3rd grade nonfiction passage about water mills that grind grain: 156 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionwater mills that grind grain156 words
The Old Mill and Its Giant Water Wheel
Before there were big machines, people had to crush grain by hand to make flour. It took a lot of time and hard work. Then people built mills that used the power of moving water.
A mill was built next to a stream. A big wooden wheel stood at its side, with paddles around the rim. When the stream flowed, the water pushed on the paddles and made the wheel turn.
The turning wheel was joined to a thick wooden pole inside the mill. The pole turned a set of gears, and the gears turned two heavy, round stones. These were called millstones. The top stone spun on the bottom stone.
The miller poured grain between the stones. The stones crushed it into flour, which poured out below. Then the flour was put into sacks and sold to bakers and families.
A water mill needs no fuel. It only needs a stream that keeps on flowing.
Questions
How did people make flour before there were big machines? in the text
Where was a water mill built? in the text
What made the big wooden wheel turn? in the text
What were the two heavy, round stones called? in the text
What did the stones do to the grain? in the text
What would happen to a water mill if its stream dried up? think about it
Words to know
grain
small hard seeds from plants like wheat
paddles
flat boards that push against water
gears
wheels with teeth that fit together and turn each other
miller
a person who works in a mill and grinds grain
fuel
something burned to make power, like wood or oil
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Old Mill and Its Giant Water Wheel
3rd grade reading passage
Before there were big machines, people had to crush grain by hand to make flour. It took a lot of time and hard work. Then people built mills that used the power of moving water.
A mill was built next to a stream. A big wooden wheel stood at its side, with paddles around the rim. When the stream flowed, the water pushed on the paddles and made the wheel turn.
The turning wheel was joined to a thick wooden pole inside the mill. The pole turned a set of gears, and the gears turned two heavy, round stones. These were called millstones. The top stone spun on the bottom stone.
The miller poured grain between the stones. The stones crushed it into flour, which poured out below. Then the flour was put into sacks and sold to bakers and families.
A water mill needs no fuel. It only needs a stream that keeps on flowing.
Questions
How did people make flour before there were big machines?
Where was a water mill built?
What made the big wooden wheel turn?
What were the two heavy, round stones called?
What did the stones do to the grain?
What would happen to a water mill if its stream dried up?
Words to know
grain: small hard seeds from plants like wheat
paddles: flat boards that push against water
gears: wheels with teeth that fit together and turn each other
miller: a person who works in a mill and grinds grain
fuel: something burned to make power, like wood or oil
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/old-mill-giant-water-wheel
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 · 136 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.1
Long ago, there were no big machines. People crushed grain by hand to make flour. It took a lot of time. Then people built mills. A mill used moving water for power.
A mill sat next to a stream. A big wooden wheel stood at its side. It had paddles around the rim. The stream pushed on the paddles. The wheel turned.
The wheel was joined to a thick pole inside the mill. The pole turned gears. The gears turned two heavy, round stones. They were called millstones. The top stone spun on the bottom one.
The miller poured grain between the stones. The stones crushed it into flour. The flour poured out below. It went into sacks. Bakers and families bought it.
A water mill needs no fuel. It needs a stream that keeps flowing.
▲ This passage · 156 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.8
Before there were big machines, people had to crush grain by hand to make flour. It took a lot of time and hard work. Then people built mills that used the power of moving water.
A mill was built next to a stream. A big wooden wheel stood at its side, with paddles around the rim. When the stream flowed, the water pushed on the paddles and made the wheel turn.
The turning wheel was joined to a thick wooden pole inside the mill. The pole turned a set of gears, and the gears turned two heavy, round stones. These were called millstones. The top stone spun on the bottom stone.
The miller poured grain between the stones. The stones crushed it into flour, which poured out below. Then the flour was put into sacks and sold to bakers and families.
A water mill needs no fuel. It only needs a stream that keeps on flowing.
■ Harder · 163 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.1
Before the invention of large machines, people had to crush grain by hand in order to make flour, which demanded a great deal of time and effort. Eventually, people constructed mills that harnessed the power of moving water.
