3rd grade nonfiction passage about storm drains and clean water: 161 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionstorm drains and clean water161 words
Only Rain Belongs in the Storm Drain
Look down at the edge of a street. You may see a metal grate in the curb. That is a storm drain. When it rains, water runs along the street and falls through the grate.
Where does the water go? In many towns, a storm drain leads to pipes that empty into a creek, a river or a lake. The water does not always get cleaned first. That is why a drain is only meant for rain.
If someone pours paint or oil down a drain, it can end up in the creek. It can harm the fish and plants that live there. Leaves and trash can also pile up and block the grate. Then rain has no place to go, and a big puddle grows on the street.
Some towns have rules to protect their drains. A few paint a small picture of a fish near the grate. It is a reminder to keep the water clean for everyone downstream.
Questions
What is a storm drain? in the text
Where does the water from a storm drain often go? in the text
What can happen if paint is poured down a drain? in the text
What can happen when leaves block a grate? in the text
Why might a town paint a fish near a storm drain? think about it
Why do you think some towns make rules about what goes down a drain? think about it
Words to know
grate
a metal cover with slots in it
curb
the raised edge along the side of a street
creek
a small stream of water
downstream
farther along in the direction a river flows
reminder
something that helps you remember
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Only Rain Belongs in the Storm Drain
3rd grade reading passage
Look down at the edge of a street. You may see a metal grate in the curb. That is a storm drain. When it rains, water runs along the street and falls through the grate.
Where does the water go? In many towns, a storm drain leads to pipes that empty into a creek, a river or a lake. The water does not always get cleaned first. That is why a drain is only meant for rain.
If someone pours paint or oil down a drain, it can end up in the creek. It can harm the fish and plants that live there. Leaves and trash can also pile up and block the grate. Then rain has no place to go, and a big puddle grows on the street.
Some towns have rules to protect their drains. A few paint a small picture of a fish near the grate. It is a reminder to keep the water clean for everyone downstream.
Questions
What is a storm drain?
Where does the water from a storm drain often go?
What can happen if paint is poured down a drain?
What can happen when leaves block a grate?
Why might a town paint a fish near a storm drain?
Why do you think some towns make rules about what goes down a drain?
Words to know
grate: a metal cover with slots in it
curb: the raised edge along the side of a street
creek: a small stream of water
downstream: farther along in the direction a river flows
reminder: something that helps you remember
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/only-rain-belongs-in-the-storm-drain
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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 · 120 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.8
Look at the edge of a street. You may see a metal grate. This is a storm drain. When it rains, water runs down the street and through the grate.
Where does the water go? In many towns, it goes into pipes. The pipes lead to a creek, a river or a lake. The water is not always cleaned first. So a drain is only for rain.
Paint or oil in a drain can end up in the creek. It can hurt the fish and plants. Leaves and trash can block the grate. Then the rain cannot go down, and a big puddle grows.
Some towns paint a fish near the grate. It reminds people to keep the water clean.
▲ This passage · 161 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.2
Look down at the edge of a street. You may see a metal grate in the curb. That is a storm drain. When it rains, water runs along the street and falls through the grate.
Where does the water go? In many towns, a storm drain leads to pipes that empty into a creek, a river or a lake. The water does not always get cleaned first. That is why a drain is only meant for rain.
If someone pours paint or oil down a drain, it can end up in the creek. It can harm the fish and plants that live there. Leaves and trash can also pile up and block the grate. Then rain has no place to go, and a big puddle grows on the street.
Some towns have rules to protect their drains. A few paint a small picture of a fish near the grate. It is a reminder to keep the water clean for everyone downstream.
■ Harder · 176 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.6
Look down at the edge of almost any street, and you may notice a metal grate set into the curb. That grate is a storm drain. When it rains, water streams along the street and pours through the openings.
Where does all that water travel? In many towns, a storm drain connects to underground pipes that empty into a creek, a river or a lake. The water is not always cleaned before it arrives, which is why a drain is meant to carry only rain.
