Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Why a Frozen Pond Has Fish Alive Below

3rd grade nonfiction passage about ice floating on ponds: 150 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade nonfiction ice floating on ponds 150 words

Why a Frozen Pond Has Fish Alive Below

On a freezing winter day, a pond can have a roof of ice. Underneath, fish are swimming. How can they stay alive?

Most things get smaller and heavier when they get cold. Water does this too, but only until it is very close to freezing. Then something odd happens. As water turns to ice, it spreads out and takes up more room. This makes ice lighter than the same amount of liquid water.

Because ice is lighter, it floats. So the pond freezes from the top down, not from the bottom up. If ice sank, ponds could freeze solid from the bottom.

The ice on top also works like a lid. It keeps the cold air away from the water below. The water under the ice stays liquid, so fish, frogs and snails can live there until spring.

Ice floating on the water is a small gift for pond animals.

Questions

  1. What forms on top of a pond on a freezing day? in the text

  2. What happens to water as it turns into ice? in the text

  3. Why does ice float? in the text

  4. Which animals can live in the water under the ice? in the text

  5. What would happen if ice sank instead of floating? think about it

  6. How does the ice on top help the water below? think about it

Words to know

liquid
a wet material that flows, like water
floats
stays on top of water instead of sinking
freezes
turns into ice because it is very cold
solid
hard all the way through
snails
small slow animals with a shell on their backs
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 · 117 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.4

On a freezing day, a pond can have a roof of ice. Fish still swim below. How do they stay alive?

Most things get smaller when they get cold. Water does too, until it is close to freezing. Then something odd happens. When water turns to ice, it spreads out. It takes up more room. So ice is lighter than the same amount of water.

Ice is lighter, so it floats. The pond freezes from the top down. If ice sank, a pond could freeze hard from the bottom.

The ice is also like a lid. It keeps cold air off the water below. That water stays liquid. Fish, frogs and snails can live there until spring.

▲ This passage · 150 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2

On a freezing winter day, a pond can have a roof of ice. Underneath, fish are swimming. How can they stay alive?

Most things get smaller and heavier when they get cold. Water does this too, but only until it is very close to freezing. Then something odd happens. As water turns to ice, it spreads out and takes up more room. This makes ice lighter than the same amount of liquid water.

Because ice is lighter, it floats. So the pond freezes from the top down, not from the bottom up. If ice sank, ponds could freeze solid from the bottom.

The ice on top also works like a lid. It keeps the cold air away from the water below. The water under the ice stays liquid, so fish, frogs and snails can live there until spring.

Ice floating on the water is a small gift for pond animals.

■ Harder · 154 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7

On a bitterly cold winter day, a pond may be covered by a roof of ice, yet fish continue to swim in the water beneath it. How is it possible for them to survive?

Most substances shrink and become heavier as they cool, and water behaves the same way until it is very close to freezing. Then something unusual happens. As water turns into ice, it spreads out and occupies more space, which makes ice lighter than an equal amount of liquid water.

Because ice is lighter, it floats, and so a pond freezes from the top down instead of from the bottom up. If ice sank, a pond might freeze solid from the bottom.

The layer of ice on top also acts like a lid that keeps the freezing air away from the water below. The water under the ice remains liquid, so fish, frogs and snails can live there until spring arrives.

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 liquid, floats, freezes, solid and snails 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.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Why a Frozen Pond Has Fish Alive Below"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 150 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.2. 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. 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.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.