3rd grade nonfiction passage about rocket stages: 190 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionrocket stages190 words
Rocket Stages Drop Away Like Empty Boxes
A rocket has to carry a lot of fuel to reach space. Most of the rocket is just fuel tanks. The rocket burns the fuel very fast, and the weight of the fuel is a big problem. Every pound the rocket carries makes it harder to climb.
Engineers came up with a smart solution. They build a rocket in parts, called stages. The first stage sits at the bottom. It has the biggest engines and the most fuel. It lifts the whole rocket off the ground and pushes it up through the thick air.
When the first stage runs out of fuel, it is empty and heavy. So it lets go and falls away. Now the rest of the rocket is lighter. The second stage lights its own engines and keeps going.
It is like carrying a stack of boxes. If you drop each empty box when you are done with it, your load gets lighter and lighter. A lighter rocket can speed up faster.
For many years, stages fell into the sea and were lost. Today some stages can turn around and land gently. Then they can fly again.
Questions
What do most of a rocket's tanks hold? in the text
What are the parts of a rocket called? in the text
What does the first stage do? in the text
What happens to the first stage when its fuel runs out? in the text
What can some stages do today? in the text
Why does dropping an empty stage help the rocket go faster? think about it
Words to know
fuel
something burned to make power
stages
the separate parts of a rocket that work one after another
engineers
people who design and build machines
engines
machines that push something forward
load
the weight that something carries
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Rocket Stages Drop Away Like Empty Boxes
3rd grade reading passage
A rocket has to carry a lot of fuel to reach space. Most of the rocket is just fuel tanks. The rocket burns the fuel very fast, and the weight of the fuel is a big problem. Every pound the rocket carries makes it harder to climb.
Engineers came up with a smart solution. They build a rocket in parts, called stages. The first stage sits at the bottom. It has the biggest engines and the most fuel. It lifts the whole rocket off the ground and pushes it up through the thick air.
When the first stage runs out of fuel, it is empty and heavy. So it lets go and falls away. Now the rest of the rocket is lighter. The second stage lights its own engines and keeps going.
It is like carrying a stack of boxes. If you drop each empty box when you are done with it, your load gets lighter and lighter. A lighter rocket can speed up faster.
For many years, stages fell into the sea and were lost. Today some stages can turn around and land gently. Then they can fly again.
Questions
What do most of a rocket's tanks hold?
What are the parts of a rocket called?
What does the first stage do?
What happens to the first stage when its fuel runs out?
What can some stages do today?
Why does dropping an empty stage help the rocket go faster?
Words to know
fuel: something burned to make power
stages: the separate parts of a rocket that work one after another
engineers: people who design and build machines
engines: machines that push something forward
load: the weight that something carries
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/rocket-stages-drop-away
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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 · 174 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6
A rocket must carry a lot of fuel to reach space. Most of a rocket is fuel tanks. The rocket burns fuel very fast. The weight of the fuel is a big problem. Every pound makes it harder to climb.
Engineers had a smart idea. They build a rocket in parts called stages. The first stage is at the bottom. It has the biggest engines and the most fuel. It lifts the whole rocket off the ground. It pushes it up through the thick air.
When the first stage runs out of fuel, it is empty and heavy. So it lets go and falls away. Now the rocket is lighter. The second stage lights its own engines and keeps going.
It is like carrying a stack of boxes. You drop each empty box when you are done. Your load gets lighter and lighter. A lighter rocket can speed up faster.
For many years, stages fell in the sea and were lost. Today some stages turn around and land gently. Then they can fly again.
▲ This passage · 190 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3
A rocket has to carry a lot of fuel to reach space. Most of the rocket is just fuel tanks. The rocket burns the fuel very fast, and the weight of the fuel is a big problem. Every pound the rocket carries makes it harder to climb.
Engineers came up with a smart solution. They build a rocket in parts, called stages. The first stage sits at the bottom. It has the biggest engines and the most fuel. It lifts the whole rocket off the ground and pushes it up through the thick air.
When the first stage runs out of fuel, it is empty and heavy. So it lets go and falls away. Now the rest of the rocket is lighter. The second stage lights its own engines and keeps going.
It is like carrying a stack of boxes. If you drop each empty box when you are done with it, your load gets lighter and lighter. A lighter rocket can speed up faster.
For many years, stages fell into the sea and were lost. Today some stages can turn around and land gently. Then they can fly again.
■ Harder · 203 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.6
To escape Earth's pull and reach space, a rocket must carry an enormous quantity of fuel. In fact, most of a rocket is nothing but fuel tanks. The rocket burns this fuel at a tremendous rate, and the weight of the fuel creates a serious problem, since every extra pound makes the climb harder.
