4th grade nonfiction passage about how hail grows: 181 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
4th gradenonfictionhow hail grows181 words
Cut a Hailstone Open and Count the Layers
Hail is a kind of weather that falls as lumps of ice. A hailstone can be as small as a pea or much bigger. If scientists slice one in half, they can see something surprising. The inside is made of rings, a bit like an onion.
Hail grows inside tall storm clouds. These clouds hold strong winds that blow upward. The winds also hold tiny drops of water that stay liquid even though the air is very cold. A small bit of ice starts to fall, and then the wind lifts it back up. Each time the ice meets those cold drops, they freeze onto it. Another layer is added.
The ice goes up and down inside the cloud many times. With every trip it grows a little larger and a little heavier. At last the wind cannot hold it up any longer, and the hailstone drops to the ground.
Hail can hurt people and dent cars, so the safest place to be during a hailstorm is indoors. Afterward, the rings in a hailstone tell the story of its wild ride.
Questions
What does the inside of a sliced hailstone look like? in the text
Where does hail grow? in the text
What happens when falling ice meets cold drops of water? in the text
Why does a hailstone finally fall to the ground? in the text
What do the rings in a hailstone tell us? think about it
Why is it safest to stay indoors during hail? think about it
Words to know
hailstone
one lump of ice that falls from a storm cloud
layer
one flat covering that lies over another
liquid
something that flows, like water
scientists
people who study how the world works
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Cut a Hailstone Open and Count the Layers
4th grade reading passage
Hail is a kind of weather that falls as lumps of ice. A hailstone can be as small as a pea or much bigger. If scientists slice one in half, they can see something surprising. The inside is made of rings, a bit like an onion.
Hail grows inside tall storm clouds. These clouds hold strong winds that blow upward. The winds also hold tiny drops of water that stay liquid even though the air is very cold. A small bit of ice starts to fall, and then the wind lifts it back up. Each time the ice meets those cold drops, they freeze onto it. Another layer is added.
The ice goes up and down inside the cloud many times. With every trip it grows a little larger and a little heavier. At last the wind cannot hold it up any longer, and the hailstone drops to the ground.
Hail can hurt people and dent cars, so the safest place to be during a hailstorm is indoors. Afterward, the rings in a hailstone tell the story of its wild ride.
Questions
What does the inside of a sliced hailstone look like?
Where does hail grow?
What happens when falling ice meets cold drops of water?
Why does a hailstone finally fall to the ground?
What do the rings in a hailstone tell us?
Why is it safest to stay indoors during hail?
Words to know
hailstone: one lump of ice that falls from a storm cloud
layer: one flat covering that lies over another
liquid: something that flows, like water
scientists: people who study how the world works
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/4/cut-a-hailstone-open-count-layers
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 · 137 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1
Hail falls as lumps of ice. Some are as small as a pea. Some are much bigger. If a scientist cuts a hailstone in half, the inside has rings. It looks a bit like an onion.
Hail grows in tall storm clouds. The wind in these clouds blows up. The clouds also hold tiny drops of water that are still liquid, even though it is cold. A bit of ice starts to fall. The wind lifts it back up. The cold drops freeze onto the ice. That adds a layer.
The ice goes up and down many times. Each trip makes it bigger and heavier. At last the wind cannot hold it. The hailstone falls.
Hail can hurt people and dent cars. The safest place is indoors. The rings tell the story of the hailstone's wild ride.
▲ This passage · 181 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.8
Hail is a kind of weather that falls as lumps of ice. A hailstone can be as small as a pea or much bigger. If scientists slice one in half, they can see something surprising. The inside is made of rings, a bit like an onion.
Hail grows inside tall storm clouds. These clouds hold strong winds that blow upward. The winds also hold tiny drops of water that stay liquid even though the air is very cold. A small bit of ice starts to fall, and then the wind lifts it back up. Each time the ice meets those cold drops, they freeze onto it. Another layer is added.
The ice goes up and down inside the cloud many times. With every trip it grows a little larger and a little heavier. At last the wind cannot hold it up any longer, and the hailstone drops to the ground.
Hail can hurt people and dent cars, so the safest place to be during a hailstorm is indoors. Afterward, the rings in a hailstone tell the story of its wild ride.
■ Harder · 178 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8
Hail is a form of precipitation that falls as lumps of ice. A hailstone may be as small as a pea or considerably larger. When scientists slice one in half, they discover something remarkable: the inside is built from rings, somewhat like an onion.
