3rd grade nonfiction passage about echolocation: 136 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionecholocation136 words
How Bats Find Food in the Dark
Bats hunt at night, when it is too dark to see well. They use sound to find their food instead. This is called echolocation.
A bat makes a high squeak as it flies. Most of these squeaks are too high for people to hear. The sound travels out and hits an object, such as a moth. Then the sound bounces back to the bat as an echo.
The bat listens to the echo. It can tell how far away the moth is and which way the moth is flying. The bat can catch a tiny insect in the dark in just a moment.
Some bats eat hundreds of insects in one night. That helps people, because it keeps the number of pests down. Bats are not blind, but their ears do a lot of the work.
Questions
When do bats hunt? in the text
What is it called when a bat uses sound to find food? in the text
What happens to the sound after it hits a moth? in the text
What can the bat learn from the echo? in the text
Why do bats help people? in the text
Why is echolocation useful for a hunter in the dark? think about it
Words to know
echolocation
using sound and its echo to find things
echo
a sound that bounces back to you
insect
a small animal with six legs, such as a moth
pests
small animals that bother people or harm crops
hunt
to look for and catch food
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
How Bats Find Food in the Dark
3rd grade reading passage
Bats hunt at night, when it is too dark to see well. They use sound to find their food instead. This is called echolocation.
A bat makes a high squeak as it flies. Most of these squeaks are too high for people to hear. The sound travels out and hits an object, such as a moth. Then the sound bounces back to the bat as an echo.
The bat listens to the echo. It can tell how far away the moth is and which way the moth is flying. The bat can catch a tiny insect in the dark in just a moment.
Some bats eat hundreds of insects in one night. That helps people, because it keeps the number of pests down. Bats are not blind, but their ears do a lot of the work.
Questions
When do bats hunt?
What is it called when a bat uses sound to find food?
What happens to the sound after it hits a moth?
What can the bat learn from the echo?
Why do bats help people?
Why is echolocation useful for a hunter in the dark?
Words to know
echolocation: using sound and its echo to find things
echo: a sound that bounces back to you
insect: a small animal with six legs, such as a moth
pests: small animals that bother people or harm crops
hunt: to look for and catch food
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/how-bats-find-food-in-the-dark
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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 · 112 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.1
Bats hunt at night. It is too dark to see well. So bats use sound to find food. This is called echolocation.
A bat squeaks as it flies. The squeak is very high. People can not hear most of them. The sound hits a moth. Then it bounces back to the bat. That is an echo.
The bat hears the echo. It knows how far the moth is. It knows which way the moth is going. The bat grabs the tiny bug fast.
A bat can eat hundreds of bugs in one night. That helps people. There are fewer pests. Bats are not blind. But their ears do a lot of work.
▲ This passage · 136 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3
Bats hunt at night, when it is too dark to see well. They use sound to find their food instead. This is called echolocation.
A bat makes a high squeak as it flies. Most of these squeaks are too high for people to hear. The sound travels out and hits an object, such as a moth. Then the sound bounces back to the bat as an echo.
The bat listens to the echo. It can tell how far away the moth is and which way the moth is flying. The bat can catch a tiny insect in the dark in just a moment.
Some bats eat hundreds of insects in one night. That helps people, because it keeps the number of pests down. Bats are not blind, but their ears do a lot of the work.
■ Harder · 152 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.5
Bats hunt at night, when it is far too dark for most animals to see well. Instead of relying on their eyes, they use sound to locate their food, a skill known as echolocation.
As a bat flies, it produces a series of high squeaks, and most of these are pitched too high for people to hear. The sound travels outward until it strikes an object, such as a moth, and then it bounces back to the bat as an echo.
By listening carefully to the echo, the bat can judge how far away the moth is and which direction it is flying. Even a tiny insect can be caught in an instant, despite the darkness.
Some bats eat hundreds of insects in a single night, which benefits people because it keeps the number of pests under control. Bats are not blind, but their ears do a remarkable amount of the work.
Bats hunt at night. It is too dark to see well. So bats use sound to find food. This is called echolocation.
A bat squeaks as it flies. The squeak is very high. People can not hear most of them. The sound hits a moth. Then it bounces back to the bat. That is an echo.
The bat hears the echo. It knows how far the moth is. It knows which way the moth is going. The bat grabs the tiny bug fast.
A bat can eat hundreds of bugs in one night. That helps people. There are fewer pests. Bats are not blind. But their ears do a lot of work.
Questions
When do bats hunt?
What do bats use sound to do?
What does the sound do after it hits a moth?
What does the bat know from the echo?
How do bats help people?
Why does a bat use sound at night?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
How Bats Find Food in the Dark
Bats hunt at night, when it is too dark to see well. They use sound to find their food instead. This is called echolocation.
A bat makes a high squeak as it flies. Most of these squeaks are too high for people to hear. The sound travels out and hits an object, such as a moth. Then the sound bounces back to the bat as an echo.
The bat listens to the echo. It can tell how far away the moth is and which way the moth is flying. The bat can catch a tiny insect in the dark in just a moment.
Some bats eat hundreds of insects in one night. That helps people, because it keeps the number of pests down. Bats are not blind, but their ears do a lot of the work.
Questions
When do bats hunt?
What is it called when a bat uses sound to find food?
What happens to the sound after it hits a moth?
What can the bat learn from the echo?
Why do bats help people?
Why is echolocation useful for a hunter in the dark?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
How Bats Find Food in the Dark
Bats hunt at night, when it is far too dark for most animals to see well. Instead of relying on their eyes, they use sound to locate their food, a skill known as echolocation.
As a bat flies, it produces a series of high squeaks, and most of these are pitched too high for people to hear. The sound travels outward until it strikes an object, such as a moth, and then it bounces back to the bat as an echo.
By listening carefully to the echo, the bat can judge how far away the moth is and which direction it is flying. Even a tiny insect can be caught in an instant, despite the darkness.
Some bats eat hundreds of insects in a single night, which benefits people because it keeps the number of pests under control. Bats are not blind, but their ears do a remarkable amount of the work.
Questions
During which part of the day do bats hunt?
What is the name of the skill bats use to locate food with sound?
What happens to the sound once it strikes an object such as a moth?
What information can a bat judge from listening to the echo?
In what way do bats benefit people?
Why is echolocation such a useful skill for a hunter in the dark?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: How Bats Find Food in the Dark
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.1)
At night.
Find food. This is called echolocation.
It bounces back to the bat. That is an echo.
How far the moth is and which way it is going.
They eat bugs, so there are fewer pests.
It is too dark to see well, so sound helps it find food.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3)
At night.
Echolocation.
It bounces back to the bat as an echo.
How far away the moth is and which way it is flying.
They eat many insects, which keeps the number of pests down.
It lets the bat find food by sound, so it does not need light.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.5)
At night.
Echolocation.
It bounces back to the bat as an echo.
How far away the moth is and which direction it is flying.
They eat hundreds of insects, which keeps the number of pests under control.
It lets the bat find food by sound, so it does not depend on light.
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 echolocation, echo, insect, pests and hunt 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 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.
What reading level is "How Bats Find Food in the Dark"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 136 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.3. 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 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?
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