3rd grade nonfiction passage about beat and rhythm in music: 163 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionbeat and rhythm in music163 words
Keeping the Beat
Listen to a song you like and tap your foot. You are tapping the beat. The beat is the steady pulse in music, like the ticking of a clock. It stays the same from the start of a song to the end.
Rhythm is different. Rhythm is the pattern of long and short sounds that goes along with the beat. Some notes last for one beat. Some last for two beats or more. Others are quick and share a single beat. When you clap the words of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," you are clapping its rhythm.
Tempo is how fast or slow the beat goes. A lullaby has a slow tempo, so it feels calm. A marching band plays at a quick tempo, so you feel like moving.
Drummers keep the beat for a band. If a drummer speeds up or slows down by accident, the other players have a hard time staying together. That is why musicians practice with a steady beat.
Questions
What is the beat in music? in the text
How is rhythm different from the beat? in the text
What is tempo? in the text
Why does a lullaby feel calm? in the text
Why do the other players have a hard time if the drummer speeds up by accident? think about it
Why might a marching band play at a quick tempo? think about it
Words to know
beat
the steady pulse in music
rhythm
a pattern of long and short sounds in music
tempo
how fast or slow the music goes
lullaby
a soft, slow song for helping a baby sleep
drummers
people who play drums
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Keeping the Beat
3rd grade reading passage
Listen to a song you like and tap your foot. You are tapping the beat. The beat is the steady pulse in music, like the ticking of a clock. It stays the same from the start of a song to the end.
Rhythm is different. Rhythm is the pattern of long and short sounds that goes along with the beat. Some notes last for one beat. Some last for two beats or more. Others are quick and share a single beat. When you clap the words of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," you are clapping its rhythm.
Tempo is how fast or slow the beat goes. A lullaby has a slow tempo, so it feels calm. A marching band plays at a quick tempo, so you feel like moving.
Drummers keep the beat for a band. If a drummer speeds up or slows down by accident, the other players have a hard time staying together. That is why musicians practice with a steady beat.
Questions
What is the beat in music?
How is rhythm different from the beat?
What is tempo?
Why does a lullaby feel calm?
Why do the other players have a hard time if the drummer speeds up by accident?
Why might a marching band play at a quick tempo?
Words to know
beat: the steady pulse in music
rhythm: a pattern of long and short sounds in music
tempo: how fast or slow the music goes
lullaby: a soft, slow song for helping a baby sleep
drummers: people who play drums
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/keeping-the-beat
Share
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 · 145 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1
Listen to a song you like. Tap your foot. You are tapping the beat. The beat is the steady pulse in music. It is like a ticking clock. It stays the same from start to end.
Rhythm is not the same. Rhythm is the pattern of long and short sounds. It goes with the beat. Some notes last one beat. Some last two beats or more. Some are quick and share one beat. Clap the words of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." You are clapping its rhythm.
Tempo is how fast or slow the beat is. A lullaby has a slow tempo. It feels calm. A marching band has a quick tempo. You feel like moving.
Drummers keep the beat for a band. A drummer may speed up or slow down by accident. Then the others can not stay together. So musicians practice a steady beat.
▲ This passage · 163 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6
Listen to a song you like and tap your foot. You are tapping the beat. The beat is the steady pulse in music, like the ticking of a clock. It stays the same from the start of a song to the end.
Rhythm is different. Rhythm is the pattern of long and short sounds that goes along with the beat. Some notes last for one beat. Some last for two beats or more. Others are quick and share a single beat. When you clap the words of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," you are clapping its rhythm.
Tempo is how fast or slow the beat goes. A lullaby has a slow tempo, so it feels calm. A marching band plays at a quick tempo, so you feel like moving.
Drummers keep the beat for a band. If a drummer speeds up or slows down by accident, the other players have a hard time staying together. That is why musicians practice with a steady beat.
■ Harder · 173 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.3
Listen to a song you enjoy and tap your foot along with it, and you are tapping the beat. The beat is the steady pulse that runs through music, much like the ticking of a clock, and it stays the same from the opening of a song to its end.
