3rd grade nonfiction passage about ancient egyptian writing: 151 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionancient egyptian writing151 words
Paper Made from Reeds on the Nile
Long ago, the people of ancient Egypt wrote on a material called papyrus. It was made from a tall reed that grew along the Nile River.
To make it, workers cut the green stem into thin strips. They laid some strips side by side. Then they laid more strips across the top, going the other way. The strips were pressed flat and left to dry. The juice inside the plant helped hold them together.
When the sheet was dry, a scribe could write on it with a reed pen and ink. Sheets were joined end to end to make a long scroll. A scroll could be rolled up and carried from place to place.
Papyrus was light and easy to store. In the dry air of Egypt, some scrolls lasted for thousands of years. Today we can still read what the scribes wrote. Our word paper comes from the word papyrus.
Questions
What plant was papyrus made from? in the text
How did workers lay the strips of reed? in the text
What did a scribe write with? in the text
What were sheets of papyrus joined to make? in the text
Why could some scrolls last for thousands of years? think about it
Why was a scroll easy to carry from place to place? think about it
Words to know
papyrus
a kind of paper made from a reed plant
reed
a tall grass that grows near water
scribe
a person whose job was to write
scroll
a long sheet of paper that is rolled up
strips
long, thin pieces of something
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Paper Made from Reeds on the Nile
3rd grade reading passage
Long ago, the people of ancient Egypt wrote on a material called papyrus. It was made from a tall reed that grew along the Nile River.
To make it, workers cut the green stem into thin strips. They laid some strips side by side. Then they laid more strips across the top, going the other way. The strips were pressed flat and left to dry. The juice inside the plant helped hold them together.
When the sheet was dry, a scribe could write on it with a reed pen and ink. Sheets were joined end to end to make a long scroll. A scroll could be rolled up and carried from place to place.
Papyrus was light and easy to store. In the dry air of Egypt, some scrolls lasted for thousands of years. Today we can still read what the scribes wrote. Our word paper comes from the word papyrus.
Questions
What plant was papyrus made from?
How did workers lay the strips of reed?
What did a scribe write with?
What were sheets of papyrus joined to make?
Why could some scrolls last for thousands of years?
Why was a scroll easy to carry from place to place?
Words to know
papyrus: a kind of paper made from a reed plant
reed: a tall grass that grows near water
scribe: a person whose job was to write
scroll: a long sheet of paper that is rolled up
strips: long, thin pieces of something
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/papyrus-paper-from-nile-reeds
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 · 114 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.2
Long ago, the people of Egypt wrote on papyrus. It was made from a tall reed. The reed grew by the Nile River.
Workers cut the green stem into thin strips. They laid some strips side by side. Then they laid more strips across the top. The strips were pressed flat and left to dry.
When it was dry, a scribe could write on it. The scribe used a reed pen and ink. Sheets were joined to make a long scroll. A scroll could be rolled up and carried.
Papyrus was light. In dry Egypt, some scrolls lasted for thousands of years. We can still read them today. Our word paper comes from papyrus.
▲ This passage · 151 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.8
Long ago, the people of ancient Egypt wrote on a material called papyrus. It was made from a tall reed that grew along the Nile River.
To make it, workers cut the green stem into thin strips. They laid some strips side by side. Then they laid more strips across the top, going the other way. The strips were pressed flat and left to dry. The juice inside the plant helped hold them together.
When the sheet was dry, a scribe could write on it with a reed pen and ink. Sheets were joined end to end to make a long scroll. A scroll could be rolled up and carried from place to place.
Papyrus was light and easy to store. In the dry air of Egypt, some scrolls lasted for thousands of years. Today we can still read what the scribes wrote. Our word paper comes from the word papyrus.
■ Harder · 168 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.1
Thousands of years ago, the scribes of ancient Egypt wrote on a remarkable material called papyrus. It was made from a tall reed that flourished along the banks of the Nile River.
