A2CEFRReading12 min

Reading: The Little Free Library

Borrowing, lending and sharing

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Unit: Borrowing, lending and sharing ⏱️ Suggested time: 12 minutes

📚 The Little Free Library

Read about small wooden boxes of books that neighbors share with each other.

💡 How to use this lesson

For Teachers:

Give learners 12 minutes to read the short text and answer the 8 questions.

Check answers together using the exact words and sentence clues from the passage.

For Learners:

First, read the short passage carefully and check the words in the word box.

Next, answer the 8 questions below from number 1 to number 8.

Reading Passage

The Little Free Library

Do you see a small box with books on a post in your neighborhood? This is a Little Free Library. It is a place where people share books. You take a book and leave a book. In 2009, Todd Bol from Wisconsin built the first one. It looked like a tiny schoolhouse. He built it for his mother, a teacher who loved reading. He filled it with books in his yard. Todd got the idea from shelves in coffee shops. In 2012, there were 4,000 libraries. By 2025, over 200,000 libraries exist in 128 countries.

A cozy small wooden book box styled like a tiny schoolhouse mounted on a wooden post in a front yard green lawn filled w

📖 Word Bank (Helpful Words)

post a tall wooden pole standing up in the ground
share to let other people use or enjoy something together
tiny very small in size
yard the piece of land or garden next to a house
✓

Questions (1 to 8)

Answer each question using the information from the passage.

Question 1 True or False

Todd Bol built the first Little Free Library for his mother.

____ True ____ False
Question 2 True or False

Todd Bol put the first book box inside a coffee shop.

____ True ____ False
Question 3 Multiple Choice

What did the first Little Free Library look like?

____ a. A coffee shop ____ b. A tiny schoolhouse ____ c. A large public library
Question 4 Multiple Choice

Where did Todd get the idea to share books?

____ a. From shelves in coffee shops ____ b. From his school students ____ c. From a bookstore in Wisconsin
Question 5 Matching

Match each year with the correct event from the text:

Choose one event for each year.

Year
Over 200000 libraries
First one built
4000 libraries
2009
____ Over 200000 libraries ____ First one built ____ 4000 libraries
2012
____ Over 200000 libraries ____ First one built ____ 4000 libraries
2025
____ Over 200000 libraries ____ First one built ____ 4000 libraries
Question 6 Matching Sentences

Match the beginning of each sentence with its correct ending:

Choose the ending that completes the idea from the text.

Sentence start
...with books in his yard.
...and leave a book.
1. You take a book...
____ ...with books in his yard. ____ ...and leave a book.
2. He filled it...
____ ...with books in his yard. ____ ...and leave a book.
Question 7 Short Answer

What was the job of Todd Bol's mother?

She was a ____ .
Question 8 Short Answer

How many countries have Little Free Libraries by 2025?

They exist in ____ countries.

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