3rd grade nonfiction passage about the funny bone: 152 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionthe funny bone152 words
The Funny Bone That Is Not a Bone
Have you ever bumped your elbow and felt a strange, buzzing tingle shoot down your arm? Many people call that spot the funny bone. But it is not really a bone at all.
What you hit is a nerve. A nerve is like a thin wire that carries messages between your body and your brain. This nerve runs along the back of your elbow, close to the skin. It does not have much padding to protect it.
When you knock your elbow, the nerve gets squashed for a moment. It sends a jumbled message to your brain. Your brain feels the message as tingling, mostly in your arm and your little finger. The feeling fades in a minute or so.
The name may come from a joke. The long bone in the top part of your arm is called the humerus. That sounds a lot like the word humorous, which means funny.
Questions
What do people call the spot where you bump your elbow? in the text
What is a nerve? in the text
Where does the nerve run? in the text
What happens to the nerve when you knock your elbow? in the text
What is the long bone in the top of your arm called? in the text
Why does a small bump at the elbow feel stranger than a bump on your thigh? think about it
Words to know
nerve
a thin part of the body that carries messages to and from the brain
tingle
a prickly, buzzing feeling on the skin
padding
soft stuff that keeps something safe from bumps
jumbled
mixed up and out of order
humorous
funny or full of jokes
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Funny Bone That Is Not a Bone
3rd grade reading passage
Have you ever bumped your elbow and felt a strange, buzzing tingle shoot down your arm? Many people call that spot the funny bone. But it is not really a bone at all.
What you hit is a nerve. A nerve is like a thin wire that carries messages between your body and your brain. This nerve runs along the back of your elbow, close to the skin. It does not have much padding to protect it.
When you knock your elbow, the nerve gets squashed for a moment. It sends a jumbled message to your brain. Your brain feels the message as tingling, mostly in your arm and your little finger. The feeling fades in a minute or so.
The name may come from a joke. The long bone in the top part of your arm is called the humerus. That sounds a lot like the word humorous, which means funny.
Questions
What do people call the spot where you bump your elbow?
What is a nerve?
Where does the nerve run?
What happens to the nerve when you knock your elbow?
What is the long bone in the top of your arm called?
Why does a small bump at the elbow feel stranger than a bump on your thigh?
Words to know
nerve: a thin part of the body that carries messages to and from the brain
tingle: a prickly, buzzing feeling on the skin
padding: soft stuff that keeps something safe from bumps
jumbled: mixed up and out of order
humorous: funny or full of jokes
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/the-funny-bone-that-is-not-a-bone
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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 · 118 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.2
Have you bumped your elbow and felt a buzz in your arm? People call that spot the funny bone. But it is not a bone.
What you hit is a nerve. A nerve is like a thin wire. It sends messages to your brain. This nerve is at the back of your elbow. It sits close to the skin. It has little padding.
When you bump it, the nerve gets squashed. It sends a mixed-up message to your brain. You feel a tingle in your arm and little finger. The feeling goes away soon.
The name may be a joke. The long bone in your top arm is the humerus. That sounds like humorous. Humorous means funny.
▲ This passage · 152 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1
Have you ever bumped your elbow and felt a strange, buzzing tingle shoot down your arm? Many people call that spot the funny bone. But it is not really a bone at all.
What you hit is a nerve. A nerve is like a thin wire that carries messages between your body and your brain. This nerve runs along the back of your elbow, close to the skin. It does not have much padding to protect it.
When you knock your elbow, the nerve gets squashed for a moment. It sends a jumbled message to your brain. Your brain feels the message as tingling, mostly in your arm and your little finger. The feeling fades in a minute or so.
The name may come from a joke. The long bone in the top part of your arm is called the humerus. That sounds a lot like the word humorous, which means funny.
■ Harder · 161 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.9
Have you ever banged your elbow on a doorway and felt a strange, buzzing tingle race down your forearm? Many people call that spot the funny bone, yet it is not actually a bone at all.
