3rd grade nonfiction passage about flip book animation: 148 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionflip book animation148 words
A Flip Book Makes a Picture Move
A flip book is a small pad of paper with a drawing on every page. The drawings are almost the same. In each one, something has moved just a little bit. When you flip the pages fast, the picture seems to move.
Suppose you want to draw a ball that bounces. On the first page, you draw the ball high up. On the next page, you draw it a little lower. Page after page, the ball gets closer to the ground. Then you draw it going back up.
Your eyes and brain are the secret. Each picture stays in your mind for a moment after it is gone. When the next one appears, your brain joins them together. It sees one picture that moves, not many still ones.
Movie cartoons work in a similar way. Artists make many drawings, and they show them one after another very quickly.
Questions
What is on every page of a flip book? in the text
How are the drawings in a flip book different from each other? in the text
What do you do to make the picture seem to move? in the text
In the ball example, what do you draw on the first page? in the text
Why does the picture look like it moves? think about it
How is a cartoon like a flip book? think about it
Words to know
flip
to turn over quickly
drawing
a picture made with a pencil or pen
bounces
jumps back up after hitting something
brain
the part of your body that thinks
cartoons
animated pictures that tell a story or joke
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
A Flip Book Makes a Picture Move
3rd grade reading passage
A flip book is a small pad of paper with a drawing on every page. The drawings are almost the same. In each one, something has moved just a little bit. When you flip the pages fast, the picture seems to move.
Suppose you want to draw a ball that bounces. On the first page, you draw the ball high up. On the next page, you draw it a little lower. Page after page, the ball gets closer to the ground. Then you draw it going back up.
Your eyes and brain are the secret. Each picture stays in your mind for a moment after it is gone. When the next one appears, your brain joins them together. It sees one picture that moves, not many still ones.
Movie cartoons work in a similar way. Artists make many drawings, and they show them one after another very quickly.
Questions
What is on every page of a flip book?
How are the drawings in a flip book different from each other?
What do you do to make the picture seem to move?
In the ball example, what do you draw on the first page?
Why does the picture look like it moves?
How is a cartoon like a flip book?
Words to know
flip: to turn over quickly
drawing: a picture made with a pencil or pen
bounces: jumps back up after hitting something
brain: the part of your body that thinks
cartoons: animated pictures that tell a story or joke
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/a-flip-book-makes-a-picture-move
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 · 128 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.4
A flip book is a small pad of paper. It has a drawing on every page. The drawings are almost the same. In each one, something has moved a little. When you flip the pages fast, the picture seems to move.
Say you want to draw a bouncing ball. On the first page, the ball is high up. On the next page, it is a little lower. Page by page, the ball gets close to the ground. Then you draw it going back up.
Your eyes and brain are the secret. Each picture stays in your mind for a moment. When the next one comes, your brain joins them. You see one picture that moves.
Cartoons work this way too. Artists make many drawings and show them fast.
▲ This passage · 148 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1
A flip book is a small pad of paper with a drawing on every page. The drawings are almost the same. In each one, something has moved just a little bit. When you flip the pages fast, the picture seems to move.
Suppose you want to draw a ball that bounces. On the first page, you draw the ball high up. On the next page, you draw it a little lower. Page after page, the ball gets closer to the ground. Then you draw it going back up.
Your eyes and brain are the secret. Each picture stays in your mind for a moment after it is gone. When the next one appears, your brain joins them together. It sees one picture that moves, not many still ones.
Movie cartoons work in a similar way. Artists make many drawings, and they show them one after another very quickly.
■ Harder · 155 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.1
A flip book is a small pad of paper with a drawing on each page. The drawings are nearly identical, but in every one, something has shifted slightly. When you flip through the pages rapidly, the picture appears to move.
Imagine that you want to draw a ball that bounces. On the first page, you draw the ball high in the air. On the next page, you draw it a little lower. Page after page, the ball drops closer to the ground, and then you draw it rising back up again.
Your eyes and your brain are the secret. Each picture lingers in your mind for a moment after it disappears. When the next one appears, your brain links the two together, so you see one moving picture rather than many still ones.
Cartoons work in a similar way. Artists create a great many drawings and then show them one after another at high speed.
A flip book is a small pad of paper. It has a drawing on every page. The drawings are almost the same. In each one, something has moved a little. When you flip the pages fast, the picture seems to move.
Say you want to draw a bouncing ball. On the first page, the ball is high up. On the next page, it is a little lower. Page by page, the ball gets close to the ground. Then you draw it going back up.
Your eyes and brain are the secret. Each picture stays in your mind for a moment. When the next one comes, your brain joins them. You see one picture that moves.
Cartoons work this way too. Artists make many drawings and show them fast.
Questions
What is on every page of a flip book?
How are the drawings different?
What do you do to make the picture move?
In the ball example, what is on the first page?
Why does the picture seem to move?
How is a cartoon like a flip book?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
A Flip Book Makes a Picture Move
A flip book is a small pad of paper with a drawing on every page. The drawings are almost the same. In each one, something has moved just a little bit. When you flip the pages fast, the picture seems to move.
Suppose you want to draw a ball that bounces. On the first page, you draw the ball high up. On the next page, you draw it a little lower. Page after page, the ball gets closer to the ground. Then you draw it going back up.
Your eyes and brain are the secret. Each picture stays in your mind for a moment after it is gone. When the next one appears, your brain joins them together. It sees one picture that moves, not many still ones.
Movie cartoons work in a similar way. Artists make many drawings, and they show them one after another very quickly.
Questions
What is on every page of a flip book?
How are the drawings in a flip book different from each other?
What do you do to make the picture seem to move?
In the ball example, what do you draw on the first page?
Why does the picture look like it moves?
How is a cartoon like a flip book?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
A Flip Book Makes a Picture Move
A flip book is a small pad of paper with a drawing on each page. The drawings are nearly identical, but in every one, something has shifted slightly. When you flip through the pages rapidly, the picture appears to move.
Imagine that you want to draw a ball that bounces. On the first page, you draw the ball high in the air. On the next page, you draw it a little lower. Page after page, the ball drops closer to the ground, and then you draw it rising back up again.
Your eyes and your brain are the secret. Each picture lingers in your mind for a moment after it disappears. When the next one appears, your brain links the two together, so you see one moving picture rather than many still ones.
Cartoons work in a similar way. Artists create a great many drawings and then show them one after another at high speed.
Questions
What appears on each page of a flip book?
How do the drawings differ from one another?
What must you do to make the picture appear to move?
In the ball example, what is drawn on the first page?
Why does the picture appear to move?
In what way is a cartoon similar to a flip book?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: A Flip Book Makes a Picture Move
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.4)
A drawing.
Something has moved a little.
Flip the pages fast.
The ball high up.
Your brain joins each picture to the next one.
Both show many drawings one after another, fast.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1)
A drawing.
Something has moved just a little bit.
Flip the pages fast.
The ball high up.
Your brain joins each picture to the next one that appears.
Both show many drawings one after another very quickly.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.1)
A drawing.
In each one, something has shifted slightly.
Flip through the pages rapidly.
The ball high in the air.
Your brain links each picture with the next one that appears.
Both show many drawings one after another at high speed.
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 flip, drawing, bounces, brain and cartoons 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 Flip Book Makes a Picture Move"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 148 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.1. 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 six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 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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