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Baking Soda and Baking Powder Are Not Twins

4th grade nonfiction passage about kitchen chemistry: 179 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction kitchen chemistry 179 words

Baking Soda and Baking Powder Are Not Twins

Baking soda and baking powder look alike. Both are white powders in small containers, and both help cakes and muffins rise. But they are not the same thing, and a cook cannot swap them freely.

Baking soda is one ingredient. By itself it does little in a cake. It needs an acid, such as buttermilk, yogurt, lemon juice, or brown sugar. When the soda meets an acid and gets wet, the two make bubbles of gas. The bubbles puff up the batter. Because it reacts right away, the batter should usually go into the oven soon.

Baking powder is a mix. It already holds baking soda and a dry acid, along with a little starch to keep them apart. Add water, and the two parts begin to react. Many baking powders react a second time when they get hot in the oven.

A recipe with a sour ingredient often calls for baking soda. A recipe with no sour ingredient usually uses baking powder. Cooks follow the recipe closely, because too much of either one can leave a bitter taste.

Questions

  1. What do baking soda and baking powder both do? in the text

  2. What does baking soda need before it can make bubbles? in the text

  3. Which two sour ingredients go well with baking soda? in the text

  4. What is baking powder? in the text

  5. Why might a cake with no sour ingredient use baking powder? think about it

  6. Why do cooks follow a recipe closely when using these powders? in the text

Words to know

acid
a sour substance, like lemon juice
batter
a thin mix of flour and liquid that is baked into a cake
react
to change when mixed with something else
starch
a white powder found in plants like corn and potatoes
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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 · 147 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.1

Baking soda and baking powder look alike. Both are white powders. Both help cakes and muffins rise. But they are not the same. A cook cannot swap them freely.

Baking soda is one ingredient. It needs an acid to work. Buttermilk, yogurt, lemon juice, and brown sugar are acids. When the soda meets an acid and gets wet, they make bubbles of gas. The bubbles puff up the batter. This happens fast, so the batter should go into the oven soon.

Baking powder is a mix. It holds baking soda and a dry acid. A little starch keeps them apart. Add water, and they start to react. Many baking powders react again in the hot oven.

A recipe with a sour ingredient often uses baking soda. A recipe with no sour ingredient usually uses baking powder. Cooks follow the recipe. Too much of either can taste bitter.

▲ This passage · 179 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.5

Baking soda and baking powder look alike. Both are white powders in small containers, and both help cakes and muffins rise. But they are not the same thing, and a cook cannot swap them freely.

Baking soda is one ingredient. By itself it does little in a cake. It needs an acid, such as buttermilk, yogurt, lemon juice, or brown sugar. When the soda meets an acid and gets wet, the two make bubbles of gas. The bubbles puff up the batter. Because it reacts right away, the batter should usually go into the oven soon.

Baking powder is a mix. It already holds baking soda and a dry acid, along with a little starch to keep them apart. Add water, and the two parts begin to react. Many baking powders react a second time when they get hot in the oven.

A recipe with a sour ingredient often calls for baking soda. A recipe with no sour ingredient usually uses baking powder. Cooks follow the recipe closely, because too much of either one can leave a bitter taste.

■ Harder · 196 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9

Baking soda and baking powder resemble each other closely. Both are white powders kept in small containers, and both help cakes and muffins rise. Nevertheless, they are not the same substance, and a cook cannot trade one for the other without thinking.

Baking soda is a single ingredient, and on its own it accomplishes very little in a cake. It requires an acid, such as buttermilk, yogurt, lemon juice, or brown sugar. When the soda meets an acid and becomes wet, the two react and produce bubbles of gas that puff up the batter. Because the reaction begins immediately, the batter should usually go into the oven soon afterward.

Baking powder, by contrast, is a mixture. It already contains baking soda and a dry acid, along with a little starch that keeps the two apart. Once water is added, the two parts begin to react, and many baking powders react a second time when they heat up in the oven.

A recipe containing a sour ingredient often calls for baking soda, whereas a recipe without one usually relies on baking powder. Cooks follow recipes carefully, since too much of either powder can leave a bitter taste.

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 acid, batter, react and starch 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 "Baking Soda and Baking Powder Are Not Twins"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 179 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.5. 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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