Worksheet

Bellwether Town's Shared Services

Read about a small farm town, study its tax-funded budget graph, and explain how taxes pay for public goods and services.

Grade 5Social StudiesInteractive · Printable

Aligned toECO.5.4

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Single worksheet
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1 C3 Framework standard
Printable answer key
15 questions
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Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 5
Subject: Social Studies
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students explain that governments collect taxes to fund public goods and services.
Students use a budget graph to analyze how a town uses tax revenue.
Students distinguish public services from private purchases.

How to use

Read the passage together, then have students use the budget graph for the calculation and decision questions. Ask students to cite details when writing their final responses.

Curriculum

C3 Framework standard covered

ECO.5.4

Explain how governments collect taxes and use them to provide public goods and services.

Preview

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Bellwether Town's Shared Services

Read a town budget and explain how taxes support public needs.

A town plans its budget

Read the passage. Then answer the questions using details from the passage and the graph.

A Budget Meeting in Bellwether

Bellwether is a small farm town surrounded by wheat fields and vegetable gardens. Each year, the town council prepares a budget. A budget is a plan for how the government will use money during the year. The council listens to residents, examines the town's needs, and votes on the plan.

Some of the money in Bellwether's budget comes from local taxes. Property owners pay property taxes based on land and buildings they own. People also pay a small sales tax when they buy many goods in town. The town collects these taxes under its laws. Tax revenue is money the government receives from taxes. Unlike a fee for one particular service, a tax helps pay for services that can benefit many people, including people who are not paying at that moment.

This year, the council plans to use tax revenue for several public services. Workers will repair roads used by farm trucks, school buses, and other travelers. The fire and emergency medical department will maintain equipment and respond when people need help. A water-treatment plant will clean water before it reaches homes. The public library will provide books, internet access, and community programs. The town also plans to maintain a small public park.

These services do not all help people in the same way. A repaired road helps people travel and move crops. Emergency workers help during fires and medical emergencies. Clean water protects public health. The library and park offer places and resources that residents can share. The council must make choices because the town has a limited amount of money. Spending more in one area may leave less available for another.

What is the main reason Bellwether collects local taxes, according to the passage?

A. To charge residents the same amount for one service
B. To let the council spend money without making a plan
C. To help fund services that can benefit many people
D. To pay for purchases residents make for themselves

Underline the sentence that best supports the idea that tax revenue can help people who are not using a service right now.

Each year, the town council prepares a budget.People also pay a small sales tax when they buy many goods in town.A tax helps pay for services that can benefit many people, including people who are not paying at that moment.The council listens to residents and examines the town's needs.

Why might Bellwether use tax revenue to repair a road instead of charging every traveler at the road's entrance?

A. Many different people use the road, so collecting one fee from each traveler could be difficult.
B. Road repairs are private purchases made by individual farm owners.
C. People who pay property taxes are the ones allowed to travel on town roads.
D. A road does not need repairs when farm trucks use it often.

Match each Bellwether tax or budget idea to the description that fits it.

Property tax
Sales tax
Tax revenue
Budget

A. A plan for how the government will use money
B. Money the government receives from taxes
C. A tax connected to land or buildings someone owns
D. A tax added when people buy many goods

Which detail from the passage best explains why clean water is a public service?

A. It helps one farm sell more vegetables.
B. It protects the health of people who use the water.
C. It gives the council a way to collect a fee at the library.
D. It makes every building in town privately owned.

Use the budget graph

Use the bar graph to compare the planned amounts. The graph's values are in thousands of dollars.

Roads and fire and EMS together: thousand dollars.

Which service has $100,000 more planned for it than fire and EMS?

A. Water treatment
B. Library
C. Park care
D. Roads

Sort each item by whether it is a tax-funded public use in the passage or a private purchase.

Repairing a town roadBuying a family's new tractorOperating the public libraryBuying groceries for one homeMaintaining the town park

Tax-funded public use	Private purchase

The council moves $50,000 from roads to water treatment. What will the graph show after this change?

A. Roads and water treatment will each have $150,000.
B. Roads will have $200,000, and water treatment will have $150,000.
C. Roads will have $300,000, and water treatment will have $50,000.
D. Roads will have $250,000, and water treatment will have $100,000.

10.

Bellwether wants to improve its response to medical emergencies. Which budget category is most directly connected to that goal?

A. Park care
B. Library
C. Fire and EMS
D. Water treatment

11.

Underline the two statements that show why the town must make choices about its budget.

The town has a limited amount of money.The library provides books and internet access.Spending more in one area may leave less available for another.People buy many goods in town.

12.

A resident says, “Taxes should pay only for services I use personally.” Which response is best supported by the passage?

A. Taxes can support shared services, even ones a person is not using right now.
B. Taxes are collected from people when they visit the library or park.
C. Taxes pay for private purchases when a resident requests them.
D. Taxes are used for roads, so other services charge their own fees.

Make a budget decision

Use the passage and graph to explain your thinking. Include details from the page.

13.

A new town plan would spend tax revenue on a public reading room and on repairing a bridge used by school buses. Why do both fit the purpose of tax revenue described in the passage?

A. Both are private purchases made by one family.
B. Both can provide shared benefits to people in the town.
C. Both collect a sales tax from every visitor.
D. Both remove the need for the town to make a budget.

14.

Use the graph to explain one reason the council might choose to spend more on library or park care, even though each has a smaller planned amount than roads. Then explain one trade-off the council would need to consider.

15.

A farmer asks the town to use tax revenue to buy a tractor for the farmer's own fields. Should the council treat this like repairing a public road? Explain your answer with two details from the passage.