3rd grade nonfiction passage about how honeybees communicate: 165 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionhow honeybees communicate165 words
The Honeybee Dance
Honeybees cannot talk, but they can share news. They do it with a dance.
A worker bee flies out of the hive to look for flowers. When she finds a patch with plenty of sweet nectar, she flies back home. Then she dances on the wall of the hive, where other bees gather close around her.
One kind of dance is a round circle. It tells the bees that the flowers are close to the hive. Another kind is called the waggle dance. The bee walks in a straight line while she shakes her body from side to side. Then she circles back and does it again.
The waggle dance tells the other bees which way to fly and how far to go. The bees watch and feel the dance. Then they fly out to find the same flowers.
Thanks to this dance, a whole hive can find food fast. Bees that work as a team can gather a lot of nectar to make honey.
Questions
How do honeybees share news? in the text
Where does the worker bee dance? in the text
What does the round dance tell the other bees? in the text
What does a bee do in the waggle dance? in the text
What does the waggle dance tell the bees? think about it
Why is the dance helpful to the whole hive? think about it
Words to know
hive
the home where a group of bees lives
nectar
the sweet liquid inside flowers
waggle
to shake from side to side
gather
to come together or to collect
patch
a small area of the ground
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Honeybee Dance
3rd grade reading passage
Honeybees cannot talk, but they can share news. They do it with a dance.
A worker bee flies out of the hive to look for flowers. When she finds a patch with plenty of sweet nectar, she flies back home. Then she dances on the wall of the hive, where other bees gather close around her.
One kind of dance is a round circle. It tells the bees that the flowers are close to the hive. Another kind is called the waggle dance. The bee walks in a straight line while she shakes her body from side to side. Then she circles back and does it again.
The waggle dance tells the other bees which way to fly and how far to go. The bees watch and feel the dance. Then they fly out to find the same flowers.
Thanks to this dance, a whole hive can find food fast. Bees that work as a team can gather a lot of nectar to make honey.
Questions
How do honeybees share news?
Where does the worker bee dance?
What does the round dance tell the other bees?
What does a bee do in the waggle dance?
What does the waggle dance tell the bees?
Why is the dance helpful to the whole hive?
Words to know
hive: the home where a group of bees lives
nectar: the sweet liquid inside flowers
waggle: to shake from side to side
gather: to come together or to collect
patch: a small area of the ground
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/the-honeybee-dance
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 · 136 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.1
Honeybees cannot talk. They share news with a dance.
A worker bee flies out to find flowers. She finds a patch with lots of sweet nectar. She flies home. Then she dances on the wall of the hive. Other bees gather close.
One dance is a round circle. It tells the bees the flowers are close. Another dance is the waggle dance. The bee walks in a line. She shakes her body from side to side. Then she circles back and does it again.
The waggle dance tells the bees which way to fly and how far to go. The bees watch and feel the dance. Then they fly out to the same flowers.
The dance helps the hive find food fast. Bees that work as a team gather a lot of nectar to make honey.
▲ This passage · 165 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4
Honeybees cannot talk, but they can share news. They do it with a dance.
A worker bee flies out of the hive to look for flowers. When she finds a patch with plenty of sweet nectar, she flies back home. Then she dances on the wall of the hive, where other bees gather close around her.
One kind of dance is a round circle. It tells the bees that the flowers are close to the hive. Another kind is called the waggle dance. The bee walks in a straight line while she shakes her body from side to side. Then she circles back and does it again.
The waggle dance tells the other bees which way to fly and how far to go. The bees watch and feel the dance. Then they fly out to find the same flowers.
Thanks to this dance, a whole hive can find food fast. Bees that work as a team can gather a lot of nectar to make honey.
■ Harder · 183 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.2
Honeybees are unable to speak, yet they manage to share important news with one another by performing a special dance.
A worker bee leaves the hive in search of flowers. When she discovers a patch that holds plenty of sweet nectar, she flies back home. There, she dances on the wall of the hive while other bees crowd closely around her.
