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Where Does the Sugar Go in Your Tea?

3rd grade nonfiction passage about dissolving: 159 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade nonfiction dissolving 159 words

Where Does the Sugar Go in Your Tea?

Drop a spoonful of sugar into a warm cup of tea and stir. In a few moments, the sugar seems to vanish. Where did it go?

The sugar did not disappear. It dissolved. When something dissolves, it breaks into pieces too small to see. These tiny pieces spread out through the liquid and mix evenly with it.

You can prove the sugar is still there with a taste test. The tea now tastes sweet, even though you cannot see a single grain. The sweetness is the sugar, spread through every sip.

Warm water dissolves sugar faster than cold water. The tiny pieces of warm water move around more quickly, and they pull the sugar apart sooner. Stirring helps too, because it keeps bringing fresh water to the sugar.

There is a limit, however. If you keep adding sugar, the liquid cannot hold any more. The extra sugar sinks to the bottom of the cup and stays there as grains.

Questions

  1. What do we call it when sugar breaks into pieces too small to see? in the text

  2. How can you tell the sugar is still in the tea? in the text

  3. Which dissolves sugar faster, warm water or cold water? in the text

  4. Why does stirring help the sugar dissolve? in the text

  5. What happens to extra sugar when the tea cannot hold any more? in the text

  6. Why is it wrong to say the sugar disappeared? think about it

Words to know

dissolve
to break into tiny pieces that mix into a liquid
vanish
to go out of sight
liquid
something wet that can be poured
evenly
in the same amount all through
grain
one tiny piece of something like sugar
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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 · 119 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5

Drop sugar into a cup of warm tea. Stir it. Soon the sugar seems to be gone. Where did it go?

The sugar did not disappear. It dissolved. When a thing dissolves, it breaks into bits too small to see. The tiny bits spread through the liquid.

You can show the sugar is still there. Taste the tea. It is sweet. You cannot see one grain, but the sweet taste is the sugar.

Warm water dissolves sugar faster than cold water. Stirring helps too. It brings fresh water to the sugar.

But there is a limit. If you add too much sugar, the liquid cannot hold it. The extra sugar sinks to the bottom. It stays there as grains.

▲ This passage · 159 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2

Drop a spoonful of sugar into a warm cup of tea and stir. In a few moments, the sugar seems to vanish. Where did it go?

The sugar did not disappear. It dissolved. When something dissolves, it breaks into pieces too small to see. These tiny pieces spread out through the liquid and mix evenly with it.

You can prove the sugar is still there with a taste test. The tea now tastes sweet, even though you cannot see a single grain. The sweetness is the sugar, spread through every sip.

Warm water dissolves sugar faster than cold water. The tiny pieces of warm water move around more quickly, and they pull the sugar apart sooner. Stirring helps too, because it keeps bringing fresh water to the sugar.

There is a limit, however. If you keep adding sugar, the liquid cannot hold any more. The extra sugar sinks to the bottom of the cup and stays there as grains.

■ Harder · 180 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.5

Drop a spoonful of sugar into a warm cup of tea and give it a good stir. Within moments, the sugar appears to vanish completely. Where could it possibly have gone?

In fact, the sugar did not disappear at all. It dissolved. When a substance dissolves, it breaks apart into particles far too small to see, and these tiny particles spread out through the liquid and mix with it evenly.

A simple taste test proves that the sugar is still present. The tea tastes sweet, even though you cannot spot a single grain. The sweetness is the sugar itself, distributed through every sip.

Warm water dissolves sugar more quickly than cold water does, because the tiny pieces of warm water move around faster and pull the sugar apart sooner. Stirring also speeds things up, since it constantly brings fresh water into contact with the sugar.

Still, there is a limit. If you continue adding sugar, the liquid eventually cannot hold any more. The extra sugar sinks to the bottom of the cup and remains there in the form of grains.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put dissolve, vanish, liquid, evenly and grain 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.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Where Does the Sugar Go in Your Tea?"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 159 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.2. 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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