Engineers devised an ingenious solution: they build a rocket in sections, called stages. The first stage sits at the bottom and holds the biggest engines and the most fuel. It lifts the entire rocket off the ground and drives it upward through the thick air.
Once the first stage has used up its fuel, it is empty and heavy, so it separates and falls away. The remainder of the rocket is now much lighter. The second stage ignites its own engines and continues the journey.
It is like carrying a tall stack of boxes. If you discard each empty box as soon as you are finished with it, your load grows lighter and lighter. A lighter rocket is able to accelerate faster.
For many years, discarded stages fell into the sea and were lost. Today some stages can turn around and land gently, so that they can fly again.
A rocket must carry a lot of fuel to reach space. Most of a rocket is fuel tanks. The rocket burns fuel very fast. The weight of the fuel is a big problem. Every pound makes it harder to climb.
Engineers had a smart idea. They build a rocket in parts called stages. The first stage is at the bottom. It has the biggest engines and the most fuel. It lifts the whole rocket off the ground. It pushes it up through the thick air.
When the first stage runs out of fuel, it is empty and heavy. So it lets go and falls away. Now the rocket is lighter. The second stage lights its own engines and keeps going.
It is like carrying a stack of boxes. You drop each empty box when you are done. Your load gets lighter and lighter. A lighter rocket can speed up faster.
For many years, stages fell in the sea and were lost. Today some stages turn around and land gently. Then they can fly again.
Questions
What do most of a rocket's tanks hold?
What are the parts of a rocket called?
What does the first stage do?
What happens to the first stage when it runs out of fuel?
What can some stages do today?
Why does dropping an empty stage help the rocket?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Rocket Stages Drop Away Like Empty Boxes
A rocket has to carry a lot of fuel to reach space. Most of the rocket is just fuel tanks. The rocket burns the fuel very fast, and the weight of the fuel is a big problem. Every pound the rocket carries makes it harder to climb.
Engineers came up with a smart solution. They build a rocket in parts, called stages. The first stage sits at the bottom. It has the biggest engines and the most fuel. It lifts the whole rocket off the ground and pushes it up through the thick air.
When the first stage runs out of fuel, it is empty and heavy. So it lets go and falls away. Now the rest of the rocket is lighter. The second stage lights its own engines and keeps going.
It is like carrying a stack of boxes. If you drop each empty box when you are done with it, your load gets lighter and lighter. A lighter rocket can speed up faster.
For many years, stages fell into the sea and were lost. Today some stages can turn around and land gently. Then they can fly again.
Questions
What do most of a rocket's tanks hold?
What are the parts of a rocket called?
What does the first stage do?
What happens to the first stage when its fuel runs out?
What can some stages do today?
Why does dropping an empty stage help the rocket go faster?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Rocket Stages Drop Away Like Empty Boxes
To escape Earth's pull and reach space, a rocket must carry an enormous quantity of fuel. In fact, most of a rocket is nothing but fuel tanks. The rocket burns this fuel at a tremendous rate, and the weight of the fuel creates a serious problem, since every extra pound makes the climb harder.
Engineers devised an ingenious solution: they build a rocket in sections, called stages. The first stage sits at the bottom and holds the biggest engines and the most fuel. It lifts the entire rocket off the ground and drives it upward through the thick air.
Once the first stage has used up its fuel, it is empty and heavy, so it separates and falls away. The remainder of the rocket is now much lighter. The second stage ignites its own engines and continues the journey.
It is like carrying a tall stack of boxes. If you discard each empty box as soon as you are finished with it, your load grows lighter and lighter. A lighter rocket is able to accelerate faster.
For many years, discarded stages fell into the sea and were lost. Today some stages can turn around and land gently, so that they can fly again.
Questions
What do most of a rocket's tanks contain?
What are the sections of a rocket called?
What does the first stage do?
What happens to the first stage once its fuel is used up?
What are some stages able to do today?
Why does discarding an empty stage help the rocket go faster?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Rocket Stages Drop Away Like Empty Boxes
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6)
Fuel.
Stages.
It lifts the rocket off the ground and pushes it up through the thick air.
It lets go and falls away.
Land gently and fly again.
The rocket is lighter, so it can speed up more easily.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3)
Fuel.
Stages.
It lifts the whole rocket off the ground and pushes it up through the thick air.
It lets go and falls away.
Land gently and fly again.
The rest of the rocket is lighter, so it can speed up more easily.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.6)
Fuel.
Stages.
It lifts the entire rocket off the ground and drives it up through the thick air.
It separates and falls away.
Land gently so that they can fly again.
The rest of the rocket is lighter, so it can accelerate more easily.
Free at teach.peabody.kids
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Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.
Ideas for class
Before reading, put fuel, stages, engineers, engines and load 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 "Rocket Stages Drop Away Like Empty Boxes"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 190 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.3. 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.
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