3rd grade nonfiction passage about how a bagpipe works: 130 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionhow a bagpipe works130 words
The Bagpipe Bag That Never Runs Out of Air
A bagpipe is a loud, bright instrument that many people link with Scotland. It has a secret that other wind instruments do not have. The secret is a soft bag.
The player blows air into the bag through a short pipe. The bag holds the air, a bit like a balloon. Then the player squeezes the bag with one arm. The air is pushed out through the other pipes, and that makes the sound.
Because the bag stays full, the music does not stop when the player takes a breath. The player can keep the tune going for a long time.
Some of the pipes play the tune. Other pipes, called drones, hum one steady note the whole time. That is why a bagpipe can sound like a whole band.
Questions
What is the secret part of a bagpipe? in the text
How does the player get air into the bag? in the text
What does the player do to push air out of the bag? in the text
What do the drone pipes do? in the text
Why does the music keep going when the player takes a breath? think about it
Why might a bagpipe sound like a whole band? think about it
Words to know
bagpipe
an instrument with a bag of air and several pipes
drones
pipes that hum one steady note
instrument
a tool for making music
tune
the main song that you can hum
steady
staying the same, not changing
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Bagpipe Bag That Never Runs Out of Air
3rd grade reading passage
A bagpipe is a loud, bright instrument that many people link with Scotland. It has a secret that other wind instruments do not have. The secret is a soft bag.
The player blows air into the bag through a short pipe. The bag holds the air, a bit like a balloon. Then the player squeezes the bag with one arm. The air is pushed out through the other pipes, and that makes the sound.
Because the bag stays full, the music does not stop when the player takes a breath. The player can keep the tune going for a long time.
Some of the pipes play the tune. Other pipes, called drones, hum one steady note the whole time. That is why a bagpipe can sound like a whole band.
Questions
What is the secret part of a bagpipe?
How does the player get air into the bag?
What does the player do to push air out of the bag?
What do the drone pipes do?
Why does the music keep going when the player takes a breath?
Why might a bagpipe sound like a whole band?
Words to know
bagpipe: an instrument with a bag of air and several pipes
drones: pipes that hum one steady note
instrument: a tool for making music
tune: the main song that you can hum
steady: staying the same, not changing
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/bagpipe-bag-never-runs-out-of-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 · 94 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.6
A bagpipe is a loud, bright instrument. Many people link it with Scotland. It has a soft bag.
The player blows air into the bag. The bag holds the air like a balloon. Then the player squeezes the bag with one arm. The air goes out through the pipes. That makes the sound.
The bag stays full. So the music does not stop when the player takes a breath.
Some pipes play the tune. Other pipes are called drones. They hum one steady note. That is why a bagpipe can sound like a band.
▲ This passage · 130 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.5
A bagpipe is a loud, bright instrument that many people link with Scotland. It has a secret that other wind instruments do not have. The secret is a soft bag.
The player blows air into the bag through a short pipe. The bag holds the air, a bit like a balloon. Then the player squeezes the bag with one arm. The air is pushed out through the other pipes, and that makes the sound.
Because the bag stays full, the music does not stop when the player takes a breath. The player can keep the tune going for a long time.
Some of the pipes play the tune. Other pipes, called drones, hum one steady note the whole time. That is why a bagpipe can sound like a whole band.
■ Harder · 139 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.3
A bagpipe is a loud, bright instrument that many people associate with Scotland. Unlike most other wind instruments, it has a clever secret: a soft bag that stores air.
The player blows air into the bag through a short pipe, and the bag holds that air much as a balloon would. Then the player squeezes the bag with one arm, which forces the air out through the remaining pipes. That moving air is what produces the sound.
Because the bag remains full, the music does not stop whenever the player pauses to take a breath. The player can therefore keep a tune going for a very long time.
Some of the pipes play the melody. Other pipes, known as drones, hum a single steady note throughout the song. That explains why one bagpipe can sound like an entire band.
A bagpipe is a loud, bright instrument. Many people link it with Scotland. It has a soft bag.
The player blows air into the bag. The bag holds the air like a balloon. Then the player squeezes the bag with one arm. The air goes out through the pipes. That makes the sound.
The bag stays full. So the music does not stop when the player takes a breath.
Some pipes play the tune. Other pipes are called drones. They hum one steady note. That is why a bagpipe can sound like a band.
Questions
What is the secret part of a bagpipe?
How does the player get air into the bag?
What does the player do to push air out?
What do the drone pipes do?
Why does the music not stop when the player takes a breath?
Why can a bagpipe sound like a band?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Bagpipe Bag That Never Runs Out of Air
A bagpipe is a loud, bright instrument that many people link with Scotland. It has a secret that other wind instruments do not have. The secret is a soft bag.
The player blows air into the bag through a short pipe. The bag holds the air, a bit like a balloon. Then the player squeezes the bag with one arm. The air is pushed out through the other pipes, and that makes the sound.
Because the bag stays full, the music does not stop when the player takes a breath. The player can keep the tune going for a long time.
Some of the pipes play the tune. Other pipes, called drones, hum one steady note the whole time. That is why a bagpipe can sound like a whole band.
Questions
What is the secret part of a bagpipe?
How does the player get air into the bag?
What does the player do to push air out of the bag?
What do the drone pipes do?
Why does the music keep going when the player takes a breath?
Why might a bagpipe sound like a whole band?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Bagpipe Bag That Never Runs Out of Air
A bagpipe is a loud, bright instrument that many people associate with Scotland. Unlike most other wind instruments, it has a clever secret: a soft bag that stores air.
The player blows air into the bag through a short pipe, and the bag holds that air much as a balloon would. Then the player squeezes the bag with one arm, which forces the air out through the remaining pipes. That moving air is what produces the sound.
Because the bag remains full, the music does not stop whenever the player pauses to take a breath. The player can therefore keep a tune going for a very long time.
Some of the pipes play the melody. Other pipes, known as drones, hum a single steady note throughout the song. That explains why one bagpipe can sound like an entire band.
Questions
What clever secret does a bagpipe have that most wind instruments lack?
How does the player fill the bag with air?
What does the player do to force air out of the bag?
What do the drones do throughout the song?
Why can the player keep the tune going while breathing?
Why does a single bagpipe sound like an entire band?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Bagpipe Bag That Never Runs Out of Air
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.6)
A soft bag that holds air.
By blowing into it.
Squeezes the bag with one arm.
They hum one steady note.
The bag is still full of air.
Some pipes play the tune and the drones hum at the same time.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.5)
A soft bag that holds air.
By blowing through a short pipe.
Squeezes the bag with one arm.
They hum one steady note the whole time.
The bag is still full of air, so it keeps pushing air out.
Some pipes play the tune while the drones play a steady note at the same time.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.3)
A soft bag that stores air.
By blowing through a short pipe.
Squeezes the bag with one arm.
They hum a single steady note.
The full bag keeps pushing air through the pipes during the breath.
The melody pipes and the drone pipes sound together at the same time.
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 bagpipe, drones, instrument, tune and steady 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 Bagpipe Bag That Never Runs Out of Air"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 130 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.5. 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. 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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