What you strike is a nerve. A nerve works like a thin cable that carries messages between your body and your brain. This particular nerve runs along the back of your elbow, very close to the surface of the skin, and it has very little padding to protect it.
When you knock your elbow, the nerve is squashed for a moment, and it sends a jumbled message to your brain. Your brain interprets that message as tingling, mostly in your arm and your little finger. Fortunately, the sensation fades after a minute or so.
The name may have started as a joke. The long bone in the upper part of your arm is called the humerus, which sounds remarkably like the word humorous, meaning funny.
Have you bumped your elbow and felt a buzz in your arm? People call that spot the funny bone. But it is not a bone.
What you hit is a nerve. A nerve is like a thin wire. It sends messages to your brain. This nerve is at the back of your elbow. It sits close to the skin. It has little padding.
When you bump it, the nerve gets squashed. It sends a mixed-up message to your brain. You feel a tingle in your arm and little finger. The feeling goes away soon.
The name may be a joke. The long bone in your top arm is the humerus. That sounds like humorous. Humorous means funny.
Questions
What do people call the spot you bump on your elbow?
What is a nerve?
Where is the nerve?
What happens to the nerve when you bump it?
What is the long bone in your top arm called?
Why does a bump at the elbow feel stranger than a bump on your leg?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Funny Bone That Is Not a Bone
Have you ever bumped your elbow and felt a strange, buzzing tingle shoot down your arm? Many people call that spot the funny bone. But it is not really a bone at all.
What you hit is a nerve. A nerve is like a thin wire that carries messages between your body and your brain. This nerve runs along the back of your elbow, close to the skin. It does not have much padding to protect it.
When you knock your elbow, the nerve gets squashed for a moment. It sends a jumbled message to your brain. Your brain feels the message as tingling, mostly in your arm and your little finger. The feeling fades in a minute or so.
The name may come from a joke. The long bone in the top part of your arm is called the humerus. That sounds a lot like the word humorous, which means funny.
Questions
What do people call the spot where you bump your elbow?
What is a nerve?
Where does the nerve run?
What happens to the nerve when you knock your elbow?
What is the long bone in the top of your arm called?
Why does a small bump at the elbow feel stranger than a bump on your thigh?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Funny Bone That Is Not a Bone
Have you ever banged your elbow on a doorway and felt a strange, buzzing tingle race down your forearm? Many people call that spot the funny bone, yet it is not actually a bone at all.
What you strike is a nerve. A nerve works like a thin cable that carries messages between your body and your brain. This particular nerve runs along the back of your elbow, very close to the surface of the skin, and it has very little padding to protect it.
When you knock your elbow, the nerve is squashed for a moment, and it sends a jumbled message to your brain. Your brain interprets that message as tingling, mostly in your arm and your little finger. Fortunately, the sensation fades after a minute or so.
The name may have started as a joke. The long bone in the upper part of your arm is called the humerus, which sounds remarkably like the word humorous, meaning funny.
Questions
What do people call the spot where you bang your elbow?
How does a nerve work, according to the passage?
Where does this nerve run?
What happens to the nerve when you knock your elbow?
What is the long bone in the upper arm called?
Why does a small bump at the elbow feel stranger than a bump on your thigh?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Funny Bone That Is Not a Bone
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.2)
The funny bone.
A thin wire-like part that sends messages to the brain.
At the back of the elbow, close to the skin.
It gets squashed and sends a mixed-up message to the brain.
The humerus.
The nerve is close to the skin and has little padding.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1)
The funny bone.
A thin wire-like part that carries messages between the body and the brain.
Along the back of the elbow, close to the skin.
It gets squashed and sends a jumbled message to the brain.
The humerus.
The nerve at the elbow is close to the skin with little padding.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.9)
The funny bone.
Like a thin cable that carries messages between the body and the brain.
Along the back of the elbow, very close to the skin.
It is squashed and sends a jumbled message to the brain.
The humerus.
The nerve at the elbow lies close to the skin with very little padding.
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 nerve, tingle, padding, jumbled and humorous 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 "The Funny Bone That Is Not a Bone"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 152 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.1. 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?
No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.
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