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How Bears Get Through the Winter

3rd grade nonfiction passage about bear winter sleep: 179 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade nonfiction bear winter sleep 179 words

How Bears Get Through the Winter

In winter, snow covers the ground. Plants die back and food is hard to find. A bear has a plan for this hard season. It sleeps through much of the winter.

All summer and fall, a bear eats and eats. It eats berries, nuts, fish, and plants. Its body turns the extra food into a thick layer of fat. This fat is like a pantry packed inside the bear.

When the cold comes, the bear looks for a den. A den can be a cave, a hollow log, or a hole dug under a tree. The bear curls up inside. Its heart beats slowly and its body stays cool. The bear lives on its stored fat, so it does not need to eat or drink for a long time.

A bear in its den is not in a deep sleep like a log. It can wake up if something disturbs it.

If a mother bear has cubs, they are often born in the den during winter. When spring comes, the bears walk out, hungry and ready to eat again.

Questions

  1. Why is winter a hard time for a bear? in the text

  2. What does a bear eat in summer and fall? in the text

  3. What does the bear's body do with the extra food? in the text

  4. What can a bear use as a den? in the text

  5. Why does the writer say the fat is like a pantry? think about it

  6. Why is a bear hungry when spring comes? think about it

Words to know

den
a safe, hidden place where a wild animal rests
hollow
empty on the inside
pantry
a place where food is kept
stored
saved for later
cubs
baby bears
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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 · 154 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.8

In winter, snow covers the ground. Plants die back. Food is hard to find. A bear has a plan. It sleeps through much of the winter.

All summer and fall, a bear eats and eats. It eats berries, nuts, fish, and plants. Its body turns the extra food into a thick layer of fat. The fat is like a pantry inside the bear.

When it gets cold, the bear finds a den. A den can be a cave, a hollow log, or a hole under a tree. The bear curls up inside. Its heart beats slowly. The bear lives on its stored fat. It does not eat or drink for a long time.

A bear in a den is not in a deep sleep. It can wake up if something bothers it.

A mother bear may have cubs in the den. In spring, the bears walk out. They are hungry and ready to eat.

▲ This passage · 179 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1

In winter, snow covers the ground. Plants die back and food is hard to find. A bear has a plan for this hard season. It sleeps through much of the winter.

All summer and fall, a bear eats and eats. It eats berries, nuts, fish, and plants. Its body turns the extra food into a thick layer of fat. This fat is like a pantry packed inside the bear.

When the cold comes, the bear looks for a den. A den can be a cave, a hollow log, or a hole dug under a tree. The bear curls up inside. Its heart beats slowly and its body stays cool. The bear lives on its stored fat, so it does not need to eat or drink for a long time.

A bear in its den is not in a deep sleep like a log. It can wake up if something disturbs it.

If a mother bear has cubs, they are often born in the den during winter. When spring comes, the bears walk out, hungry and ready to eat again.

■ Harder · 197 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.5

During winter, snow blankets the ground, plants die back, and food becomes extremely difficult to find. A bear has a remarkable strategy for surviving this harsh season: it sleeps through a large part of the winter.

Throughout the summer and fall, a bear eats constantly. It feeds on berries, nuts, fish, and plants, and its body converts the extra food into a thick layer of fat. This fat is similar to a pantry that is packed inside the bear.

When the weather turns cold, the bear searches for a den. A den might be a cave, a hollow log, or a hole dug beneath a tree. The bear curls up inside, its heart beats slowly, and its body stays cool. Since it lives on its stored fat, it does not need to eat or drink for a long period of time.

A bear in its den is not in a deep sleep like a log. If something disturbs it, the bear can wake up.

If a mother bear has cubs, they are often born in the den during the winter. When spring finally arrives, the bears walk out into the daylight, hungry and eager to eat again.

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 den, hollow, pantry, stored and cubs 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.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "How Bears Get Through the Winter"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 179 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.1. 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. 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?

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

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