3rd grade nonfiction passage about barnacles and the tide: 147 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionbarnacles and the tide147 words
Barnacles: Rock Dwellers Between the Tides
Walk along a rocky shore at low tide and you may see small gray cones stuck to the stones. Many people think they are bits of rock. They are really barnacles, and they are alive.
A young barnacle swims in the sea for a while. Then it finds a good spot and glues itself down headfirst. It never moves again. Hard plates grow around its body to make a little house.
When the tide is out, the barnacle faces danger. The sun and wind could dry it out. So it closes its plates tight and keeps a bit of water inside.
When the tide comes back, the plates open. A barnacle sticks out feathery legs and waves them in the water. The legs sweep tiny bits of food into its mouth.
A barnacle cannot walk to its dinner, so it waits for the sea to deliver it.
Questions
What do barnacles look like at low tide? in the text
How does a young barnacle choose a home? in the text
What does a barnacle do when the tide is out? in the text
What do the feathery legs do? in the text
Why does a barnacle close its plates at low tide? think about it
Why does a barnacle wait for the sea to deliver its dinner? think about it
Words to know
barnacles
small sea animals that glue themselves to rocks
tide
the rise and fall of the sea each day
plates
hard flat pieces that cover an animal's body
feathery
soft and thin, like the parts of a feather
shore
the land at the edge of the sea
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Barnacles: Rock Dwellers Between the Tides
3rd grade reading passage
Walk along a rocky shore at low tide and you may see small gray cones stuck to the stones. Many people think they are bits of rock. They are really barnacles, and they are alive.
A young barnacle swims in the sea for a while. Then it finds a good spot and glues itself down headfirst. It never moves again. Hard plates grow around its body to make a little house.
When the tide is out, the barnacle faces danger. The sun and wind could dry it out. So it closes its plates tight and keeps a bit of water inside.
When the tide comes back, the plates open. A barnacle sticks out feathery legs and waves them in the water. The legs sweep tiny bits of food into its mouth.
A barnacle cannot walk to its dinner, so it waits for the sea to deliver it.
Questions
What do barnacles look like at low tide?
How does a young barnacle choose a home?
What does a barnacle do when the tide is out?
What do the feathery legs do?
Why does a barnacle close its plates at low tide?
Why does a barnacle wait for the sea to deliver its dinner?
Words to know
barnacles: small sea animals that glue themselves to rocks
tide: the rise and fall of the sea each day
plates: hard flat pieces that cover an animal's body
feathery: soft and thin, like the parts of a feather
shore: the land at the edge of the sea
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/barnacles-rock-dwellers-between-the-tides
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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 · 121 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5
Walk on a rocky shore at low tide. You may see small gray cones on the stones. They look like rock. But they are barnacles, and they are alive.
A young barnacle swims in the sea. Then it picks a spot and glues itself down. It never moves again. Hard plates grow around it. They make a little house.
At low tide, the sun and wind could dry the barnacle. So it shuts its plates. A bit of water stays inside.
When the tide comes back, the plates open. The barnacle waves feathery legs in the water. The legs sweep tiny bits of food into its mouth.
A barnacle cannot walk to food. It waits for the sea to bring it.
▲ This passage · 147 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5
Walk along a rocky shore at low tide and you may see small gray cones stuck to the stones. Many people think they are bits of rock. They are really barnacles, and they are alive.
A young barnacle swims in the sea for a while. Then it finds a good spot and glues itself down headfirst. It never moves again. Hard plates grow around its body to make a little house.
When the tide is out, the barnacle faces danger. The sun and wind could dry it out. So it closes its plates tight and keeps a bit of water inside.
When the tide comes back, the plates open. A barnacle sticks out feathery legs and waves them in the water. The legs sweep tiny bits of food into its mouth.
A barnacle cannot walk to its dinner, so it waits for the sea to deliver it.
■ Harder · 164 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.3
If you stroll along a rocky shore at low tide, you may notice small gray cones clinging to the stones. Many people assume they are pieces of rock, but they are actually barnacles, and every one of them is alive.
A young barnacle swims freely in the sea for a short while. Eventually it locates a suitable spot and glues itself down headfirst, and after that it never moves again. Hard plates grow around its body and form a little house.