Rhythm is something different. Rhythm is the pattern of long and short sounds that accompanies the beat. Certain notes last for one beat, others last for two beats or more, and still others are quick enough to share a single beat. When you clap the words of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," you are clapping its rhythm.
Tempo describes how fast or slow the beat moves. A lullaby has a slow tempo, which makes it feel calm, while a marching band plays at a quick tempo that makes you want to move.
Drummers keep the beat for a band. If a drummer accidentally speeds up or slows down, the other players struggle to stay together, which is why musicians practice with a steady beat.
Listen to a song you like. Tap your foot. You are tapping the beat. The beat is the steady pulse in music. It is like a ticking clock. It stays the same from start to end.
Rhythm is not the same. Rhythm is the pattern of long and short sounds. It goes with the beat. Some notes last one beat. Some last two beats or more. Some are quick and share one beat. Clap the words of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." You are clapping its rhythm.
Tempo is how fast or slow the beat is. A lullaby has a slow tempo. It feels calm. A marching band has a quick tempo. You feel like moving.
Drummers keep the beat for a band. A drummer may speed up or slow down by accident. Then the others can not stay together. So musicians practice a steady beat.
Questions
What is the beat in music?
How is rhythm not the same as the beat?
What is tempo?
Why does a lullaby feel calm?
Why can the others not stay together if the drummer speeds up?
Why would a marching band play at a quick tempo?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Keeping the Beat
Listen to a song you like and tap your foot. You are tapping the beat. The beat is the steady pulse in music, like the ticking of a clock. It stays the same from the start of a song to the end.
Rhythm is different. Rhythm is the pattern of long and short sounds that goes along with the beat. Some notes last for one beat. Some last for two beats or more. Others are quick and share a single beat. When you clap the words of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," you are clapping its rhythm.
Tempo is how fast or slow the beat goes. A lullaby has a slow tempo, so it feels calm. A marching band plays at a quick tempo, so you feel like moving.
Drummers keep the beat for a band. If a drummer speeds up or slows down by accident, the other players have a hard time staying together. That is why musicians practice with a steady beat.
Questions
What is the beat in music?
How is rhythm different from the beat?
What is tempo?
Why does a lullaby feel calm?
Why do the other players have a hard time if the drummer speeds up by accident?
Why might a marching band play at a quick tempo?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Keeping the Beat
Listen to a song you enjoy and tap your foot along with it, and you are tapping the beat. The beat is the steady pulse that runs through music, much like the ticking of a clock, and it stays the same from the opening of a song to its end.
Rhythm is something different. Rhythm is the pattern of long and short sounds that accompanies the beat. Certain notes last for one beat, others last for two beats or more, and still others are quick enough to share a single beat. When you clap the words of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," you are clapping its rhythm.
Tempo describes how fast or slow the beat moves. A lullaby has a slow tempo, which makes it feel calm, while a marching band plays at a quick tempo that makes you want to move.
Drummers keep the beat for a band. If a drummer accidentally speeds up or slows down, the other players struggle to stay together, which is why musicians practice with a steady beat.
Questions
What is the beat in music?
How does rhythm differ from the beat?
What does tempo describe?
What makes a lullaby feel calm?
Why do the other players struggle if the drummer speeds up by accident?
Why might a marching band choose a quick tempo?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Keeping the Beat
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1)
The steady pulse, like a ticking clock.
Rhythm is the pattern of long and short sounds.
How fast or slow the beat is.
It has a slow tempo.
The drummer keeps the beat, so they lose their steady guide.
It makes you feel like moving.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6)
The steady pulse, like the ticking of a clock.
Rhythm is the pattern of long and short sounds that goes along with the beat.
How fast or slow the beat goes.
It has a slow tempo.
The drummer keeps the beat, so the players lose their steady guide and cannot stay together.
A quick tempo makes people feel like moving, which suits marching.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.3)
The steady pulse that runs through a song, like the ticking of a clock.
Rhythm is the pattern of long and short sounds that accompanies the beat.
How fast or slow the beat moves.
Its slow tempo.
The drummer keeps the beat, so the players lose the steady guide they rely on.
A quick tempo makes people want to move, which suits marching.
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 beat, rhythm, tempo, lullaby and drummers 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.
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 163 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.6. 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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