3rd grade nonfiction passage about wind turbine technician: 149 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradenonfictionwind turbine technician149 words
Why the Wind Turbine Fixer Waits for Calm Days
A wind turbine is a tall tower with three long blades. When the wind turns the blades, the turbine makes electricity. A technician keeps each turbine working.
Why do some jobs wait for calm days? Because the technician must go up inside the tower. Gusty wind makes the work harder and less safe. So she checks the weather first.
On a calm day, she gets ready. She wears a hard hat and a harness. A harness is a set of straps that holds a worker safely. She rides a lift or climbs a ladder inside the tower.
At the top, she checks the parts. She tightens bolts. She adds grease to moving pieces so they turn smoothly. She also looks at the blades to see if anything is cracked.
When she is done, she goes down and the turbine spins again. Careful checks help it make power for homes.
Questions
What does a wind turbine make? in the text
Why does the technician check the weather first? in the text
What is a harness? in the text
Why does she add grease to moving pieces? in the text
Why does the technician wear a hard hat and a harness? think about it
Why might a turbine be stopped during repairs? think about it
Words to know
turbine
a machine with blades that spin to make power
technician
a worker who is trained to fix and check machines
gusty
blowing in strong, sudden bursts
harness
straps that hold a worker safely in place
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Why the Wind Turbine Fixer Waits for Calm Days
3rd grade reading passage
A wind turbine is a tall tower with three long blades. When the wind turns the blades, the turbine makes electricity. A technician keeps each turbine working.
Why do some jobs wait for calm days? Because the technician must go up inside the tower. Gusty wind makes the work harder and less safe. So she checks the weather first.
On a calm day, she gets ready. She wears a hard hat and a harness. A harness is a set of straps that holds a worker safely. She rides a lift or climbs a ladder inside the tower.
At the top, she checks the parts. She tightens bolts. She adds grease to moving pieces so they turn smoothly. She also looks at the blades to see if anything is cracked.
When she is done, she goes down and the turbine spins again. Careful checks help it make power for homes.
Questions
What does a wind turbine make?
Why does the technician check the weather first?
What is a harness?
Why does she add grease to moving pieces?
Why does the technician wear a hard hat and a harness?
Why might a turbine be stopped during repairs?
Words to know
turbine: a machine with blades that spin to make power
technician: a worker who is trained to fix and check machines
gusty: blowing in strong, sudden bursts
harness: straps that hold a worker safely in place
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/wind-turbine-fixer-waits-for-calm
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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 · 135 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7
A wind turbine is a tall tower with three long blades. Wind turns the blades. Then the turbine makes electricity. A technician keeps each turbine working.
Why do some jobs wait for calm days? The technician must go up inside the tower. Gusty wind makes the work hard and not safe. So she checks the weather first.
On a calm day, she gets ready. She wears a hard hat and a harness. A harness is a set of straps that holds a worker safe. She rides a lift or climbs a ladder in the tower.
At the top, she checks the parts. She tightens bolts. She puts grease on moving pieces so they turn well. She looks at the blades for cracks.
Then she goes down. The turbine spins again. It makes power for homes.
▲ This passage · 149 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3
A wind turbine is a tall tower with three long blades. When the wind turns the blades, the turbine makes electricity. A technician keeps each turbine working.
Why do some jobs wait for calm days? Because the technician must go up inside the tower. Gusty wind makes the work harder and less safe. So she checks the weather first.
On a calm day, she gets ready. She wears a hard hat and a harness. A harness is a set of straps that holds a worker safely. She rides a lift or climbs a ladder inside the tower.
At the top, she checks the parts. She tightens bolts. She adds grease to moving pieces so they turn smoothly. She also looks at the blades to see if anything is cracked.
When she is done, she goes down and the turbine spins again. Careful checks help it make power for homes.
■ Harder · 169 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6
A wind turbine is a towering structure with three long blades. When the wind turns the blades, the turbine generates electricity, and a technician is responsible for keeping each turbine in working order.
Why do some repair jobs have to wait for calm days? The technician must climb up inside the tower, and gusty wind makes the work more difficult and less safe. For that reason, she checks the weather forecast first.
