3rd grade nonfiction passage about where tap water comes from: 157 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionwhere tap water comes from157 words
The Long Trip of the Water in Your Tap
Turn on a faucet and clean water pours out. It has taken a long trip to get there.
Many towns get their water from a river, a lake or a deep well. Rain and melting snow fill these places. The water may be held in a big lake called a reservoir.
Next, the water goes to a treatment plant. Workers there remove dirt and harmful germs. They test the water again and again to make sure it is safe to drink.
Then the clean water flows through large pipes under the ground. The big pipes split into smaller ones. These go under streets and into buildings. Some towns also keep water in a tall tank on a hill. The weight of the water high up pushes it through the pipes.
Finally, the water reaches your sink. It is a good idea to turn the tap off when you are not using it, so less water is wasted.
Questions
Where do many towns get their water? in the text
What is a reservoir? in the text
What do workers at the treatment plant do? in the text
Where do the pipes carry the clean water? in the text
Why is a water tank placed high on a hill? think about it
Why should you turn off the tap when you are not using it? think about it
Words to know
faucet
the tap that you turn to let water out
reservoir
a lake where a town stores water
treatment plant
a place where water is cleaned
germs
tiny living things that can make people sick
wasted
used up without any good reason
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Long Trip of the Water in Your Tap
3rd grade reading passage
Turn on a faucet and clean water pours out. It has taken a long trip to get there.
Many towns get their water from a river, a lake or a deep well. Rain and melting snow fill these places. The water may be held in a big lake called a reservoir.
Next, the water goes to a treatment plant. Workers there remove dirt and harmful germs. They test the water again and again to make sure it is safe to drink.
Then the clean water flows through large pipes under the ground. The big pipes split into smaller ones. These go under streets and into buildings. Some towns also keep water in a tall tank on a hill. The weight of the water high up pushes it through the pipes.
Finally, the water reaches your sink. It is a good idea to turn the tap off when you are not using it, so less water is wasted.
Questions
Where do many towns get their water?
What is a reservoir?
What do workers at the treatment plant do?
Where do the pipes carry the clean water?
Why is a water tank placed high on a hill?
Why should you turn off the tap when you are not using it?
Words to know
faucet: the tap that you turn to let water out
reservoir: a lake where a town stores water
treatment plant: a place where water is cleaned
germs: tiny living things that can make people sick
wasted: used up without any good reason
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/the-long-trip-of-the-water-in-your-tap
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 · 134 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.6
Turn on a faucet. Clean water pours out. It has come a long way.
Many towns get water from a river, a lake or a deep well. Rain and snow fill these places. A big lake that holds water is a reservoir.
Next, the water goes to a treatment plant. Workers take out dirt and germs. They test the water again and again. They want it to be safe to drink.
Then the water goes in big pipes under the ground. Big pipes split into small ones. They go under streets and into buildings. Some towns keep water in a tall tank on a hill. The weight of the water pushes it through the pipes.
Last, the water reaches your sink. Turn the tap off when you are done. Then less water is wasted.
▲ This passage · 157 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2
Turn on a faucet and clean water pours out. It has taken a long trip to get there.
Many towns get their water from a river, a lake or a deep well. Rain and melting snow fill these places. The water may be held in a big lake called a reservoir.
Next, the water goes to a treatment plant. Workers there remove dirt and harmful germs. They test the water again and again to make sure it is safe to drink.
Then the clean water flows through large pipes under the ground. The big pipes split into smaller ones. These go under streets and into buildings. Some towns also keep water in a tall tank on a hill. The weight of the water high up pushes it through the pipes.
Finally, the water reaches your sink. It is a good idea to turn the tap off when you are not using it, so less water is wasted.
■ Harder · 168 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.8
When you turn on a faucet, clean water pours out, but that water has completed a remarkably long journey to reach you.
Many towns collect their water from a river, a lake or a deep well, and these places are filled by rain and melting snow. In some towns, the water is held in a huge lake that is called a reservoir.
