A1 · Practical document
Finding rules, times, and places in a welcome sheet
Read for meaning first. Then return to the text for vocabulary, language choices, and evidence.
Before you read
Build the context out loud.
- What rules do people often have in an apartment building?
- Who do you call when something in your home is broken?
- Which rule is the most important for good neighbors?
First pass: keep moving when one word is unfamiliar. Dotted words open optional help; every word also appears in the vocabulary bank below.
Maple Court Apartments: House Rules
Welcome to your new home! Please keep this sheet in your kitchen.
Trash: Take trash bags to the big bins behind Building B. Put paper, cans, and plastic bottles in the blue recyclingPaper, cans, and bottles that people collect so they can be used again.Useful chunks: recycling bins · put it in the recycling bins. Don’t leave bags in the hallway.
Laundry: The laundry roomA room with machines for washing and drying clothes.Useful chunks: the laundry room · do laundry is in the basementThe part of a building that is below the ground.Useful chunks: in the basement · basement door. It is open every day from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Please take your clothes out of the machines quickly.
Quiet hours: 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. You can play music, but please keep it low after ten.
Parking: Each apartment has one parking space. Your guests can park in the visitor spaces for one night. They can’t park in residentA person who lives in a building or place.Useful chunks: resident parking · building residents spaces.
Pets: You can have one cat or one small dog. Always keep your dog on a leashA long strap that a person holds to keep a dog close.Useful chunks: on a leash · keep your dog on a leash in the hallways.
Repairs: Is something broken? Call the building manager, Mr. Okafor, at 555-0142, Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. In an emergencyA dangerous or serious problem that needs help immediately.Useful chunks: in an emergency · emergency number, like water on the floor, call any time.
Original text written for Thomas’s Classroom Reading Lab.
Words in context
Useful vocabulary and chunks
Learn the word with the partners it naturally keeps.
recycling
Paper, cans, and bottles that people collect so they can be used again.
recycling bins · put it in the recyclinglaundry room
A room with machines for washing and drying clothes.
the laundry room · do laundrybasement
The part of a building that is below the ground.
in the basement · basement doorresident
A person who lives in a building or place.
resident parking · building residentsleash
A long strap that a person holds to keep a dog close.
on a leash · keep your dog on a leashemergency
A dangerous or serious problem that needs help immediately.
in an emergency · emergency numberCheck your reading
Comprehension check
Choose the answer best supported by the text. Check your choices when you finish the whole set.
01A new resident has three plastic bottles. Where do they go?
02Sam wants to wash his clothes at 10:30 p.m. on Friday. What is the problem?
03Your sister stays at your apartment for one night. Where can she park her car?
04Water is on your kitchen floor on Saturday night. What does the sheet tell you to do?
05Which sentence about music is true?
Language in the text
Give rules with imperatives and can or can’t
The sheet uses imperatives, the base verb with no subject, to tell residents what to do. Don’t plus the base verb says what not to do. Can and can’t say what is allowed or not allowed.
Take is an imperative. There is no you before the verb.
Don’t plus the base verb tells residents what not to do.
Please makes the imperative polite.
Can gives permission. The verb after can has no s and no to.
Can’t says something is not allowed.
Check your reading
Language focus check
Use the surrounding meaning, not only the shape of one sentence.
01Choose the correct rule about the hallway.
02A guest asks about a resident space. Choose the correct answer.
03You want to ask the manager for permission. Choose the correct question.
Read like a writer
How a house-rules sheet stays easy to use
The sheet puts each rule under a short label, gives exact times and places, and uses please to keep a friendly tone with new neighbors.
Topic labels
A resident with one question can find the right section without reading every line.
Trash: ... Laundry: ... Parking: ...
Exact details
Clear times and places make the rule easy to follow and hard to misunderstand.
It is open every day from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Polite instructions
Please turns a direct rule into a friendly request from the building.
Please take your clothes out of the machines quickly.
From reading to speaking
Build your response
Work through the stages in order. Answer before opening the model.
01GistWho is this sheet for, and why is it useful?
Useful ways to begin
Compare with a model response
The sheet is for new residents at Maple Court. It tells them the building rules and where to find important places.
02Main pointsChoose three rules. Say what residents can do and what they can’t do.
Useful ways to begin
Compare with a model response
Residents can have one cat or one small dog. Their guests can’t park in resident spaces. Don’t leave trash bags in the hallway.
03ReactWhich rule is the most useful for you? Why?
Useful ways to begin
Compare with a model response
The most useful rule is the quiet hours rule, because I start work early and I need to sleep at night.
Speak
Take a position
Explain the rules of your home, building, or workplace to a new person. Give two instructions, one thing they can do, and one thing they can’t do.
Write
Make the reading useful
Write a 60-word welcome sheet for a room you know, like a kitchen at work or a class. Use three short labels and at least two imperatives.