If someone pours paint or oil into a drain, those liquids can flow into the creek and harm the fish and plants that live there. Fallen leaves and loose trash can also pile up and clog the grate. When that happens, the rain has nowhere to go, and a large puddle spreads across the street.
To protect their drains, some towns have rules about what may go into them. A few towns even paint a small fish beside the grate as a reminder to keep the water clean for everyone downstream.
Look at the edge of a street. You may see a metal grate. This is a storm drain. When it rains, water runs down the street and through the grate.
Where does the water go? In many towns, it goes into pipes. The pipes lead to a creek, a river or a lake. The water is not always cleaned first. So a drain is only for rain.
Paint or oil in a drain can end up in the creek. It can hurt the fish and plants. Leaves and trash can block the grate. Then the rain cannot go down, and a big puddle grows.
Some towns paint a fish near the grate. It reminds people to keep the water clean.
Questions
What is a storm drain?
Where does the water often go?
What can paint in a drain do?
What can happen if leaves block a grate?
Why might a town paint a fish by a drain?
Why do some towns make rules about drains?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Only Rain Belongs in the Storm Drain
Look down at the edge of a street. You may see a metal grate in the curb. That is a storm drain. When it rains, water runs along the street and falls through the grate.
Where does the water go? In many towns, a storm drain leads to pipes that empty into a creek, a river or a lake. The water does not always get cleaned first. That is why a drain is only meant for rain.
If someone pours paint or oil down a drain, it can end up in the creek. It can harm the fish and plants that live there. Leaves and trash can also pile up and block the grate. Then rain has no place to go, and a big puddle grows on the street.
Some towns have rules to protect their drains. A few paint a small picture of a fish near the grate. It is a reminder to keep the water clean for everyone downstream.
Questions
What is a storm drain?
Where does the water from a storm drain often go?
What can happen if paint is poured down a drain?
What can happen when leaves block a grate?
Why might a town paint a fish near a storm drain?
Why do you think some towns make rules about what goes down a drain?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Only Rain Belongs in the Storm Drain
Look down at the edge of almost any street, and you may notice a metal grate set into the curb. That grate is a storm drain. When it rains, water streams along the street and pours through the openings.
Where does all that water travel? In many towns, a storm drain connects to underground pipes that empty into a creek, a river or a lake. The water is not always cleaned before it arrives, which is why a drain is meant to carry only rain.
If someone pours paint or oil into a drain, those liquids can flow into the creek and harm the fish and plants that live there. Fallen leaves and loose trash can also pile up and clog the grate. When that happens, the rain has nowhere to go, and a large puddle spreads across the street.
To protect their drains, some towns have rules about what may go into them. A few towns even paint a small fish beside the grate as a reminder to keep the water clean for everyone downstream.
Questions
What is a storm drain?
Where does the water from a storm drain often end up?
What can happen if someone pours paint into a drain?
What happens when leaves and trash clog a grate?
Why might a town paint a fish beside a storm drain?
Why might a town create rules about what goes into drains?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Only Rain Belongs in the Storm Drain
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.8)
A metal grate at the edge of a street that lets rain water go down.
To a creek, a river or a lake.
It can end up in the creek and hurt the fish and plants.
The rain cannot go down, and a big puddle grows.
To remind people the drain leads to water where fish live.
Rules help keep the water clean for everyone.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.2)
A metal grate at the edge of a street that lets rain water run down into pipes.
To a creek, a river or a lake.
It can end up in the creek and harm the fish and plants.
The rain has no place to go, so a big puddle grows on the street.
To remind people that the drain leads to water where fish live, so they should keep it clean.
Rules help protect the water that everyone shares.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.6)
A metal grate set into the curb that lets rain water flow into pipes.
In a creek, a river or a lake.
It can flow into the creek and harm the fish and plants.
The rain has nowhere to go, and a large puddle spreads across the street.
To remind people the drain leads to water where fish live, so they should keep it clean.
Rules protect the water that everyone shares.
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 grate, curb, creek, downstream and reminder 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.
What reading level is "Only Rain Belongs in the Storm Drain"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 161 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.2. 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?
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