3rd grade nonfiction passage about stage lighting: 151 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionstage lighting151 words
Painting a Stage with Light
At a play, the lights do more than help you see. They tell you how to feel. A lighting operator picks the lights for every scene.
Suppose a scene happens at night. The operator might use a deep blue light and make it dim. The stage looks quiet and cool. Now suppose the scene is a sunny morning. She uses a warm, bright yellow light, and the stage looks cheerful.
Where do the colors come from? Often, a thin sheet of colored plastic sits in front of a bright lamp. The light passes through the sheet and takes on its color.
The operator follows a list called cues. A cue tells her when to change the lights, such as when an actor walks on stage. She sits at a control board and moves sliders to make the lights get bright or dim.
Because of her work, the audience feels the story.
Questions
Who picks the lights for each scene? in the text
What kind of light might she use for a night scene? in the text
How does light get its color? in the text
What is a cue? in the text
Why does a sunny morning scene get a warm yellow light? think about it
How do the lights help the audience feel the story? think about it
Words to know
operator
a person who runs a machine or a set of controls
dim
not very bright
cheerful
happy and full of good feeling
cues
signals that tell when to do the next thing
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Painting a Stage with Light
3rd grade reading passage
At a play, the lights do more than help you see. They tell you how to feel. A lighting operator picks the lights for every scene.
Suppose a scene happens at night. The operator might use a deep blue light and make it dim. The stage looks quiet and cool. Now suppose the scene is a sunny morning. She uses a warm, bright yellow light, and the stage looks cheerful.
Where do the colors come from? Often, a thin sheet of colored plastic sits in front of a bright lamp. The light passes through the sheet and takes on its color.
The operator follows a list called cues. A cue tells her when to change the lights, such as when an actor walks on stage. She sits at a control board and moves sliders to make the lights get bright or dim.
Because of her work, the audience feels the story.
Questions
Who picks the lights for each scene?
What kind of light might she use for a night scene?
How does light get its color?
What is a cue?
Why does a sunny morning scene get a warm yellow light?
How do the lights help the audience feel the story?
Words to know
operator: a person who runs a machine or a set of controls
dim: not very bright
cheerful: happy and full of good feeling
cues: signals that tell when to do the next thing
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/stage-lights-paint-the-mood
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 · 145 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.3
At a play, lights do more than help you see. They show you how to feel. A lighting operator picks the lights for each scene.
Say a scene is at night. The operator may use a deep blue light and make it dim. The stage looks quiet and cool. Now say the scene is a sunny morning. She uses a warm yellow light. The stage looks cheerful.
Where do the colors come from? A thin sheet of colored plastic sits in front of a bright lamp. The light goes through the sheet. It takes on the color.
The operator follows a list of cues. A cue says when to change the lights. It may be when an actor walks on stage. She sits at a control board. She moves sliders to make the lights bright or dim.
Her work helps the audience feel the story.
▲ This passage · 151 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.8
At a play, the lights do more than help you see. They tell you how to feel. A lighting operator picks the lights for every scene.
Suppose a scene happens at night. The operator might use a deep blue light and make it dim. The stage looks quiet and cool. Now suppose the scene is a sunny morning. She uses a warm, bright yellow light, and the stage looks cheerful.
Where do the colors come from? Often, a thin sheet of colored plastic sits in front of a bright lamp. The light passes through the sheet and takes on its color.
The operator follows a list called cues. A cue tells her when to change the lights, such as when an actor walks on stage. She sits at a control board and moves sliders to make the lights get bright or dim.
Because of her work, the audience feels the story.
■ Harder · 173 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.7
At a play, the lighting does far more than help the audience see the stage. It also tells people how they ought to feel. A lighting operator chooses the lights for every scene in the show.
Suppose a scene takes place at night. The operator might select a deep blue light and turn it down low, which makes the stage look quiet and cool. If the next scene is a sunny morning, she switches to a warm, bright yellow light, and the stage suddenly looks cheerful.
