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Find the Hole in Your Eye's Picture

3rd grade nonfiction passage about the blind spot: 182 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade nonfiction the blind spot 182 words

Find the Hole in Your Eye's Picture

Did you know each of your eyes has a tiny spot where it cannot see? It is called the blind spot. You never notice it, but you can find it with a quick paper trick.

Take a small card, and on the left side, draw a cross. About the width of your hand to the right, draw a big dot. Hold the card at arm's length and cover your left eye, then look right at the cross with your right eye.

Now move the card slowly toward your face. At one point, the dot will seem to vanish! If you move the card a bit more, the dot comes back.

Why does this happen? At the back of the eye, a bundle of nerves leaves and heads to the brain, and in that spot there are no cells that sense light, so no picture is made there.

Normally, you do not see a hole, because your brain fills in the gap using what is around it and your two eyes help each other. The trick only works when one eye is covered.

Questions

  1. What is the tiny spot where your eye cannot see called? in the text

  2. What do you draw on the left side of the card? in the text

  3. Which eye do you cover for the trick? in the text

  4. What seems to happen to the dot as you move the card? in the text

  5. Why is there no picture at the blind spot? in the text

  6. Why do you not see a hole in your vision all day? think about it

Words to know

blind spot
a small place in the eye that cannot sense light
vanish
to disappear suddenly
bundle
a group of things held together
sense
to notice with the body
gap
an empty space where something is missing
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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 · 137 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.1

Each of your eyes has a tiny spot where it cannot see. It is called the blind spot. You never notice it. But you can find it with a paper trick.

Take a small card. On the left, draw a cross. About a hand's width to the right, draw a big dot. Hold the card at arm's length. Cover your left eye. Look at the cross with your right eye.

Now move the card slowly toward your face. The dot will seem to vanish! Move it a bit more, and it comes back.

Why? At the back of the eye, nerves leave and go to the brain. There are no cells there that sense light. So no picture is made.

You do not see a hole. Your brain fills in the gap. Your two eyes help too.

▲ This passage · 182 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1

Did you know each of your eyes has a tiny spot where it cannot see? It is called the blind spot. You never notice it, but you can find it with a quick paper trick.

Take a small card, and on the left side, draw a cross. About the width of your hand to the right, draw a big dot. Hold the card at arm's length and cover your left eye, then look right at the cross with your right eye.

Now move the card slowly toward your face. At one point, the dot will seem to vanish! If you move the card a bit more, the dot comes back.

Why does this happen? At the back of the eye, a bundle of nerves leaves and heads to the brain, and in that spot there are no cells that sense light, so no picture is made there.

Normally, you do not see a hole, because your brain fills in the gap using what is around it and your two eyes help each other. The trick only works when one eye is covered.

■ Harder · 190 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.8

Did you know that each of your eyes has a tiny spot where it is unable to see anything at all? This area is called the blind spot. You never notice it in daily life, but you can discover it with a clever paper trick.

Take a small card. On the left side, draw a cross, and about the width of your hand to the right, draw a large dot. Hold the card at arm's length, cover your left eye, and look straight at the cross with your right eye.

Now slowly move the card toward your face. At one particular distance, the dot will seem to vanish! Move the card a little farther, and the dot reappears.

Why does this happen? At the back of the eye, a bundle of nerves leaves and travels to the brain. In that location there are no cells that sense light, so no picture can be formed there.

Normally, you never see a hole in your vision. Your brain fills in the gap using the surroundings, and your two eyes help each other out. The trick works only when one eye is covered.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put blind spot, vanish, bundle, sense and gap 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.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Find the Hole in Your Eye's Picture"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 182 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. 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?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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