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Dust Devils Dance Across Hot Fields

4th grade nonfiction passage about small whirlwinds: 184 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction small whirlwinds 184 words

Dust Devils Dance Across Hot Fields

On a hot, sunny day in a dry place, you may see a little whirl of dust spinning across a field. It looks like a tiny twister, but it is not. It is a dust devil.

A dust devil starts with the ground. The sun heats bare soil or pavement until it is hotter than the land nearby. The air touching that hot ground gets warm and begins to rise in a stream. Cooler air hurries in along the ground to fill the space. If the wind is just right, this moving air starts to spin.

The spinning air lifts loose dust, dry leaves and bits of paper. That is why we can see it. Without dust, the whirl would be invisible.

Most dust devils are small and last only a minute or so. They are not the same as tornadoes. A tornado grows beneath a big storm cloud, while a dust devil forms on a clear day with no storm at all.

If you see one, the best choice is to watch from a safe distance and keep dust out of your eyes.

Questions

  1. What kind of day is likely to make a dust devil? in the text

  2. What happens to air that touches very hot ground? in the text

  3. What makes a dust devil easy to see? in the text

  4. How long do most dust devils last? in the text

  5. How is a dust devil different from a tornado? think about it

  6. What would a whirl of air look like without any dust? think about it

Words to know

whirl
a fast spinning motion
pavement
a hard road surface made for walking or driving
twister
another name for a tornado
invisible
not able to be seen
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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 · 157 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5

On a hot, sunny day in a dry place, you may see a little whirl of dust. It spins across a field. It looks like a tiny twister, but it is not. It is a dust devil.

A dust devil starts with the ground. The sun heats bare soil or pavement. It gets hotter than the land nearby. The air touching it gets warm and rises. Cooler air rushes in along the ground. If the wind is just right, the moving air starts to spin.

The spinning air lifts loose dust, dry leaves and bits of paper. That is how we can see it. With no dust, we could not see the whirl.

Most dust devils are small. They last about a minute. They are not tornadoes. A tornado forms under a big storm cloud. A dust devil forms on a clear day.

If you see one, watch from far away. Keep dust out of your eyes.

▲ This passage · 184 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3

On a hot, sunny day in a dry place, you may see a little whirl of dust spinning across a field. It looks like a tiny twister, but it is not. It is a dust devil.

A dust devil starts with the ground. The sun heats bare soil or pavement until it is hotter than the land nearby. The air touching that hot ground gets warm and begins to rise in a stream. Cooler air hurries in along the ground to fill the space. If the wind is just right, this moving air starts to spin.

The spinning air lifts loose dust, dry leaves and bits of paper. That is why we can see it. Without dust, the whirl would be invisible.

Most dust devils are small and last only a minute or so. They are not the same as tornadoes. A tornado grows beneath a big storm cloud, while a dust devil forms on a clear day with no storm at all.

If you see one, the best choice is to watch from a safe distance and keep dust out of your eyes.

■ Harder · 194 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.8

On a scorching, sunny afternoon in a dry region, you may notice a small whirl of dust spinning across an open field. It resembles a miniature twister, but it is not one. It is called a dust devil.

A dust devil begins with the ground itself. The sun heats bare soil or pavement until it becomes much hotter than the surrounding land. The air touching that hot surface warms up and begins to rise in a steady stream, while cooler air hurries in along the ground to fill the empty space. If the wind conditions are just right, this moving air starts to rotate.

The spinning air picks up loose dust, dry leaves and scraps of paper, which is why we are able to see it at all. Without any dust, the whirl would be completely invisible.

Most dust devils are small and last only about a minute. They are quite different from tornadoes, which develop beneath enormous storm clouds, whereas a dust devil forms on a clear day without any storm.

If you encounter one, the wisest choice is to observe from a safe distance and keep the dust out of your eyes.

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 whirl, pavement, twister and invisible 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 "Dust Devils Dance Across Hot Fields"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 184 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.3. 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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