3rd grade nonfiction passage about ice before refrigerators: 165 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionice before refrigerators165 words
Cutting Ice from the Pond for Summer
Today we keep food cold in a refrigerator. A little over a hundred years ago, many families had no such thing. So how did they keep milk and butter cool in the summer? They used ice, and the ice came from a frozen pond or lake.
In the middle of winter, when the ice was thick, workers went out with saws. They cut the ice into big blocks. Horses pulled the blocks to a special building called an icehouse. Inside, the blocks were packed in sawdust. The sawdust worked like a blanket, so the ice melted very slowly. Some ice stayed frozen until the next summer.
Then an ice delivery wagon visited homes. The driver carried a block into the kitchen and set it in an icebox. An icebox was a wooden cabinet with a space for the ice at the top. The cold air from the ice kept the food fresh.
A family had to buy new ice often, because the block kept melting.
Questions
Where did the ice come from? in the text
What did workers use to cut the ice? in the text
What was packed around the blocks in the icehouse? in the text
What was an icebox? in the text
Why did workers cut the ice in the middle of winter? think about it
Why did a family have to buy new ice again and again? think about it
Words to know
refrigerator
a machine that keeps food cold
blocks
big, thick pieces of something solid
icehouse
a building where ice was stored
sawdust
tiny bits of wood left when wood is cut
icebox
a cabinet cooled by a block of ice
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Cutting Ice from the Pond for Summer
3rd grade reading passage
Today we keep food cold in a refrigerator. A little over a hundred years ago, many families had no such thing. So how did they keep milk and butter cool in the summer? They used ice, and the ice came from a frozen pond or lake.
In the middle of winter, when the ice was thick, workers went out with saws. They cut the ice into big blocks. Horses pulled the blocks to a special building called an icehouse. Inside, the blocks were packed in sawdust. The sawdust worked like a blanket, so the ice melted very slowly. Some ice stayed frozen until the next summer.
Then an ice delivery wagon visited homes. The driver carried a block into the kitchen and set it in an icebox. An icebox was a wooden cabinet with a space for the ice at the top. The cold air from the ice kept the food fresh.
A family had to buy new ice often, because the block kept melting.
Questions
Where did the ice come from?
What did workers use to cut the ice?
What was packed around the blocks in the icehouse?
What was an icebox?
Why did workers cut the ice in the middle of winter?
Why did a family have to buy new ice again and again?
Words to know
refrigerator: a machine that keeps food cold
blocks: big, thick pieces of something solid
icehouse: a building where ice was stored
sawdust: tiny bits of wood left when wood is cut
icebox: a cabinet cooled by a block of ice
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/cutting-pond-ice-for-summer
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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 · 135 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6
Today we keep food cold in a refrigerator. A long time ago, many families had none. How did they keep milk and butter cool in summer? They used ice. The ice came from a frozen pond or lake.
In the middle of winter, the ice was thick. Workers went out with saws. They cut the ice into big blocks. Horses pulled the blocks to an icehouse. Inside, the blocks were packed in sawdust. The sawdust worked like a blanket, so the ice melted slowly. Some ice lasted until summer.
Then a wagon brought ice to homes. The driver set a block in an icebox. An icebox was a wooden cabinet with a space for ice. The cold from the ice kept food fresh.
A family had to buy new ice often. The block kept melting.
▲ This passage · 165 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.4
Today we keep food cold in a refrigerator. A little over a hundred years ago, many families had no such thing. So how did they keep milk and butter cool in the summer? They used ice, and the ice came from a frozen pond or lake.
In the middle of winter, when the ice was thick, workers went out with saws. They cut the ice into big blocks. Horses pulled the blocks to a special building called an icehouse. Inside, the blocks were packed in sawdust. The sawdust worked like a blanket, so the ice melted very slowly. Some ice stayed frozen until the next summer.
Then an ice delivery wagon visited homes. The driver carried a block into the kitchen and set it in an icebox. An icebox was a wooden cabinet with a space for the ice at the top. The cold air from the ice kept the food fresh.
A family had to buy new ice often, because the block kept melting.
■ Harder · 172 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.7
Today we preserve our food in a refrigerator, but a little more than a hundred years ago, many families owned nothing of the kind. How, then, did they keep milk and butter cool throughout the summer? They relied on ice, which was harvested from a frozen pond or lake.
