1st grade nonfiction passage about jupiter's red spot: 105 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
1st gradenonfictionjupiter's red spot105 words
A Storm Bigger Than Earth
Jupiter is a giant planet. It is made mostly of gas. It has no ground to stand on.
On Jupiter, there is a huge red spot. The spot is a storm. It swirls round and round, like a spinning top.
The storm is so big that Earth could fit inside it. People have watched it for a very long time.
Jupiter is very far from us. We look at the storm with a telescope.
Jupiter is also very windy. Its clouds are striped with bands of tan, white and red. It is a pretty planet to see, and many people love to look at it.
Questions
What is Jupiter made of mostly? in the text
What is the red spot? in the text
How does the storm move? in the text
What do we use to look at the storm? in the text
Why could you not stand on Jupiter? think about it
Words to know
planet
a big round world that circles a star
giant
very, very big
storm
strong wind with clouds and often rain
swirl
to move in a whirl
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
A Storm Bigger Than Earth
1st grade reading passage
Jupiter is a giant planet. It is made mostly of gas. It has no ground to stand on.
On Jupiter, there is a huge red spot. The spot is a storm. It swirls round and round, like a spinning top.
The storm is so big that Earth could fit inside it. People have watched it for a very long time.
Jupiter is very far from us. We look at the storm with a telescope.
Jupiter is also very windy. Its clouds are striped with bands of tan, white and red. It is a pretty planet to see, and many people love to look at it.
Questions
What is Jupiter made of mostly?
What is the red spot?
How does the storm move?
What do we use to look at the storm?
Why could you not stand on Jupiter?
Words to know
planet: a big round world that circles a star
giant: very, very big
storm: strong wind with clouds and often rain
swirl: to move in a whirl
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/1/a-storm-bigger-than-earth
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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 · 54 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1
Jupiter is a giant planet. It is made mostly of gas. It has no ground to stand on.
On Jupiter, there is a red spot. The spot is a storm. It swirls round and round.
The storm is so big that Earth could fit inside it.
We look at the storm with a telescope.
▲ This passage · 105 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4
Jupiter is a giant planet. It is made mostly of gas. It has no ground to stand on.
On Jupiter, there is a huge red spot. The spot is a storm. It swirls round and round, like a spinning top.
The storm is so big that Earth could fit inside it. People have watched it for a very long time.
Jupiter is very far from us. We look at the storm with a telescope.
Jupiter is also very windy. Its clouds are striped with bands of tan, white and red. It is a pretty planet to see, and many people love to look at it.
■ Harder · 80 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.1
Jupiter is a giant planet that is made mostly of gas, so it has no solid ground to stand on.
On Jupiter, there is an enormous red spot, and that spot is really a storm. It swirls round and round, much like a spinning top.
The storm is so huge that Earth could fit inside it. People have been watching it for a very long time.
Jupiter is extremely far from us, so we study the storm with a telescope.
Jupiter is a giant planet. It is made mostly of gas. It has no ground to stand on.
On Jupiter, there is a red spot. The spot is a storm. It swirls round and round.
The storm is so big that Earth could fit inside it.
We look at the storm with a telescope.
Questions
What is Jupiter made of mostly?
What is the red spot?
How does the storm move?
What do we use to look at the storm?
Why could you not stand on Jupiter?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
A Storm Bigger Than Earth
Jupiter is a giant planet. It is made mostly of gas. It has no ground to stand on.
On Jupiter, there is a huge red spot. The spot is a storm. It swirls round and round, like a spinning top.
The storm is so big that Earth could fit inside it. People have watched it for a very long time.
Jupiter is very far from us. We look at the storm with a telescope.
Jupiter is also very windy. Its clouds are striped with bands of tan, white and red. It is a pretty planet to see, and many people love to look at it.
Questions
What is Jupiter made of mostly?
What is the red spot?
How does the storm move?
What do we use to look at the storm?
Why could you not stand on Jupiter?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
A Storm Bigger Than Earth
Jupiter is a giant planet that is made mostly of gas, so it has no solid ground to stand on.
On Jupiter, there is an enormous red spot, and that spot is really a storm. It swirls round and round, much like a spinning top.
The storm is so huge that Earth could fit inside it. People have been watching it for a very long time.
Jupiter is extremely far from us, so we study the storm with a telescope.
Questions
What is Jupiter made of mostly?
What is the enormous red spot, really?
How does the storm move?
What do we use to study the storm?
Why could you not stand on Jupiter?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: A Storm Bigger Than Earth
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1)
Gas.
A storm.
It swirls round and round.
A telescope.
It has no ground.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4)
Gas.
A storm.
It swirls round and round.
A telescope.
It is made of gas and has no ground.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.1)
Gas.
A storm.
It swirls round and round, like a spinning top.
A telescope.
It is made mostly of gas and has no solid ground.
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 planet, giant, storm and swirl 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 Storm Bigger Than Earth"?
It was written for 1st grade. It has 105 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.4. 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?
No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.
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