1st grade nonfiction passage about how sea salt is made: 95 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
1st gradenonfictionhow sea salt is made95 words
Salt Is Left Behind When the Sea Dries
Did you know that the salt in your kitchen can come from the sea? Sea water tastes salty. Salt is mixed into it, but you cannot see it.
Workers let sea water flow into wide, flat pools. The sun shines on the pools all day. The water gets warm and slowly dries up. It goes into the air.
The salt does not go. It stays behind. White bits of salt gather on the bottom.
Workers rake up the salt and dry it. Then it goes into a jar, and a jar goes into your kitchen.
Questions
What does sea water taste like? in the text
What shape are the pools for sea water? in the text
What warms the water in the pools? in the text
What stays behind when the water dries up? in the text
Why do workers use the sun to make salt? think about it
Words to know
salt
white grains that make food taste better
pool
a place where water gathers
rake
to pull something together with a tool
gather
to come together in one place
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Salt Is Left Behind When the Sea Dries
1st grade reading passage
Did you know that the salt in your kitchen can come from the sea? Sea water tastes salty. Salt is mixed into it, but you cannot see it.
Workers let sea water flow into wide, flat pools. The sun shines on the pools all day. The water gets warm and slowly dries up. It goes into the air.
The salt does not go. It stays behind. White bits of salt gather on the bottom.
Workers rake up the salt and dry it. Then it goes into a jar, and a jar goes into your kitchen.
Questions
What does sea water taste like?
What shape are the pools for sea water?
What warms the water in the pools?
What stays behind when the water dries up?
Why do workers use the sun to make salt?
Words to know
salt: white grains that make food taste better
pool: a place where water gathers
rake: to pull something together with a tool
gather: to come together in one place
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/1/salt-is-left-behind-when-the-sea-dries
Share
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 · 68 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.9
The salt in your kitchen can come from the sea. Sea water tastes salty. You cannot see the salt in it.
Workers let sea water flow into flat pools. The sun warms the pools. The water dries up and goes into the air.
The salt does not go. It stays. White bits of salt gather on the bottom.
Workers rake up the salt. It goes into a jar.
▲ This passage · 95 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5
Did you know that the salt in your kitchen can come from the sea? Sea water tastes salty. Salt is mixed into it, but you cannot see it.
Workers let sea water flow into wide, flat pools. The sun shines on the pools all day. The water gets warm and slowly dries up. It goes into the air.
The salt does not go. It stays behind. White bits of salt gather on the bottom.
Workers rake up the salt and dry it. Then it goes into a jar, and a jar goes into your kitchen.
■ Harder · 103 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2
Did you know that some of the salt in your kitchen comes from the sea? Sea water tastes salty because salt is mixed into it, even though you cannot see it.
Workers guide sea water into wide, shallow pools. The sun shines down on the pools all day long, and the water slowly warms and dries up into the air.
The salt does not rise into the air. It stays behind, and white bits of salt gather on the bottom of the pools.
Finally, workers rake up the salt and dry it. Then it is packed into jars and sent to kitchens everywhere.
The salt in your kitchen can come from the sea. Sea water tastes salty. You cannot see the salt in it.
Workers let sea water flow into flat pools. The sun warms the pools. The water dries up and goes into the air.
The salt does not go. It stays. White bits of salt gather on the bottom.
Workers rake up the salt. It goes into a jar.
Questions
What does sea water taste like?
What shape are the pools?
What warms the water?
What stays when the water dries up?
Why do workers use the sun to make salt?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Salt Is Left Behind When the Sea Dries
Did you know that the salt in your kitchen can come from the sea? Sea water tastes salty. Salt is mixed into it, but you cannot see it.
Workers let sea water flow into wide, flat pools. The sun shines on the pools all day. The water gets warm and slowly dries up. It goes into the air.
The salt does not go. It stays behind. White bits of salt gather on the bottom.
Workers rake up the salt and dry it. Then it goes into a jar, and a jar goes into your kitchen.
Questions
What does sea water taste like?
What shape are the pools for sea water?
What warms the water in the pools?
What stays behind when the water dries up?
Why do workers use the sun to make salt?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Salt Is Left Behind When the Sea Dries
Did you know that some of the salt in your kitchen comes from the sea? Sea water tastes salty because salt is mixed into it, even though you cannot see it.
Workers guide sea water into wide, shallow pools. The sun shines down on the pools all day long, and the water slowly warms and dries up into the air.
The salt does not rise into the air. It stays behind, and white bits of salt gather on the bottom of the pools.
Finally, workers rake up the salt and dry it. Then it is packed into jars and sent to kitchens everywhere.
Questions
Why does sea water taste salty?
What kind of pools do workers guide the sea water into?
What makes the water in the pools warm?
What gathers on the bottom of the pools after the water dries?
Why do workers let the sun shine on the pools all day?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Salt Is Left Behind When the Sea Dries
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.9)
It tastes salty.
Flat.
The sun.
White bits of salt.
The sun warms the water so it dries up and leaves the salt.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5)
It tastes salty.
Wide and flat.
The sun.
White bits of salt.
The sun warms the water so it dries up and leaves the salt.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2)
Salt is mixed into it, even though you cannot see it.
Wide, shallow pools.
The sun.
White bits of salt.
The sun warms the water until it dries up and leaves the salt behind.
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 salt, pool, rake and gather 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 "Salt Is Left Behind When the Sea Dries"?
It was written for 1st grade. It has 95 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.5. 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.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.