3rd grade nonfiction passage about space telescope: 175 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionspace telescope175 words
A Telescope That Floats Above the Air
Have you ever seen the stars twinkle? That happens because the air above us is always moving. It makes starlight wobble before it reaches your eyes. For people who want to take sharp pictures of space, this is a problem.
Scientists found a clever answer. They put a telescope above the air. It is called the Hubble Space Telescope. It travels around Earth in space, where there is no air to blur the view.
The telescope is about the size of a school bus. It has a big mirror that collects light from faraway stars and galaxies. Cameras then turn that light into pictures. The pictures are sent to Earth by radio signals.
Hubble has shown us glowing clouds of gas, young stars and galaxies far away. People can look at these pictures online and in books.
Over the years, astronauts have flown up to visit the telescope. They fixed parts and added new tools. That kept it working for a very long time. Hubble shows that a good view sometimes means going somewhere new.
Questions
Why do stars seem to twinkle? in the text
Where does the Hubble Space Telescope travel? in the text
What does the big mirror do? in the text
How are Hubble's pictures sent to Earth? in the text
What did astronauts do when they visited the telescope? in the text
Why does a telescope in space take sharper pictures than one on the ground? think about it
Words to know
twinkle
to shine with a quick, flickering light
telescope
a tool that makes faraway things look closer
wobble
to shake from side to side
galaxies
huge groups of stars, gas and dust
signals
messages sent by waves, such as radio
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
A Telescope That Floats Above the Air
3rd grade reading passage
Have you ever seen the stars twinkle? That happens because the air above us is always moving. It makes starlight wobble before it reaches your eyes. For people who want to take sharp pictures of space, this is a problem.
Scientists found a clever answer. They put a telescope above the air. It is called the Hubble Space Telescope. It travels around Earth in space, where there is no air to blur the view.
The telescope is about the size of a school bus. It has a big mirror that collects light from faraway stars and galaxies. Cameras then turn that light into pictures. The pictures are sent to Earth by radio signals.
Hubble has shown us glowing clouds of gas, young stars and galaxies far away. People can look at these pictures online and in books.
Over the years, astronauts have flown up to visit the telescope. They fixed parts and added new tools. That kept it working for a very long time. Hubble shows that a good view sometimes means going somewhere new.
Questions
Why do stars seem to twinkle?
Where does the Hubble Space Telescope travel?
What does the big mirror do?
How are Hubble's pictures sent to Earth?
What did astronauts do when they visited the telescope?
Why does a telescope in space take sharper pictures than one on the ground?
Words to know
twinkle: to shine with a quick, flickering light
telescope: a tool that makes faraway things look closer
wobble: to shake from side to side
galaxies: huge groups of stars, gas and dust
signals: messages sent by waves, such as radio
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/a-telescope-that-floats-above-the-air
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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 · 156 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3
Have you seen stars twinkle? It happens because the air above us moves. It makes starlight wobble before it reaches your eyes. This is a problem for sharp pictures of space.
Scientists found a smart fix. They put a telescope above the air. It is the Hubble Space Telescope. It goes around Earth in space. There is no air there to blur the view.
The telescope is about as big as a school bus. It has a big mirror. The mirror collects light from far stars and galaxies. Cameras turn the light into pictures. The pictures come to Earth by radio signals.
Hubble has shown us glowing clouds of gas, young stars and far galaxies. You can see the pictures online and in books.
Over the years, astronauts have flown up to the telescope. They fixed parts and added new tools. That kept it working a long time. A good view can mean going somewhere new.
▲ This passage · 175 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.5
Have you ever seen the stars twinkle? That happens because the air above us is always moving. It makes starlight wobble before it reaches your eyes. For people who want to take sharp pictures of space, this is a problem.
Scientists found a clever answer. They put a telescope above the air. It is called the Hubble Space Telescope. It travels around Earth in space, where there is no air to blur the view.
The telescope is about the size of a school bus. It has a big mirror that collects light from faraway stars and galaxies. Cameras then turn that light into pictures. The pictures are sent to Earth by radio signals.
Hubble has shown us glowing clouds of gas, young stars and galaxies far away. People can look at these pictures online and in books.
Over the years, astronauts have flown up to visit the telescope. They fixed parts and added new tools. That kept it working for a very long time. Hubble shows that a good view sometimes means going somewhere new.
■ Harder · 179 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.2
Have you ever noticed stars twinkling? That happens because the air above us is constantly moving, which causes starlight to wobble before it finally reaches your eyes. For anyone hoping to take sharp pictures of the universe, this is a real difficulty.
