1st grade nonfiction passage about cooking pasta: 93 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
1st gradenonfictioncooking pasta93 words
Stiff Spaghetti Goes Soft in Hot Water
A stick of dry spaghetti is stiff. It snaps if you bend it. You cannot eat it that way.
A grown-up fills a pot with water and heats it until it bubbles. The spaghetti goes in. It sinks at first.
Soon something strange happens. The spaghetti soaks up water. It gets soft and bendy. It gets a little bit bigger, too.
The grown-up pours the pasta into a strainer. The hot water runs out, and the soft spaghetti stays. Now it is ready for red sauce and a sprinkle of cheese!
Questions
What happens if you bend dry spaghetti? in the text
What does the grown-up heat in the pot? in the text
What does the spaghetti do to the water? in the text
What tool holds the pasta when the water runs out? in the text
Why does the spaghetti get soft? think about it
Words to know
stiff
hard and not able to bend
snap
to break with a quick sound
bendy
able to bend easily
strainer
a bowl with holes that lets water run out
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Stiff Spaghetti Goes Soft in Hot Water
1st grade reading passage
A stick of dry spaghetti is stiff. It snaps if you bend it. You cannot eat it that way.
A grown-up fills a pot with water and heats it until it bubbles. The spaghetti goes in. It sinks at first.
Soon something strange happens. The spaghetti soaks up water. It gets soft and bendy. It gets a little bit bigger, too.
The grown-up pours the pasta into a strainer. The hot water runs out, and the soft spaghetti stays. Now it is ready for red sauce and a sprinkle of cheese!
Questions
What happens if you bend dry spaghetti?
What does the grown-up heat in the pot?
What does the spaghetti do to the water?
What tool holds the pasta when the water runs out?
Why does the spaghetti get soft?
Words to know
stiff: hard and not able to bend
snap: to break with a quick sound
bendy: able to bend easily
strainer: a bowl with holes that lets water run out
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/1/stiff-spaghetti-goes-soft-in-hot-water
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 · 66 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.2
Dry spaghetti is stiff. It snaps if you bend it. You cannot eat it that way.
A grown-up heats a pot of water until it bubbles. The spaghetti goes in.
It soaks up the water. It gets soft and bendy. It gets a bit bigger, too.
The grown-up pours it into a strainer. The water runs out. The soft spaghetti stays. Now add sauce!
▲ This passage · 93 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.2
A stick of dry spaghetti is stiff. It snaps if you bend it. You cannot eat it that way.
A grown-up fills a pot with water and heats it until it bubbles. The spaghetti goes in. It sinks at first.
Soon something strange happens. The spaghetti soaks up water. It gets soft and bendy. It gets a little bit bigger, too.
The grown-up pours the pasta into a strainer. The hot water runs out, and the soft spaghetti stays. Now it is ready for red sauce and a sprinkle of cheese!
■ Harder · 102 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.8
A stick of dry spaghetti is very stiff, and it snaps in two if you try to bend it. Nobody could eat it that way.
A grown-up fills a large pot with water and heats it until it bubbles. Then the spaghetti goes into the pot, where it sinks at first.
Soon something surprising happens. The spaghetti slowly soaks up the hot water, which makes it soft and bendy. It grows a little bit bigger, too.
Finally, the grown-up pours everything into a strainer. The water runs out through the holes, and the soft spaghetti stays behind, ready for sauce!
Dry spaghetti is stiff. It snaps if you bend it. You cannot eat it that way.
A grown-up heats a pot of water until it bubbles. The spaghetti goes in.
It soaks up the water. It gets soft and bendy. It gets a bit bigger, too.
The grown-up pours it into a strainer. The water runs out. The soft spaghetti stays. Now add sauce!
Questions
What happens if you bend dry spaghetti?
What does the grown-up heat in the pot?
What does the spaghetti soak up?
What tool holds the pasta when the water runs out?
Why does the spaghetti get soft?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Stiff Spaghetti Goes Soft in Hot Water
A stick of dry spaghetti is stiff. It snaps if you bend it. You cannot eat it that way.
A grown-up fills a pot with water and heats it until it bubbles. The spaghetti goes in. It sinks at first.
Soon something strange happens. The spaghetti soaks up water. It gets soft and bendy. It gets a little bit bigger, too.
The grown-up pours the pasta into a strainer. The hot water runs out, and the soft spaghetti stays. Now it is ready for red sauce and a sprinkle of cheese!
Questions
What happens if you bend dry spaghetti?
What does the grown-up heat in the pot?
What does the spaghetti do to the water?
What tool holds the pasta when the water runs out?
Why does the spaghetti get soft?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Stiff Spaghetti Goes Soft in Hot Water
A stick of dry spaghetti is very stiff, and it snaps in two if you try to bend it. Nobody could eat it that way.
A grown-up fills a large pot with water and heats it until it bubbles. Then the spaghetti goes into the pot, where it sinks at first.
Soon something surprising happens. The spaghetti slowly soaks up the hot water, which makes it soft and bendy. It grows a little bit bigger, too.
Finally, the grown-up pours everything into a strainer. The water runs out through the holes, and the soft spaghetti stays behind, ready for sauce!
Questions
What happens when you try to bend a stick of dry spaghetti?
What does the grown-up fill the large pot with?
What does the spaghetti soak up as it sits in the pot?
What does the grown-up use to hold the pasta while the water runs out?
What makes the spaghetti become soft and bendy?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Stiff Spaghetti Goes Soft in Hot Water
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.2)
It snaps.
Water.
The water.
A strainer.
It takes in hot water, so it gets bendy.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.2)
It snaps.
Water.
It soaks it up.
A strainer.
It takes in hot water, and that makes it bendy.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.8)
It snaps in two.
Water.
The hot water.
A strainer.
It soaks up the hot water.
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 stiff, snap, bendy and strainer 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 "Stiff Spaghetti Goes Soft in Hot Water"?
It was written for 1st grade. It has 93 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.2. 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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