In the depths of winter, when the ice was thick enough to be safe, workers went out with large saws and cut it into enormous blocks. Horses hauled the blocks to a special building called an icehouse, where they were packed tightly in sawdust. The sawdust acted like a blanket, so the ice melted extremely slowly, and some of it stayed frozen until the following summer.
Eventually, an ice delivery wagon made its rounds. The driver carried a block into each kitchen and set it inside an icebox, a wooden cabinet with a compartment for the ice at the top. The cold air from the ice kept the food fresh.
Families had to keep buying new ice, because the block was always melting.
Today we keep food cold in a refrigerator. A long time ago, many families had none. How did they keep milk and butter cool in summer? They used ice. The ice came from a frozen pond or lake.
In the middle of winter, the ice was thick. Workers went out with saws. They cut the ice into big blocks. Horses pulled the blocks to an icehouse. Inside, the blocks were packed in sawdust. The sawdust worked like a blanket, so the ice melted slowly. Some ice lasted until summer.
Then a wagon brought ice to homes. The driver set a block in an icebox. An icebox was a wooden cabinet with a space for ice. The cold from the ice kept food fresh.
A family had to buy new ice often. The block kept melting.
Questions
Where did the ice come from?
What did workers use to cut the ice?
What was packed around the blocks in the icehouse?
What was an icebox?
Why did workers cut the ice in the middle of winter?
Why did a family have to buy new ice again and again?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Cutting Ice from the Pond for Summer
Today we keep food cold in a refrigerator. A little over a hundred years ago, many families had no such thing. So how did they keep milk and butter cool in the summer? They used ice, and the ice came from a frozen pond or lake.
In the middle of winter, when the ice was thick, workers went out with saws. They cut the ice into big blocks. Horses pulled the blocks to a special building called an icehouse. Inside, the blocks were packed in sawdust. The sawdust worked like a blanket, so the ice melted very slowly. Some ice stayed frozen until the next summer.
Then an ice delivery wagon visited homes. The driver carried a block into the kitchen and set it in an icebox. An icebox was a wooden cabinet with a space for the ice at the top. The cold air from the ice kept the food fresh.
A family had to buy new ice often, because the block kept melting.
Questions
Where did the ice come from?
What did workers use to cut the ice?
What was packed around the blocks in the icehouse?
What was an icebox?
Why did workers cut the ice in the middle of winter?
Why did a family have to buy new ice again and again?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Cutting Ice from the Pond for Summer
Today we preserve our food in a refrigerator, but a little more than a hundred years ago, many families owned nothing of the kind. How, then, did they keep milk and butter cool throughout the summer? They relied on ice, which was harvested from a frozen pond or lake.
In the depths of winter, when the ice was thick enough to be safe, workers went out with large saws and cut it into enormous blocks. Horses hauled the blocks to a special building called an icehouse, where they were packed tightly in sawdust. The sawdust acted like a blanket, so the ice melted extremely slowly, and some of it stayed frozen until the following summer.
Eventually, an ice delivery wagon made its rounds. The driver carried a block into each kitchen and set it inside an icebox, a wooden cabinet with a compartment for the ice at the top. The cold air from the ice kept the food fresh.
Families had to keep buying new ice, because the block was always melting.
Questions
Where was the ice harvested from?
What did workers use to cut the ice?
What were the blocks packed in at the icehouse?
What was an icebox?
Why did workers cut the ice in the depths of winter?
Why did families have to keep buying new ice?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Cutting Ice from the Pond for Summer
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6)
A frozen pond or lake.
Saws.
Sawdust.
A wooden cabinet with a space for ice to keep food cold.
That is when the ice was thickest.
The block of ice kept melting.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.4)
A frozen pond or lake.
Saws.
Sawdust.
A wooden cabinet with a space for ice, used to keep food cold.
That is when the ice was thickest.
The block of ice kept melting.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.7)
A frozen pond or lake.
Large saws.
Sawdust.
A wooden cabinet with a compartment for ice, used to keep food cold.
That is when the ice was thick enough and safe.
The block of ice was always melting.
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 refrigerator, blocks, icehouse, sawdust and icebox 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 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 "Cutting Ice from the Pond for Summer"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 165 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.4. 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 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 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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