When the tide goes out, the barnacle faces real danger, because the sun and the wind could dry it out. To protect itself, it closes its plates tightly and keeps a small amount of water inside.
When the tide returns, the plates open, and the barnacle sticks out feathery legs and waves them through the water. The legs sweep tiny bits of food into its mouth.
Since a barnacle cannot walk to its dinner, it waits patiently for the sea to deliver it.
Walk on a rocky shore at low tide. You may see small gray cones on the stones. They look like rock. But they are barnacles, and they are alive.
A young barnacle swims in the sea. Then it picks a spot and glues itself down. It never moves again. Hard plates grow around it. They make a little house.
At low tide, the sun and wind could dry the barnacle. So it shuts its plates. A bit of water stays inside.
When the tide comes back, the plates open. The barnacle waves feathery legs in the water. The legs sweep tiny bits of food into its mouth.
A barnacle cannot walk to food. It waits for the sea to bring it.
Questions
What do barnacles look like at low tide?
How does a young barnacle pick a home?
What does a barnacle do at low tide?
What do the feathery legs do?
Why does a barnacle shut its plates at low tide?
Why does a barnacle wait for the sea to bring its food?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Barnacles: Rock Dwellers Between the Tides
Walk along a rocky shore at low tide and you may see small gray cones stuck to the stones. Many people think they are bits of rock. They are really barnacles, and they are alive.
A young barnacle swims in the sea for a while. Then it finds a good spot and glues itself down headfirst. It never moves again. Hard plates grow around its body to make a little house.
When the tide is out, the barnacle faces danger. The sun and wind could dry it out. So it closes its plates tight and keeps a bit of water inside.
When the tide comes back, the plates open. A barnacle sticks out feathery legs and waves them in the water. The legs sweep tiny bits of food into its mouth.
A barnacle cannot walk to its dinner, so it waits for the sea to deliver it.
Questions
What do barnacles look like at low tide?
How does a young barnacle choose a home?
What does a barnacle do when the tide is out?
What do the feathery legs do?
Why does a barnacle close its plates at low tide?
Why does a barnacle wait for the sea to deliver its dinner?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Barnacles: Rock Dwellers Between the Tides
If you stroll along a rocky shore at low tide, you may notice small gray cones clinging to the stones. Many people assume they are pieces of rock, but they are actually barnacles, and every one of them is alive.
A young barnacle swims freely in the sea for a short while. Eventually it locates a suitable spot and glues itself down headfirst, and after that it never moves again. Hard plates grow around its body and form a little house.
When the tide goes out, the barnacle faces real danger, because the sun and the wind could dry it out. To protect itself, it closes its plates tightly and keeps a small amount of water inside.
When the tide returns, the plates open, and the barnacle sticks out feathery legs and waves them through the water. The legs sweep tiny bits of food into its mouth.
Since a barnacle cannot walk to its dinner, it waits patiently for the sea to deliver it.
Questions
What can you see clinging to stones at low tide?
How does a young barnacle settle on its home?
How does a barnacle protect itself when the tide goes out?
What is the job of the feathery legs?
Why must a barnacle close its plates at low tide?
Why must a barnacle wait for the sea to deliver its dinner?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Barnacles: Rock Dwellers Between the Tides
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5)
Small gray cones on the rocks.
It picks a spot and glues itself down.
It shuts its plates and keeps a bit of water inside.
They sweep tiny bits of food into its mouth.
So it does not dry out in the sun and wind.
It is glued down and cannot move to find food.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5)
Small gray cones stuck to the rocks.
It finds a good spot and glues itself down headfirst.
It closes its plates tight and keeps a bit of water inside.
They sweep tiny bits of food into the barnacle's mouth.
To keep from drying out in the sun and wind.
It is glued in place and cannot move to find food.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.3)
Small gray cones that are really barnacles.
It finds a suitable spot and glues itself down headfirst.
It closes its plates tightly and keeps a small amount of water inside.
They sweep tiny bits of food into the barnacle's mouth.
The sun and wind could dry it out.
It is glued in one place and cannot travel to find food.
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 barnacles, tide, plates, feathery and shore 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 "Barnacles: Rock Dwellers Between the Tides"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 147 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.5. 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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