To produce it, workers sliced the green stem of the reed into thin strips. They arranged some strips side by side, and then they placed a second layer across the top, running in the opposite direction. The layers were pressed flat and left to dry, and the natural juice inside the plant helped hold them together.
Once a sheet was dry, a scribe could write on it with a reed pen and ink. Several sheets were often joined end to end to form a long scroll, which could be rolled up and carried from one place to another.
Papyrus was light and simple to store. In the dry air of Egypt, some scrolls survived for thousands of years, so we can still read what the scribes wrote. Even our word paper comes from the word papyrus.
Long ago, the people of Egypt wrote on papyrus. It was made from a tall reed. The reed grew by the Nile River.
Workers cut the green stem into thin strips. They laid some strips side by side. Then they laid more strips across the top. The strips were pressed flat and left to dry.
When it was dry, a scribe could write on it. The scribe used a reed pen and ink. Sheets were joined to make a long scroll. A scroll could be rolled up and carried.
Papyrus was light. In dry Egypt, some scrolls lasted for thousands of years. We can still read them today. Our word paper comes from papyrus.
Questions
What plant was papyrus made from?
How did workers lay the strips?
What did a scribe write with?
What were sheets joined to make?
Why did some scrolls last for thousands of years?
Why was a scroll easy to carry?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Paper Made from Reeds on the Nile
Long ago, the people of ancient Egypt wrote on a material called papyrus. It was made from a tall reed that grew along the Nile River.
To make it, workers cut the green stem into thin strips. They laid some strips side by side. Then they laid more strips across the top, going the other way. The strips were pressed flat and left to dry. The juice inside the plant helped hold them together.
When the sheet was dry, a scribe could write on it with a reed pen and ink. Sheets were joined end to end to make a long scroll. A scroll could be rolled up and carried from place to place.
Papyrus was light and easy to store. In the dry air of Egypt, some scrolls lasted for thousands of years. Today we can still read what the scribes wrote. Our word paper comes from the word papyrus.
Questions
What plant was papyrus made from?
How did workers lay the strips of reed?
What did a scribe write with?
What were sheets of papyrus joined to make?
Why could some scrolls last for thousands of years?
Why was a scroll easy to carry from place to place?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Paper Made from Reeds on the Nile
Thousands of years ago, the scribes of ancient Egypt wrote on a remarkable material called papyrus. It was made from a tall reed that flourished along the banks of the Nile River.
To produce it, workers sliced the green stem of the reed into thin strips. They arranged some strips side by side, and then they placed a second layer across the top, running in the opposite direction. The layers were pressed flat and left to dry, and the natural juice inside the plant helped hold them together.
Once a sheet was dry, a scribe could write on it with a reed pen and ink. Several sheets were often joined end to end to form a long scroll, which could be rolled up and carried from one place to another.
Papyrus was light and simple to store. In the dry air of Egypt, some scrolls survived for thousands of years, so we can still read what the scribes wrote. Even our word paper comes from the word papyrus.
Questions
What plant was papyrus made from?
How did workers arrange the strips of reed?
What did a scribe write with?
What were several sheets joined end to end to form?
Why were some scrolls able to survive for thousands of years?
Why was a scroll convenient to carry from place to place?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Paper Made from Reeds on the Nile
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.2)
A tall reed that grew by the Nile River.
Some side by side, and then more across the top.
A reed pen and ink.
A long scroll.
The air in Egypt is very dry.
Papyrus was light, and a scroll could be rolled up.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.8)
A tall reed that grew along the Nile River.
Some side by side, and then more across the top going the other way.
A reed pen and ink.
A long scroll.
The air in Egypt is very dry.
Papyrus was light, and a scroll could be rolled up.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.1)
A tall reed that grew along the banks of the Nile River.
Some side by side, with a second layer across the top running the opposite way.
A reed pen and ink.
A long scroll.
The air in Egypt is very dry.
Papyrus was light, and a scroll could be rolled up.
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 papyrus, reed, scribe, scroll and strips 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 "Paper Made from Reeds on the Nile"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 151 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. 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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