3rd grade nonfiction passage about how revolving doors work: 165 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionhow revolving doors work165 words
Why a Revolving Door Keeps the Wind Out
On a freezing day, a regular door lets a rush of cold air into a building every time someone walks in. A revolving door was made to solve that problem.
A revolving door has three or four walls, called wings, that turn around a pole in the middle. The wings sit inside a round room with glass sides. As a person pushes on a wing, the whole door turns. Other people can enter on the other side at the same time.
The trick is that the wings are always touching the round wall. At every moment, at least one wing is blocking the way. This means the air outside cannot rush straight through to the inside.
That keeps warm air in during the winter. In the summer, it keeps cool air from leaking out of a building that has air conditioning. Less heating and cooling is wasted.
A revolving door works best if you walk at a steady pace and do not push too hard.
Questions
What problem was the revolving door made to solve? in the text
What are the walls of a revolving door called? in the text
What do the wings turn around? in the text
Why can air not rush straight through a revolving door? in the text
What does a revolving door do for a building in the summer? in the text
Why might a store with a revolving door spend less money on heating? think about it
Words to know
revolving
turning around a center point
wings
the flat walls that turn inside a revolving door
pole
a long, thin, straight post
blocking
getting in the way so nothing can pass
leaking
slowly getting out through a small gap
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Why a Revolving Door Keeps the Wind Out
3rd grade reading passage
On a freezing day, a regular door lets a rush of cold air into a building every time someone walks in. A revolving door was made to solve that problem.
A revolving door has three or four walls, called wings, that turn around a pole in the middle. The wings sit inside a round room with glass sides. As a person pushes on a wing, the whole door turns. Other people can enter on the other side at the same time.
The trick is that the wings are always touching the round wall. At every moment, at least one wing is blocking the way. This means the air outside cannot rush straight through to the inside.
That keeps warm air in during the winter. In the summer, it keeps cool air from leaking out of a building that has air conditioning. Less heating and cooling is wasted.
A revolving door works best if you walk at a steady pace and do not push too hard.
Questions
What problem was the revolving door made to solve?
What are the walls of a revolving door called?
What do the wings turn around?
Why can air not rush straight through a revolving door?
What does a revolving door do for a building in the summer?
Why might a store with a revolving door spend less money on heating?
Words to know
revolving: turning around a center point
wings: the flat walls that turn inside a revolving door
pole: a long, thin, straight post
blocking: getting in the way so nothing can pass
leaking: slowly getting out through a small gap
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/revolving-door-keeps-wind-out
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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 · 131 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2
It is a freezing day. A regular door lets cold air in each time it opens. A revolving door fixes that.
A revolving door has three or four walls. They are called wings. The wings turn around a pole in the middle. They sit in a round room with glass sides. A person pushes a wing, and the door turns. Other people can walk in on the other side.
Here is the trick. The wings touch the round wall. At all times, one wing blocks the way. Air from outside cannot rush straight in.
So warm air stays in during winter. In summer, cool air stays in a building with air conditioning. Less heat and cool air is wasted.
A revolving door works best when you walk at a steady pace.
▲ This passage · 165 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.7
On a freezing day, a regular door lets a rush of cold air into a building every time someone walks in. A revolving door was made to solve that problem.
A revolving door has three or four walls, called wings, that turn around a pole in the middle. The wings sit inside a round room with glass sides. As a person pushes on a wing, the whole door turns. Other people can enter on the other side at the same time.
The trick is that the wings are always touching the round wall. At every moment, at least one wing is blocking the way. This means the air outside cannot rush straight through to the inside.
That keeps warm air in during the winter. In the summer, it keeps cool air from leaking out of a building that has air conditioning. Less heating and cooling is wasted.
A revolving door works best if you walk at a steady pace and do not push too hard.
■ Harder · 175 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.7
On a bitterly cold day, an ordinary door allows a rush of freezing air to pour into a building each time someone walks through. The revolving door was designed to solve exactly that problem.