One kind of dance is a simple, round circle, which tells the bees that the flowers are near the hive. The other kind is called the waggle dance. In it, the bee walks in a straight line while shaking her body from side to side, and then she circles back to the start and repeats the pattern.
The waggle dance tells the other bees which direction to fly and how far they must travel. The bees watch and feel the dance, and then they fly off to find the very same flowers.
Because of this dance, an entire hive can locate food quickly. Working together as a team, the bees can gather a large amount of nectar, which they turn into honey.
Honeybees cannot talk. They share news with a dance.
A worker bee flies out to find flowers. She finds a patch with lots of sweet nectar. She flies home. Then she dances on the wall of the hive. Other bees gather close.
One dance is a round circle. It tells the bees the flowers are close. Another dance is the waggle dance. The bee walks in a line. She shakes her body from side to side. Then she circles back and does it again.
The waggle dance tells the bees which way to fly and how far to go. The bees watch and feel the dance. Then they fly out to the same flowers.
The dance helps the hive find food fast. Bees that work as a team gather a lot of nectar to make honey.
Questions
How do honeybees share news?
Where does the worker bee dance?
What does the round dance tell the bees?
What does a bee do in the waggle dance?
What does the waggle dance tell the bees?
Why does the dance help the whole hive?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Honeybee Dance
Honeybees cannot talk, but they can share news. They do it with a dance.
A worker bee flies out of the hive to look for flowers. When she finds a patch with plenty of sweet nectar, she flies back home. Then she dances on the wall of the hive, where other bees gather close around her.
One kind of dance is a round circle. It tells the bees that the flowers are close to the hive. Another kind is called the waggle dance. The bee walks in a straight line while she shakes her body from side to side. Then she circles back and does it again.
The waggle dance tells the other bees which way to fly and how far to go. The bees watch and feel the dance. Then they fly out to find the same flowers.
Thanks to this dance, a whole hive can find food fast. Bees that work as a team can gather a lot of nectar to make honey.
Questions
How do honeybees share news?
Where does the worker bee dance?
What does the round dance tell the other bees?
What does a bee do in the waggle dance?
What does the waggle dance tell the bees?
Why is the dance helpful to the whole hive?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Honeybee Dance
Honeybees are unable to speak, yet they manage to share important news with one another by performing a special dance.
A worker bee leaves the hive in search of flowers. When she discovers a patch that holds plenty of sweet nectar, she flies back home. There, she dances on the wall of the hive while other bees crowd closely around her.
One kind of dance is a simple, round circle, which tells the bees that the flowers are near the hive. The other kind is called the waggle dance. In it, the bee walks in a straight line while shaking her body from side to side, and then she circles back to the start and repeats the pattern.
The waggle dance tells the other bees which direction to fly and how far they must travel. The bees watch and feel the dance, and then they fly off to find the very same flowers.
Because of this dance, an entire hive can locate food quickly. Working together as a team, the bees can gather a large amount of nectar, which they turn into honey.
Questions
In what way do honeybees share news with one another?
Where does the worker bee perform her dance?
What does the round circle dance tell the other bees?
What does the bee do during the waggle dance?
What information does the waggle dance give the other bees?
Why is the dance valuable to the entire hive?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Honeybee Dance
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.1)
With a dance.
On the wall of the hive.
That the flowers are close.
She walks in a line and shakes from side to side.
Which way to fly and how far to go.
The bees find food fast and gather more nectar.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4)
With a dance.
On the wall of the hive.
That the flowers are close to the hive.
She walks in a line and shakes her body from side to side.
Which way to fly and how far to go.
The bees find food fast and gather more nectar as a team.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.2)
By performing a dance.
On the wall of the hive.
That the flowers are near the hive.
She walks in a straight line while shaking her body from side to side.
Which direction to fly and how far to travel.
The bees locate food quickly and gather a large amount of nectar as a team.
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 hive, nectar, waggle, gather and patch 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.
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 165 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.4. 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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