From there, the water travels to a treatment plant, where workers remove dirt and harmful germs. They test the water repeatedly to make certain that it is safe to drink.
Afterward, the clean water flows through large pipes buried underground. The large pipes divide into smaller ones that run beneath the streets and into homes and buildings. Some towns also store water in a tall tank on a hill, because the weight of the water high above pushes it through the pipes.
Finally, the water arrives at your sink. Turning off the tap when you are not using it helps to prevent water from being wasted.
Turn on a faucet. Clean water pours out. It has come a long way.
Many towns get water from a river, a lake or a deep well. Rain and snow fill these places. A big lake that holds water is a reservoir.
Next, the water goes to a treatment plant. Workers take out dirt and germs. They test the water again and again. They want it to be safe to drink.
Then the water goes in big pipes under the ground. Big pipes split into small ones. They go under streets and into buildings. Some towns keep water in a tall tank on a hill. The weight of the water pushes it through the pipes.
Last, the water reaches your sink. Turn the tap off when you are done. Then less water is wasted.
Questions
Where do many towns get water?
What is a reservoir?
What do workers at the treatment plant do?
Where do the pipes carry the clean water?
Why is a water tank put high on a hill?
Why should you turn off the tap when you are done?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Long Trip of the Water in Your Tap
Turn on a faucet and clean water pours out. It has taken a long trip to get there.
Many towns get their water from a river, a lake or a deep well. Rain and melting snow fill these places. The water may be held in a big lake called a reservoir.
Next, the water goes to a treatment plant. Workers there remove dirt and harmful germs. They test the water again and again to make sure it is safe to drink.
Then the clean water flows through large pipes under the ground. The big pipes split into smaller ones. These go under streets and into buildings. Some towns also keep water in a tall tank on a hill. The weight of the water high up pushes it through the pipes.
Finally, the water reaches your sink. It is a good idea to turn the tap off when you are not using it, so less water is wasted.
Questions
Where do many towns get their water?
What is a reservoir?
What do workers at the treatment plant do?
Where do the pipes carry the clean water?
Why is a water tank placed high on a hill?
Why should you turn off the tap when you are not using it?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Long Trip of the Water in Your Tap
When you turn on a faucet, clean water pours out, but that water has completed a remarkably long journey to reach you.
Many towns collect their water from a river, a lake or a deep well, and these places are filled by rain and melting snow. In some towns, the water is held in a huge lake that is called a reservoir.
From there, the water travels to a treatment plant, where workers remove dirt and harmful germs. They test the water repeatedly to make certain that it is safe to drink.
Afterward, the clean water flows through large pipes buried underground. The large pipes divide into smaller ones that run beneath the streets and into homes and buildings. Some towns also store water in a tall tank on a hill, because the weight of the water high above pushes it through the pipes.
Finally, the water arrives at your sink. Turning off the tap when you are not using it helps to prevent water from being wasted.
Questions
Where do many towns collect their water?
What is a reservoir?
What do the workers at a treatment plant do?
Where do the large pipes carry the clean water?
Why do some towns put a water tank on a high hill?
Why is it wise to turn off the tap when you are not using it?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Long Trip of the Water in Your Tap
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.6)
From a river, a lake or a deep well.
A big lake that holds water.
They take out dirt and germs and test the water.
Under the ground, under streets and into buildings.
The weight of the water pushes it through the pipes.
Less water is wasted.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2)
From a river, a lake or a deep well.
A big lake where water is held.
They remove dirt and harmful germs and test the water.
Under the ground, under streets and into buildings.
The weight of the water high up pushes it through the pipes.
Less water is wasted, and the water took a long trip to reach you.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.8)
From a river, a lake or a deep well.
A huge lake where a town holds its water.
They remove dirt and harmful germs and test the water repeatedly.
Underground, beneath the streets and into buildings.
The weight of the water high above pushes it through the pipes.
It prevents water from being wasted after its long journey.
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 faucet, reservoir, treatment plant, germs and wasted 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 "The Long Trip of the Water in Your Tap"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 157 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. 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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