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A Pebble's Long Trip Down the Mountain

4th grade nonfiction passage about journey of a rock: 186 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction journey of a rock 186 words

A Pebble's Long Trip Down the Mountain

Picture a pebble that begins its life as part of a mountain cliff. Its story shows how rock moves and changes on Earth.

First, water slips into a crack in the cliff and freezes. The ice pushes the crack open, and a chunk of rock breaks free. It tumbles down the slope and lands in a stream.

Next, the stream carries the rock along. As it bumps against other stones, its sharp corners wear away. Rubbing against sand smooths it more. By the time the stream reaches a wide river, the chunk has become a rounded pebble.

Then the river slows near the sea and drops the pebble with sand and mud. More layers settle on top. Over a very long time, the weight of those layers presses the bottom ones together. Minerals in the water help glue the grains into solid rock.

That new rock may one day be lifted up again, and wind and rain will start to wear it down. This never-ending change is called the rock cycle. A pebble in your hand is only one page of a very long story.

Questions

  1. How does a chunk of rock first break free from the cliff? in the text

  2. What wears away the sharp corners of the rock in the stream? in the text

  3. Where does the river drop the pebble? in the text

  4. What helps glue the grains into solid rock? in the text

  5. Why is the pebble round when it reaches the river? think about it

  6. Why is the rock cycle called never-ending? think about it

Words to know

tumbles
falls while rolling over and over
rounded
smooth and curved, without sharp corners
settle
to sink down and stay in one place
grains
tiny hard bits, like sand
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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 · 150 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7

Picture a pebble. It starts as part of a mountain cliff. Its trip shows how rock changes on Earth.

First, water gets into a crack in the cliff. It freezes. The ice pushes the crack open. A chunk of rock breaks free. It tumbles down and lands in a stream.

Next, the stream carries the rock. It bumps into other stones. Its sharp corners wear away. Sand rubs it smooth. By the time it reaches a wide river, it is a round pebble.

Then the river slows near the sea. It drops the pebble with sand and mud. More layers settle on top. Over a long time, the weight presses the bottom layers together. Minerals in the water glue the grains into rock.

That new rock may be lifted up one day. Then wind and rain wear it down again. This change that never ends is called the rock cycle.

▲ This passage · 186 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.8

Picture a pebble that begins its life as part of a mountain cliff. Its story shows how rock moves and changes on Earth.

First, water slips into a crack in the cliff and freezes. The ice pushes the crack open, and a chunk of rock breaks free. It tumbles down the slope and lands in a stream.

Next, the stream carries the rock along. As it bumps against other stones, its sharp corners wear away. Rubbing against sand smooths it more. By the time the stream reaches a wide river, the chunk has become a rounded pebble.

Then the river slows near the sea and drops the pebble with sand and mud. More layers settle on top. Over a very long time, the weight of those layers presses the bottom ones together. Minerals in the water help glue the grains into solid rock.

That new rock may one day be lifted up again, and wind and rain will start to wear it down. This never-ending change is called the rock cycle. A pebble in your hand is only one page of a very long story.

■ Harder · 210 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.6

Picture a pebble that begins its existence as part of a towering mountain cliff. Its long journey illustrates how rock is constantly moved and transformed across the surface of Earth.

First, water slips into a narrow crack in the cliff and freezes. The expanding ice pries the crack open, and a chunk of rock breaks free. It tumbles down the steep slope and lands in a rushing stream.

Next, the stream carries the rock along its course. As it collides with other stones, its sharp corners gradually wear away, and rubbing against sand polishes it even further. By the time the stream joins a wide river, the jagged chunk has become a smooth, rounded pebble.

Then the river slows as it nears the sea and deposits the pebble together with sand and mud. Additional layers settle on top, and over an enormous stretch of time, their weight presses the lower layers firmly together. Minerals dissolved in the water help cement the grains into solid rock.

That brand-new rock may someday be lifted up again, and wind and rain will begin to wear it down. This endless cycle of change is known as the rock cycle. A pebble in your hand is only one page of a very long story.

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 tumbles, rounded, settle and grains 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 "A Pebble's Long Trip Down the Mountain"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 186 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.8. 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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