A revolving door has three or four walls, known as wings, which turn around a pole in the center. The wings sit inside a round chamber with glass sides. As one person pushes against a wing, the entire door rotates, and other people can enter from the opposite side at the very same moment.
The clever part is that the wings always touch the curved wall. At every instant, at least one wing is blocking the opening, so the air outside can never rush straight through to the inside.
As a result, warm air remains inside during the winter. In the summer, cool air is kept from leaking out of a building that has air conditioning, and far less heating and cooling is wasted.
A revolving door works best when people walk at a steady pace and avoid pushing too hard.
It is a freezing day. A regular door lets cold air in each time it opens. A revolving door fixes that.
A revolving door has three or four walls. They are called wings. The wings turn around a pole in the middle. They sit in a round room with glass sides. A person pushes a wing, and the door turns. Other people can walk in on the other side.
Here is the trick. The wings touch the round wall. At all times, one wing blocks the way. Air from outside cannot rush straight in.
So warm air stays in during winter. In summer, cool air stays in a building with air conditioning. Less heat and cool air is wasted.
A revolving door works best when you walk at a steady pace.
Questions
What problem does a revolving door fix?
What are the walls of a revolving door called?
What do the wings turn around?
Why can air not rush straight through?
What does a revolving door do in summer?
Why might a store with a revolving door spend less on heating?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Why a Revolving Door Keeps the Wind Out
On a freezing day, a regular door lets a rush of cold air into a building every time someone walks in. A revolving door was made to solve that problem.
A revolving door has three or four walls, called wings, that turn around a pole in the middle. The wings sit inside a round room with glass sides. As a person pushes on a wing, the whole door turns. Other people can enter on the other side at the same time.
The trick is that the wings are always touching the round wall. At every moment, at least one wing is blocking the way. This means the air outside cannot rush straight through to the inside.
That keeps warm air in during the winter. In the summer, it keeps cool air from leaking out of a building that has air conditioning. Less heating and cooling is wasted.
A revolving door works best if you walk at a steady pace and do not push too hard.
Questions
What problem was the revolving door made to solve?
What are the walls of a revolving door called?
What do the wings turn around?
Why can air not rush straight through a revolving door?
What does a revolving door do for a building in the summer?
Why might a store with a revolving door spend less money on heating?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Why a Revolving Door Keeps the Wind Out
On a bitterly cold day, an ordinary door allows a rush of freezing air to pour into a building each time someone walks through. The revolving door was designed to solve exactly that problem.
A revolving door has three or four walls, known as wings, which turn around a pole in the center. The wings sit inside a round chamber with glass sides. As one person pushes against a wing, the entire door rotates, and other people can enter from the opposite side at the very same moment.
The clever part is that the wings always touch the curved wall. At every instant, at least one wing is blocking the opening, so the air outside can never rush straight through to the inside.
As a result, warm air remains inside during the winter. In the summer, cool air is kept from leaking out of a building that has air conditioning, and far less heating and cooling is wasted.
A revolving door works best when people walk at a steady pace and avoid pushing too hard.
Questions
What problem was the revolving door designed to solve?
What are the walls of a revolving door called?
What do the wings turn around?
Why can the outside air never rush straight through the door?
What does a revolving door do for an air conditioned building in the summer?
Why might a store with a revolving door spend less money on heating?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Why a Revolving Door Keeps the Wind Out
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2)
Cold air rushing in when a regular door opens.
Wings.
A pole in the middle.
One wing is always blocking the way.
It keeps cool air in the building.
Less warm air gets out, so less heat is wasted.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.7)
Cold air rushing in every time someone opens a regular door.
Wings.
A pole in the middle.
At every moment at least one wing is blocking the way.
It keeps cool air from leaking out.
Less warm air escapes, so less heat is wasted.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.7)
Freezing air rushing in every time someone walks through an ordinary door.
Wings.
A pole in the center.
At every instant at least one wing is blocking the opening.
It keeps cool air from leaking out.
Less warm air escapes, so less heat is wasted.
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 revolving, wings, pole, blocking and leaking 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 "Why a Revolving Door Keeps the Wind Out"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 165 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.7. 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?
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