Where do the colors come from? Often, a thin sheet of colored plastic is placed in front of a powerful lamp. The light passes through the sheet and takes on its color.
The operator follows a list of cues. Each cue tells her exactly when to change the lights, such as the moment an actor walks onto the stage. She sits at a control board and moves sliders to make the lights grow brighter or dimmer.
Thanks to her work, the audience can truly feel the story.
At a play, lights do more than help you see. They show you how to feel. A lighting operator picks the lights for each scene.
Say a scene is at night. The operator may use a deep blue light and make it dim. The stage looks quiet and cool. Now say the scene is a sunny morning. She uses a warm yellow light. The stage looks cheerful.
Where do the colors come from? A thin sheet of colored plastic sits in front of a bright lamp. The light goes through the sheet. It takes on the color.
The operator follows a list of cues. A cue says when to change the lights. It may be when an actor walks on stage. She sits at a control board. She moves sliders to make the lights bright or dim.
Her work helps the audience feel the story.
Questions
Who picks the lights for each scene?
What light might she use for a night scene?
How does light get its color?
What is a cue?
Why does a sunny morning get a warm yellow light?
How do the lights help the audience feel the story?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Painting a Stage with Light
At a play, the lights do more than help you see. They tell you how to feel. A lighting operator picks the lights for every scene.
Suppose a scene happens at night. The operator might use a deep blue light and make it dim. The stage looks quiet and cool. Now suppose the scene is a sunny morning. She uses a warm, bright yellow light, and the stage looks cheerful.
Where do the colors come from? Often, a thin sheet of colored plastic sits in front of a bright lamp. The light passes through the sheet and takes on its color.
The operator follows a list called cues. A cue tells her when to change the lights, such as when an actor walks on stage. She sits at a control board and moves sliders to make the lights get bright or dim.
Because of her work, the audience feels the story.
Questions
Who picks the lights for each scene?
What kind of light might she use for a night scene?
How does light get its color?
What is a cue?
Why does a sunny morning scene get a warm yellow light?
How do the lights help the audience feel the story?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Painting a Stage with Light
At a play, the lighting does far more than help the audience see the stage. It also tells people how they ought to feel. A lighting operator chooses the lights for every scene in the show.
Suppose a scene takes place at night. The operator might select a deep blue light and turn it down low, which makes the stage look quiet and cool. If the next scene is a sunny morning, she switches to a warm, bright yellow light, and the stage suddenly looks cheerful.
Where do the colors come from? Often, a thin sheet of colored plastic is placed in front of a powerful lamp. The light passes through the sheet and takes on its color.
The operator follows a list of cues. Each cue tells her exactly when to change the lights, such as the moment an actor walks onto the stage. She sits at a control board and moves sliders to make the lights grow brighter or dimmer.
Thanks to her work, the audience can truly feel the story.
Questions
Who chooses the lights for every scene?
What kind of light might she select for a night scene?
How does the light get its color?
What is a cue?
Why does a sunny morning scene get a warm, bright yellow light?
How does her work help the audience feel the story?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Painting a Stage with Light
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.3)
The lighting operator.
A deep blue light that is dim.
It goes through a thin sheet of colored plastic.
A note that says when to change the lights.
It makes the stage look cheerful.
The colors and brightness show the mood of each scene.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.8)
The lighting operator.
A deep blue light that is dim.
It passes through a thin sheet of colored plastic.
A note that tells the operator when to change the lights.
The light makes the stage look cheerful.
The colors and brightness show the mood of each scene.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.7)
The lighting operator.
A deep blue light that is turned down low.
It passes through a thin sheet of colored plastic.
A note that tells the operator exactly when to change the lights.
The light makes the stage look cheerful.
The colors and brightness show the mood of each scene.
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 operator, dim, cheerful and cues 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 "Painting a Stage with Light"?
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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