Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Why a Rolling Marble Finally Stops

3rd grade nonfiction passage about friction slowing motion: 166 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade nonfiction friction slowing motion 166 words

Why a Rolling Marble Finally Stops

Roll a marble across the floor. It zips along, then slows down, and at last it stops. Nobody touched it. So why did it stop?

A moving object keeps moving unless a force changes its motion. A force is a push or a pull. The marble stops because a force is working against it. That force is called friction.

Friction happens when two surfaces rub together. Even a smooth floor has tiny bumps, and the marble catches on them a little as it rolls. Each bump takes away a bit of its motion. The marble also pushes through the air, and the air slows it a tiny bit too.

Try rolling the marble on different floors. On a rug, it stops quickly, because the soft threads grab it. On a slick tile floor, it rolls far. On ice, which is even smoother, a marble would roll farther still.

Friction can be helpful. Your shoes grip the ground because of it, and that keeps you from slipping.

Questions

  1. What is a force? in the text

  2. What is the force that stops the marble called? in the text

  3. When does friction happen? in the text

  4. Why does the marble stop quickly on a rug? in the text

  5. Why would a marble roll farther on ice than on a rug? think about it

  6. How does friction help your shoes? in the text

Words to know

friction
a force that slows things as they rub together
force
a push or a pull on an object
surface
the outside or top of something
motion
the act of moving
slick
smooth and slippery
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 0.7

Roll a marble on the floor. It goes fast. Then it slows down. At last it stops. No one touched it. Why did it stop?

A moving thing keeps moving unless a force changes it. A force is a push or a pull. A force works against the marble. This force is friction.

Friction happens when two surfaces rub. Even a smooth floor has tiny bumps. The marble catches on them as it rolls. Each bump takes a bit of its motion. The air slows it a tiny bit too.

Try it on different floors. On a rug, the marble stops fast. The soft threads grab it. On a slick tile floor, it rolls far. On ice, it would roll even farther.

Friction can help. Your shoes grip the ground. You do not slip.

▲ This passage · 166 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2

Roll a marble across the floor. It zips along, then slows down, and at last it stops. Nobody touched it. So why did it stop?

A moving object keeps moving unless a force changes its motion. A force is a push or a pull. The marble stops because a force is working against it. That force is called friction.

Friction happens when two surfaces rub together. Even a smooth floor has tiny bumps, and the marble catches on them a little as it rolls. Each bump takes away a bit of its motion. The marble also pushes through the air, and the air slows it a tiny bit too.

Try rolling the marble on different floors. On a rug, it stops quickly, because the soft threads grab it. On a slick tile floor, it rolls far. On ice, which is even smoother, a marble would roll farther still.

Friction can be helpful. Your shoes grip the ground because of it, and that keeps you from slipping.

■ Harder · 198 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.4

Roll a marble across the floor and watch closely. It zips along at first, gradually slows down, and eventually comes to a complete stop. Nobody touched it along the way, so what made it stop?

A moving object will keep on moving unless some force changes its motion. A force is simply a push or a pull. The marble stops because a force is working against it, and that force is known as friction.

Friction occurs whenever two surfaces rub against each other. Even a smooth floor is covered in tiny bumps, and the marble catches on them slightly as it rolls. Each bump steals a little of its motion. The marble must also push its way through the air, and the air slows it by a very small amount as well.

Try rolling the marble across several different floors. On a rug, it stops almost immediately, because the soft threads grab hold of it. On a slick tile floor, it rolls a long way. On ice, which is smoother still, a marble would travel even farther.

Friction is often helpful. Thanks to it, the soles of your shoes grip the ground, and that keeps you from slipping.

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 friction, force, surface, motion and slick 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 Rolling Marble Finally Stops"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 166 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. 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.

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