A mill was built beside a stream, with an enormous wooden wheel standing at its side and paddles fastened around the rim. As the stream flowed, the water pushed against the paddles and forced the wheel to turn.
The turning wheel was connected to a thick wooden pole inside the mill. The pole drove a set of gears, and the gears turned two heavy, round stones called millstones. The upper stone spun on top of the lower one.
The miller poured grain between the stones, which crushed it into flour that spilled out below. The flour was then packed into sacks and sold to bakers and families.
A water mill requires no fuel at all. All it needs is a stream that continues to flow.
Long ago, there were no big machines. People crushed grain by hand to make flour. It took a lot of time. Then people built mills. A mill used moving water for power.
A mill sat next to a stream. A big wooden wheel stood at its side. It had paddles around the rim. The stream pushed on the paddles. The wheel turned.
The wheel was joined to a thick pole inside the mill. The pole turned gears. The gears turned two heavy, round stones. They were called millstones. The top stone spun on the bottom one.
The miller poured grain between the stones. The stones crushed it into flour. The flour poured out below. It went into sacks. Bakers and families bought it.
A water mill needs no fuel. It needs a stream that keeps flowing.
Questions
How did people make flour before big machines?
Where was a water mill built?
What made the big wheel turn?
What were the two heavy, round stones called?
What did the stones do to the grain?
What would happen if the stream dried up?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Old Mill and Its Giant Water Wheel
Before there were big machines, people had to crush grain by hand to make flour. It took a lot of time and hard work. Then people built mills that used the power of moving water.
A mill was built next to a stream. A big wooden wheel stood at its side, with paddles around the rim. When the stream flowed, the water pushed on the paddles and made the wheel turn.
The turning wheel was joined to a thick wooden pole inside the mill. The pole turned a set of gears, and the gears turned two heavy, round stones. These were called millstones. The top stone spun on the bottom stone.
The miller poured grain between the stones. The stones crushed it into flour, which poured out below. Then the flour was put into sacks and sold to bakers and families.
A water mill needs no fuel. It only needs a stream that keeps on flowing.
Questions
How did people make flour before there were big machines?
Where was a water mill built?
What made the big wooden wheel turn?
What were the two heavy, round stones called?
What did the stones do to the grain?
What would happen to a water mill if its stream dried up?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Old Mill and Its Giant Water Wheel
Before the invention of large machines, people had to crush grain by hand in order to make flour, which demanded a great deal of time and effort. Eventually, people constructed mills that harnessed the power of moving water.
A mill was built beside a stream, with an enormous wooden wheel standing at its side and paddles fastened around the rim. As the stream flowed, the water pushed against the paddles and forced the wheel to turn.
The turning wheel was connected to a thick wooden pole inside the mill. The pole drove a set of gears, and the gears turned two heavy, round stones called millstones. The upper stone spun on top of the lower one.
The miller poured grain between the stones, which crushed it into flour that spilled out below. The flour was then packed into sacks and sold to bakers and families.
A water mill requires no fuel at all. All it needs is a stream that continues to flow.
Questions
How did people make flour before the invention of large machines?
Where was a water mill built?
What forced the enormous wooden wheel to turn?
What were the two heavy, round stones called?
What did the stones do to the grain?
What would happen to a water mill if its stream dried up?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Old Mill and Its Giant Water Wheel
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.1)
They crushed grain by hand.
Next to a stream.
The stream pushed on the paddles around its rim.
Millstones.
They crushed it into flour.
The wheel would stop, and the mill could not grind grain.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.8)
They crushed grain by hand.
Next to a stream.
The water pushed on the paddles around its rim.
Millstones.
They crushed it into flour.
The wheel would stop turning, so the mill could not grind grain.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.1)
They crushed grain by hand.
Beside a stream.
The water pushed against the paddles around its rim.
Millstones.
They crushed it into flour.
The wheel would stop turning, so the mill could no longer grind grain.
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 grain, paddles, gears, miller and fuel 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.
What reading level is "The Old Mill and Its Giant Water Wheel"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 156 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.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.