Hail develops inside towering storm clouds, where powerful winds blow upward. Those clouds also contain tiny droplets of water that remain liquid even though the air is bitterly cold. A small fragment of ice begins to fall, but the wind carries it back up again. Each time the ice encounters those chilly droplets, they freeze onto its surface, and another layer is added.
The ice may travel up and down inside the cloud many times. With every trip it grows a little larger and heavier, until at last the wind can no longer keep it aloft and the hailstone plummets to the ground.
Hail can injure people and dent cars, so the safest place to be during a hailstorm is indoors. Afterward, the rings inside a hailstone reveal the story of its turbulent journey.
Hail falls as lumps of ice. Some are as small as a pea. Some are much bigger. If a scientist cuts a hailstone in half, the inside has rings. It looks a bit like an onion.
Hail grows in tall storm clouds. The wind in these clouds blows up. The clouds also hold tiny drops of water that are still liquid, even though it is cold. A bit of ice starts to fall. The wind lifts it back up. The cold drops freeze onto the ice. That adds a layer.
The ice goes up and down many times. Each trip makes it bigger and heavier. At last the wind cannot hold it. The hailstone falls.
Hail can hurt people and dent cars. The safest place is indoors. The rings tell the story of the hailstone's wild ride.
Questions
What does the inside of a cut hailstone look like?
Where does hail grow?
What happens when the ice meets the cold drops?
Why does the hailstone fall at last?
What do the rings tell us?
Why is it safest to be indoors in hail?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Cut a Hailstone Open and Count the Layers
Hail is a kind of weather that falls as lumps of ice. A hailstone can be as small as a pea or much bigger. If scientists slice one in half, they can see something surprising. The inside is made of rings, a bit like an onion.
Hail grows inside tall storm clouds. These clouds hold strong winds that blow upward. The winds also hold tiny drops of water that stay liquid even though the air is very cold. A small bit of ice starts to fall, and then the wind lifts it back up. Each time the ice meets those cold drops, they freeze onto it. Another layer is added.
The ice goes up and down inside the cloud many times. With every trip it grows a little larger and a little heavier. At last the wind cannot hold it up any longer, and the hailstone drops to the ground.
Hail can hurt people and dent cars, so the safest place to be during a hailstorm is indoors. Afterward, the rings in a hailstone tell the story of its wild ride.
Questions
What does the inside of a sliced hailstone look like?
Where does hail grow?
What happens when falling ice meets cold drops of water?
Why does a hailstone finally fall to the ground?
What do the rings in a hailstone tell us?
Why is it safest to stay indoors during hail?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Cut a Hailstone Open and Count the Layers
Hail is a form of precipitation that falls as lumps of ice. A hailstone may be as small as a pea or considerably larger. When scientists slice one in half, they discover something remarkable: the inside is built from rings, somewhat like an onion.
Hail develops inside towering storm clouds, where powerful winds blow upward. Those clouds also contain tiny droplets of water that remain liquid even though the air is bitterly cold. A small fragment of ice begins to fall, but the wind carries it back up again. Each time the ice encounters those chilly droplets, they freeze onto its surface, and another layer is added.
The ice may travel up and down inside the cloud many times. With every trip it grows a little larger and heavier, until at last the wind can no longer keep it aloft and the hailstone plummets to the ground.
Hail can injure people and dent cars, so the safest place to be during a hailstorm is indoors. Afterward, the rings inside a hailstone reveal the story of its turbulent journey.
Questions
What does the inside of a sliced hailstone look like?
Where does hail develop?
What happens when falling ice encounters the chilly droplets?
Why does a hailstone finally plummet to the ground?
What do the rings inside a hailstone reveal?
Why is staying indoors the safest choice during hail?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Cut a Hailstone Open and Count the Layers
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1)
It has rings, a bit like an onion.
In tall storm clouds.
The drops freeze onto it and add a layer.
It is too heavy for the wind to hold up.
The ice went up and down and grew layer by layer.
Hail can hurt people and dent cars.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.8)
It is made of rings, a bit like an onion.
Inside tall storm clouds.
The drops freeze onto the ice and add a layer.
It becomes too heavy for the wind to hold up.
That the ice went up and down in the cloud and grew layer by layer.
Hail can hurt people and dent cars.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 8)
It is built from rings, somewhat like an onion.
Inside towering storm clouds.
They freeze onto its surface and add a layer.
It becomes too heavy for the wind to keep it aloft.
That the ice traveled up and down in the cloud, growing one layer at a time.
Hail can injure people and dent cars.
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 hailstone, layer, liquid and scientists 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.
What reading level is "Cut a Hailstone Open and Count the Layers"?
It was written for 4th grade. It has 181 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.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.