Scientists devised a clever solution: they placed a telescope above the air. It is called the Hubble Space Telescope, and it circles Earth in space, where there is no air to blur the view.
The telescope is roughly the size of a school bus. Its enormous mirror gathers light from distant stars and galaxies, and cameras then convert that light into pictures, which are transmitted to Earth by radio signals.
Hubble has revealed glowing clouds of gas, newborn stars and galaxies that lie unimaginably far away. People everywhere can look at these pictures online and in books.
Over the years, astronauts have flown up to visit the telescope, where they repaired parts and installed new tools. That work kept it running for a very long time. Hubble proves that a better view sometimes means traveling somewhere new.
Have you seen stars twinkle? It happens because the air above us moves. It makes starlight wobble before it reaches your eyes. This is a problem for sharp pictures of space.
Scientists found a smart fix. They put a telescope above the air. It is the Hubble Space Telescope. It goes around Earth in space. There is no air there to blur the view.
The telescope is about as big as a school bus. It has a big mirror. The mirror collects light from far stars and galaxies. Cameras turn the light into pictures. The pictures come to Earth by radio signals.
Hubble has shown us glowing clouds of gas, young stars and far galaxies. You can see the pictures online and in books.
Over the years, astronauts have flown up to the telescope. They fixed parts and added new tools. That kept it working a long time. A good view can mean going somewhere new.
Questions
Why do stars seem to twinkle?
Where does the Hubble Space Telescope go?
What does the big mirror do?
How do the pictures get to Earth?
What did astronauts do when they visited the telescope?
Why does a telescope in space take sharper pictures?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
A Telescope That Floats Above the Air
Have you ever seen the stars twinkle? That happens because the air above us is always moving. It makes starlight wobble before it reaches your eyes. For people who want to take sharp pictures of space, this is a problem.
Scientists found a clever answer. They put a telescope above the air. It is called the Hubble Space Telescope. It travels around Earth in space, where there is no air to blur the view.
The telescope is about the size of a school bus. It has a big mirror that collects light from faraway stars and galaxies. Cameras then turn that light into pictures. The pictures are sent to Earth by radio signals.
Hubble has shown us glowing clouds of gas, young stars and galaxies far away. People can look at these pictures online and in books.
Over the years, astronauts have flown up to visit the telescope. They fixed parts and added new tools. That kept it working for a very long time. Hubble shows that a good view sometimes means going somewhere new.
Questions
Why do stars seem to twinkle?
Where does the Hubble Space Telescope travel?
What does the big mirror do?
How are Hubble's pictures sent to Earth?
What did astronauts do when they visited the telescope?
Why does a telescope in space take sharper pictures than one on the ground?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
A Telescope That Floats Above the Air
Have you ever noticed stars twinkling? That happens because the air above us is constantly moving, which causes starlight to wobble before it finally reaches your eyes. For anyone hoping to take sharp pictures of the universe, this is a real difficulty.
Scientists devised a clever solution: they placed a telescope above the air. It is called the Hubble Space Telescope, and it circles Earth in space, where there is no air to blur the view.
The telescope is roughly the size of a school bus. Its enormous mirror gathers light from distant stars and galaxies, and cameras then convert that light into pictures, which are transmitted to Earth by radio signals.
Hubble has revealed glowing clouds of gas, newborn stars and galaxies that lie unimaginably far away. People everywhere can look at these pictures online and in books.
Over the years, astronauts have flown up to visit the telescope, where they repaired parts and installed new tools. That work kept it running for a very long time. Hubble proves that a better view sometimes means traveling somewhere new.
Questions
Why do stars appear to twinkle?
Where does the Hubble Space Telescope travel?
What does the enormous mirror do?
How are Hubble's pictures transmitted to Earth?
What did the astronauts do when they visited the telescope?
Why does a telescope in space capture sharper pictures than one on the ground?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: A Telescope That Floats Above the Air
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3)
The moving air makes the starlight wobble.
Around Earth, above the air.
It collects light from far stars and galaxies.
By radio signals.
They fixed parts and added new tools.
There is no moving air in space to blur the view.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.5)
The moving air makes the starlight wobble.
Around Earth, above the air.
It collects light from faraway stars and galaxies.
By radio signals.
They fixed parts and added new tools.
There is no moving air in space to blur the view.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.2)
The moving air makes the starlight wobble.
Around Earth, above the air.
It gathers light from distant stars and galaxies.
By radio signals.
They repaired parts and installed new tools.
There is no moving air in space to blur the view.
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 twinkle, telescope, wobble, galaxies and signals 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 2 minutes 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 6 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 Telescope That Floats Above the Air"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 175 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.5. 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 six. 5 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 2 minutes 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?
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