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How a Lever Works

3rd grade nonfiction passage about simple machines: 157 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade nonfiction simple machines 157 words

How a Lever Works

A lever is a simple machine that helps people lift and move things. It is a stiff bar that turns on a point called the fulcrum.

A seesaw is a lever. The board is the bar, and the fulcrum is the point in the middle. When one child pushes down on one end, the other end goes up.

Every lever has a load and an effort. The load is the thing you want to move. The effort is the push or pull you use to move it.

Where you put the fulcrum changes how much effort you need. Set the fulcrum close to a heavy load, and push down on the far end of the bar. A small push can lift a big load. The longer the bar is on your side, the less force you need.

Levers are all around us. A crowbar, a wheelbarrow, and a pair of scissors all work by the same idea.

Questions

  1. What is a lever? in the text

  2. Where is the fulcrum on a seesaw? in the text

  3. What is the load? in the text

  4. How can you use a lever to lift a heavy load with a small push? in the text

  5. What are two levers? in the text

  6. Why might a crowbar be long? think about it

Words to know

lever
a stiff bar that turns on a point and helps lift things
fulcrum
the point that a lever turns on
load
the thing you want to move
effort
the push or pull you use to move something
simple machine
a tool with few or no moving parts that makes work easier

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 lever, fulcrum, load, effort and simple machine 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 "How a Lever Works"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 157 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.8. 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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