On a calm day, she prepares carefully. She wears a hard hat and a harness, which is a set of straps that holds a worker securely in place. She rides a lift or climbs a ladder inside the tower.
At the top, she inspects the parts. She tightens bolts and adds grease to the moving pieces so that they turn smoothly. She also examines the blades to see whether anything is cracked.
When her work is finished, she descends and the turbine begins to spin again. Careful checks like these help it keep producing power for homes.
A wind turbine is a tall tower with three long blades. Wind turns the blades. Then the turbine makes electricity. A technician keeps each turbine working.
Why do some jobs wait for calm days? The technician must go up inside the tower. Gusty wind makes the work hard and not safe. So she checks the weather first.
On a calm day, she gets ready. She wears a hard hat and a harness. A harness is a set of straps that holds a worker safe. She rides a lift or climbs a ladder in the tower.
At the top, she checks the parts. She tightens bolts. She puts grease on moving pieces so they turn well. She looks at the blades for cracks.
Then she goes down. The turbine spins again. It makes power for homes.
Questions
What does a wind turbine make?
Why does the technician check the weather first?
What is a harness?
Why does she put grease on moving pieces?
Why does the technician wear a hard hat and a harness?
Why might a turbine be stopped during repairs?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Why the Wind Turbine Fixer Waits for Calm Days
A wind turbine is a tall tower with three long blades. When the wind turns the blades, the turbine makes electricity. A technician keeps each turbine working.
Why do some jobs wait for calm days? Because the technician must go up inside the tower. Gusty wind makes the work harder and less safe. So she checks the weather first.
On a calm day, she gets ready. She wears a hard hat and a harness. A harness is a set of straps that holds a worker safely. She rides a lift or climbs a ladder inside the tower.
At the top, she checks the parts. She tightens bolts. She adds grease to moving pieces so they turn smoothly. She also looks at the blades to see if anything is cracked.
When she is done, she goes down and the turbine spins again. Careful checks help it make power for homes.
Questions
What does a wind turbine make?
Why does the technician check the weather first?
What is a harness?
Why does she add grease to moving pieces?
Why does the technician wear a hard hat and a harness?
Why might a turbine be stopped during repairs?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Why the Wind Turbine Fixer Waits for Calm Days
A wind turbine is a towering structure with three long blades. When the wind turns the blades, the turbine generates electricity, and a technician is responsible for keeping each turbine in working order.
Why do some repair jobs have to wait for calm days? The technician must climb up inside the tower, and gusty wind makes the work more difficult and less safe. For that reason, she checks the weather forecast first.
On a calm day, she prepares carefully. She wears a hard hat and a harness, which is a set of straps that holds a worker securely in place. She rides a lift or climbs a ladder inside the tower.
At the top, she inspects the parts. She tightens bolts and adds grease to the moving pieces so that they turn smoothly. She also examines the blades to see whether anything is cracked.
When her work is finished, she descends and the turbine begins to spin again. Careful checks like these help it keep producing power for homes.
Questions
What does a wind turbine generate?
Why does the technician check the weather forecast first?
What is a harness?
Why does she add grease to the moving pieces?
Why does the technician wear a hard hat and a harness?
Why might a turbine be stopped during repairs?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Why the Wind Turbine Fixer Waits for Calm Days
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7)
Electricity.
Gusty wind makes the work hard and not safe.
A set of straps that holds a worker safe.
So they turn well.
To stay safe high up.
The blades must not turn while a worker is in the tower.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3)
Electricity.
Gusty wind makes the work harder and less safe.
A set of straps that holds a worker safely.
So they turn smoothly.
To stay safe while working high up.
The blades must not turn while a worker is inside the tower.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6)
Electricity.
Gusty wind makes the work more difficult and less safe.
A set of straps that holds a worker securely in place.
So that they turn smoothly.
To stay safe while working high up.
The blades should not turn while a worker is inside the tower.
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 turbine, technician, gusty and harness 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 1 minute 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 "Why the Wind Turbine Fixer Waits for Calm Days"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 149 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.0. 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 1 minute 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?
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