1st grade nonfiction passage about ramps and speed: 113 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
1st gradenonfictionramps and speed113 words
A Steeper Ramp Makes a Faster Toy Car
Mia and Dev have a toy car and a long board. They make a ramp. They set one end of the board on a small stack of books.
Mia lets the car go. It rolls down the ramp. It goes slowly and stops soon.
Dev adds more books. The ramp is steeper now. Mia lets the car go again. Zoom! The car rolls down fast. It goes far across the floor.
The pull of the Earth makes the car roll down. On a steep ramp, that pull works harder to move the car. So the car speeds up more.
A flat board does not make the car go anywhere. It needs a slope.
Questions
What do Mia and Dev use to make a ramp? in the text
What happens on the small ramp? in the text
What does Dev add to the stack? in the text
What makes the car roll down? in the text
What would happen if the board were flat? think about it
Words to know
ramp
a slanted path that goes up or down
steeper
more tilted, with a sharper slope
stack
a neat pile of things
slope
a surface that is tilted
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
A Steeper Ramp Makes a Faster Toy Car
1st grade reading passage
Mia and Dev have a toy car and a long board. They make a ramp. They set one end of the board on a small stack of books.
Mia lets the car go. It rolls down the ramp. It goes slowly and stops soon.
Dev adds more books. The ramp is steeper now. Mia lets the car go again. Zoom! The car rolls down fast. It goes far across the floor.
The pull of the Earth makes the car roll down. On a steep ramp, that pull works harder to move the car. So the car speeds up more.
A flat board does not make the car go anywhere. It needs a slope.
Questions
What do Mia and Dev use to make a ramp?
What happens on the small ramp?
What does Dev add to the stack?
What makes the car roll down?
What would happen if the board were flat?
Words to know
ramp: a slanted path that goes up or down
steeper: more tilted, with a sharper slope
stack: a neat pile of things
slope: a surface that is tilted
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/1/a-steeper-ramp-makes-a-faster-toy-car
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One passage, three levels
The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.
● Easier · 88 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -1.5
Mia and Dev have a toy car and a long board. They make a ramp. One end of the board sits on a few books.
Mia lets the car go. It rolls down. It is slow. It stops soon.
Dev adds more books. The ramp is steeper. Mia lets the car go again. Zoom! The car goes fast. It goes far.
The Earth pulls the car down. On a steep ramp, the pull moves the car more. A flat board does not work. The car needs a slope.
▲ This passage · 113 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.5
Mia and Dev have a toy car and a long board. They make a ramp. They set one end of the board on a small stack of books.
Mia lets the car go. It rolls down the ramp. It goes slowly and stops soon.
Dev adds more books. The ramp is steeper now. Mia lets the car go again. Zoom! The car rolls down fast. It goes far across the floor.
The pull of the Earth makes the car roll down. On a steep ramp, that pull works harder to move the car. So the car speeds up more.
A flat board does not make the car go anywhere. It needs a slope.
■ Harder · 124 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4
Mia and Dev have a toy car and a long board, and they decide to build a ramp. They rest one end of the board on a small stack of books.
Mia lets the car go. It rolls down the ramp, but it moves slowly and stops before long.
Dev adds several more books, so the ramp is steeper. When Mia lets the car go again, zoom! It races down the board and rolls far across the floor.
The pull of the Earth is what makes the car roll downhill. On a steep ramp, that pull works harder to move the car, so the car speeds up more.
A flat board would not make the car go anywhere, because the car needs a slope.
Mia and Dev have a toy car and a long board. They make a ramp. One end of the board sits on a few books.
Mia lets the car go. It rolls down. It is slow. It stops soon.
Dev adds more books. The ramp is steeper. Mia lets the car go again. Zoom! The car goes fast. It goes far.
The Earth pulls the car down. On a steep ramp, the pull moves the car more. A flat board does not work. The car needs a slope.
Questions
What do Mia and Dev use to make a ramp?
What happens on the small ramp?
What does Dev add?
What pulls the car down?
What would a flat board do?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
A Steeper Ramp Makes a Faster Toy Car
Mia and Dev have a toy car and a long board. They make a ramp. They set one end of the board on a small stack of books.
Mia lets the car go. It rolls down the ramp. It goes slowly and stops soon.
Dev adds more books. The ramp is steeper now. Mia lets the car go again. Zoom! The car rolls down fast. It goes far across the floor.
The pull of the Earth makes the car roll down. On a steep ramp, that pull works harder to move the car. So the car speeds up more.
A flat board does not make the car go anywhere. It needs a slope.
Questions
What do Mia and Dev use to make a ramp?
What happens on the small ramp?
What does Dev add to the stack?
What makes the car roll down?
What would happen if the board were flat?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
A Steeper Ramp Makes a Faster Toy Car
Mia and Dev have a toy car and a long board, and they decide to build a ramp. They rest one end of the board on a small stack of books.
Mia lets the car go. It rolls down the ramp, but it moves slowly and stops before long.
Dev adds several more books, so the ramp is steeper. When Mia lets the car go again, zoom! It races down the board and rolls far across the floor.
The pull of the Earth is what makes the car roll downhill. On a steep ramp, that pull works harder to move the car, so the car speeds up more.
A flat board would not make the car go anywhere, because the car needs a slope.
Questions
What do Mia and Dev use to build their ramp?
What does the car do on the small ramp?
How does Dev change the ramp?
What makes the car roll downhill?
What would happen if the board were flat, and why?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: A Steeper Ramp Makes a Faster Toy Car
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade -1.5)
A long board and books.
The car is slow and stops soon.
More books.
The Earth.
The car would not go, because it needs a slope.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.5)
A long board and a stack of books.
The car goes slowly and stops soon.
More books.
The pull of the Earth.
The car would not go anywhere, because it needs a slope.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4)
A long board and a stack of books.
It rolls slowly and stops before long.
He adds more books to make it steeper.
The pull of the Earth.
The car would not go anywhere, because it needs a slope.
Free at teach.peabody.kids
How to use it
Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.
Ideas for class
Before reading, put ramp, steeper, stack and slope on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 1 minute to read aloud.
Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.
What reading level is "A Steeper Ramp Makes a Faster Toy Car"?
It was written for 1st grade. It has 113 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about below 1. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.
What do the questions ask?
There are five. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 1 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.
How long does it take to read?
About 1 minute read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.
Can I print it?
Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.
Is this passage from a published book?
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