States, Daylight Saving Time, United States Department, Transportation Department, Saving Time, Benjamin Franklin, William Willett, Robert Pearce, English Parliament, World War

Print Spring Forward, Fall Back
edHelper.com subscriber options:
     Print Spring Forward, Fall Back  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)
     Quickly print reading comprehension
     Print a proofreading activity

Feedback on Spring Forward, Fall Back
     Leave your feedback on Spring Forward, Fall Back  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

Spring Forward, Fall Back
By Jane Runyon 		  
1     Each April, people in many parts of the United States lose an hour of time. That is because they turn their clocks ahead one hour. They are on what is called Daylight Saving Time. What good does it do to turn the clocks forward? Are we really saving an hour of daylight? Who thought up that idea anyway? And do we ever turn the clocks back? The answers to these questions are really rather interesting.
 
2     Most of the people in the United States turn their clocks forward on the first Sunday of April. The official time for this switch is 2:00 a.m. Believe it or not, there is a reason for that specific time. The 2:00 a.m. time was chosen as a time that would disrupt fewer people. Most people are at home at that time. It is early enough that all time zones across the nation will change before dawn. It is late enough that most businesses are closed.
 
3     Why is there a need to change the clocks? The United States Department of Transportation has done several studies on the subject. This department has found that the amount of electricity used each day can be decreased by adding an hour of daylight during the warmer months. Fewer lights are used. People go outside more so they aren't using indoor appliances as much. There are fewer traffic accidents in the daylight hours. The Transportation Department also took a poll of the American people. The results showed that most Americans like more daylight in the evenings because they can do more things outdoors.

Paragraphs 4 to 10:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Copyright © 2008 edHelper