1st grade nonfiction passage about the sun as a star: 105 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
1st gradenonfictionthe sun as a star105 words
The Sun Is a Star Up Close
The sun is a star! It looks big and bright. The stars at night look like tiny dots. Why?
The sun is much closer to us. The other stars are very, very far away. A faraway thing looks small.
You can try this. Hold up a coin and look at a car far down the road. The coin looks bigger than the car. But the car is really bigger. A big thing can look small when it is far off.
The sun warms the day and lights up our world. Never look right at it. It can hurt your eyes, even on a nice day.
Questions
What is the sun? in the text
How do the other stars look at night? in the text
What does the sun do for our world? in the text
What should you never do with the sun? in the text
Why do the other stars look so small? think about it
Words to know
star
a huge ball of hot gas that shines
faraway
a long way off
warm
a little bit hot, in a nice way
coin
a small, flat piece of money
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Sun Is a Star Up Close
1st grade reading passage
The sun is a star! It looks big and bright. The stars at night look like tiny dots. Why?
The sun is much closer to us. The other stars are very, very far away. A faraway thing looks small.
You can try this. Hold up a coin and look at a car far down the road. The coin looks bigger than the car. But the car is really bigger. A big thing can look small when it is far off.
The sun warms the day and lights up our world. Never look right at it. It can hurt your eyes, even on a nice day.
Questions
What is the sun?
How do the other stars look at night?
What does the sun do for our world?
What should you never do with the sun?
Why do the other stars look so small?
Words to know
star: a huge ball of hot gas that shines
faraway: a long way off
warm: a little bit hot, in a nice way
coin: a small, flat piece of money
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/1/the-sun-is-a-star-up-close
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 · 70 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.2
The sun is a star! It looks big and bright. The stars at night look like tiny dots. Why?
The sun is much closer. The other stars are very far away. A far thing looks small.
Hold up a coin. Look at a car far down the road. The coin looks bigger. But the car is really bigger.
The sun warms and lights our world. Never look right at it.
▲ This passage · 105 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.4
The sun is a star! It looks big and bright. The stars at night look like tiny dots. Why?
The sun is much closer to us. The other stars are very, very far away. A faraway thing looks small.
You can try this. Hold up a coin and look at a car far down the road. The coin looks bigger than the car. But the car is really bigger. A big thing can look small when it is far off.
The sun warms the day and lights up our world. Never look right at it. It can hurt your eyes, even on a nice day.
■ Harder · 103 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5
The sun is actually a star, and it looks enormous and bright to us. The stars we see at night look like tiny dots. Why is that?
The sun is much, much closer to Earth. The other stars are unimaginably far away, and anything that is far away looks small.
You can test this idea. Hold up a coin and look at a car far down the road. The coin appears bigger than the car, even though the car is truly bigger.
The sun warms and lights our world, but you must never look straight at it, because it can hurt your eyes.
The sun is a star! It looks big and bright. The stars at night look like tiny dots. Why?
The sun is much closer. The other stars are very far away. A far thing looks small.
Hold up a coin. Look at a car far down the road. The coin looks bigger. But the car is really bigger.
The sun warms and lights our world. Never look right at it.
Questions
What is the sun?
How do the other stars look at night?
What does the sun do for our world?
What should you never do?
Why do the other stars look small?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Sun Is a Star Up Close
The sun is a star! It looks big and bright. The stars at night look like tiny dots. Why?
The sun is much closer to us. The other stars are very, very far away. A faraway thing looks small.
You can try this. Hold up a coin and look at a car far down the road. The coin looks bigger than the car. But the car is really bigger. A big thing can look small when it is far off.
The sun warms the day and lights up our world. Never look right at it. It can hurt your eyes, even on a nice day.
Questions
What is the sun?
How do the other stars look at night?
What does the sun do for our world?
What should you never do with the sun?
Why do the other stars look so small?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Sun Is a Star Up Close
The sun is actually a star, and it looks enormous and bright to us. The stars we see at night look like tiny dots. Why is that?
The sun is much, much closer to Earth. The other stars are unimaginably far away, and anything that is far away looks small.
You can test this idea. Hold up a coin and look at a car far down the road. The coin appears bigger than the car, even though the car is truly bigger.
The sun warms and lights our world, but you must never look straight at it, because it can hurt your eyes.
Questions
What is the sun, actually?
How do the stars we see at night look?
What does the sun do for our world?
What must you never do with the sun?
Why do the other stars look so small?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Sun Is a Star Up Close
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.2)
A star.
Like tiny dots.
It warms and lights it.
Look right at the sun.
They are very far away.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.4)
A star.
Like tiny dots.
It warms the day and lights it up.
Look right at it.
They are very, very far away.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5)
A star.
Like tiny dots.
It warms and lights it.
Look straight at it.
They are unimaginably far away, and far things look small.
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 star, faraway, warm and coin 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 "The Sun Is a Star Up Close"?
It was written for 1st grade. It has 105 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 0.4. 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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