4th grade nonfiction passage about polynesian navigation: 169 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
4th gradenonfictionpolynesian navigation169 words
Finding Islands by Stars and Swells
Long ago, people in the Pacific Ocean sailed in big canoes from one tiny island to another. They had no compasses and no maps. Still, they found their way across hundreds of miles of open water. This skill is called wayfinding.
A wayfinder watched the sky. Stars rise in the east and set in the west, and each star comes up at the same spot on the horizon night after night. A sailor could steer toward a certain star and stay on course.
A wayfinder also paid attention to the sea. Ocean waves called swells roll in steady lines. Even in the dark, a sailor could feel the swells rocking the canoe and tell which way to point it.
Birds gave clues too. Some seabirds fly out to sea in the morning and come back to land at night. If a wayfinder saw them heading home, land was probably near.
Wayfinders did not write these lessons down. They learned them from teachers and remembered them in songs and stories.
Questions
What did Pacific sailors use to travel instead of compasses and maps? in the text
Where do stars rise? in the text
What are swells? in the text
Why could a sailor feel the swells even in the dark? think about it
What might it mean when seabirds fly back toward land in the evening? think about it
How did wayfinders keep their knowledge without writing? in the text
Words to know
wayfinding
finding your way across a long distance without tools like maps
horizon
the line where the sky seems to meet the land or sea
swells
long, smooth waves that move across the open sea
clues
small signs that help you figure something out
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Finding Islands by Stars and Swells
4th grade reading passage
Long ago, people in the Pacific Ocean sailed in big canoes from one tiny island to another. They had no compasses and no maps. Still, they found their way across hundreds of miles of open water. This skill is called wayfinding.
A wayfinder watched the sky. Stars rise in the east and set in the west, and each star comes up at the same spot on the horizon night after night. A sailor could steer toward a certain star and stay on course.
A wayfinder also paid attention to the sea. Ocean waves called swells roll in steady lines. Even in the dark, a sailor could feel the swells rocking the canoe and tell which way to point it.
Birds gave clues too. Some seabirds fly out to sea in the morning and come back to land at night. If a wayfinder saw them heading home, land was probably near.
Wayfinders did not write these lessons down. They learned them from teachers and remembered them in songs and stories.
Questions
What did Pacific sailors use to travel instead of compasses and maps?
Where do stars rise?
What are swells?
Why could a sailor feel the swells even in the dark?
What might it mean when seabirds fly back toward land in the evening?
How did wayfinders keep their knowledge without writing?
Words to know
wayfinding: finding your way across a long distance without tools like maps
horizon: the line where the sky seems to meet the land or sea
swells: long, smooth waves that move across the open sea
clues: small signs that help you figure something out
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/4/finding-islands-by-stars-and-swells
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 · 148 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4
Long ago, people in the Pacific Ocean sailed big canoes from island to island. They had no compasses. They had no maps. Still, they crossed hundreds of miles of open sea. This skill is called wayfinding.
A wayfinder watched the sky. Stars rise in the east and set in the west. A star comes up at the same spot on the horizon each night. A sailor could steer toward a star and keep going straight.
A wayfinder also felt the sea. Swells are waves that roll in steady lines. At night, a sailor felt the swells rock the canoe and knew which way to point it.
Birds helped too. Some seabirds fly out to sea in the morning and return to land at night. If they flew home, land was near.
Wayfinders did not write lessons down. They learned from teachers and kept them in songs and stories.
▲ This passage · 169 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2
Long ago, people in the Pacific Ocean sailed in big canoes from one tiny island to another. They had no compasses and no maps. Still, they found their way across hundreds of miles of open water. This skill is called wayfinding.
A wayfinder watched the sky. Stars rise in the east and set in the west, and each star comes up at the same spot on the horizon night after night. A sailor could steer toward a certain star and stay on course.
A wayfinder also paid attention to the sea. Ocean waves called swells roll in steady lines. Even in the dark, a sailor could feel the swells rocking the canoe and tell which way to point it.
Birds gave clues too. Some seabirds fly out to sea in the morning and come back to land at night. If a wayfinder saw them heading home, land was probably near.
Wayfinders did not write these lessons down. They learned them from teachers and remembered them in songs and stories.
■ Harder · 181 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.3
Centuries ago, people throughout the Pacific Ocean sailed enormous canoes from one tiny island to another. Although they possessed neither compasses nor maps, they successfully traveled hundreds of miles across open water. This remarkable skill is known as wayfinding.
A wayfinder studied the sky with great care. Stars rise in the east and set in the west, and each star emerges at precisely the same point on the horizon night after night. A sailor could therefore steer toward a particular star and remain on course.
A wayfinder was equally attentive to the sea itself. Ocean swells, which are waves that travel in steady, regular lines, could be felt as they rocked the canoe, so even in total darkness a sailor could tell which direction to point it.
Birds offered additional clues. Certain seabirds fly far out to sea each morning and return to land at night, so a wayfinder who watched them heading home could guess that land was probably nearby.
Wayfinders never wrote these lessons down. Instead, they learned them from their teachers and preserved them in songs and stories.
Long ago, people in the Pacific Ocean sailed big canoes from island to island. They had no compasses. They had no maps. Still, they crossed hundreds of miles of open sea. This skill is called wayfinding.
A wayfinder watched the sky. Stars rise in the east and set in the west. A star comes up at the same spot on the horizon each night. A sailor could steer toward a star and keep going straight.
A wayfinder also felt the sea. Swells are waves that roll in steady lines. At night, a sailor felt the swells rock the canoe and knew which way to point it.
Birds helped too. Some seabirds fly out to sea in the morning and return to land at night. If they flew home, land was near.
Wayfinders did not write lessons down. They learned from teachers and kept them in songs and stories.
Questions
What did Pacific sailors use instead of compasses and maps?
Where do stars rise?
What are swells?
Why could a sailor feel the swells in the dark?
What might it mean when seabirds fly toward land at night?
How did wayfinders keep what they knew without writing?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Finding Islands by Stars and Swells
Long ago, people in the Pacific Ocean sailed in big canoes from one tiny island to another. They had no compasses and no maps. Still, they found their way across hundreds of miles of open water. This skill is called wayfinding.
A wayfinder watched the sky. Stars rise in the east and set in the west, and each star comes up at the same spot on the horizon night after night. A sailor could steer toward a certain star and stay on course.
A wayfinder also paid attention to the sea. Ocean waves called swells roll in steady lines. Even in the dark, a sailor could feel the swells rocking the canoe and tell which way to point it.
Birds gave clues too. Some seabirds fly out to sea in the morning and come back to land at night. If a wayfinder saw them heading home, land was probably near.
Wayfinders did not write these lessons down. They learned them from teachers and remembered them in songs and stories.
Questions
What did Pacific sailors use to travel instead of compasses and maps?
Where do stars rise?
What are swells?
Why could a sailor feel the swells even in the dark?
What might it mean when seabirds fly back toward land in the evening?
How did wayfinders keep their knowledge without writing?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Finding Islands by Stars and Swells
Centuries ago, people throughout the Pacific Ocean sailed enormous canoes from one tiny island to another. Although they possessed neither compasses nor maps, they successfully traveled hundreds of miles across open water. This remarkable skill is known as wayfinding.
A wayfinder studied the sky with great care. Stars rise in the east and set in the west, and each star emerges at precisely the same point on the horizon night after night. A sailor could therefore steer toward a particular star and remain on course.
A wayfinder was equally attentive to the sea itself. Ocean swells, which are waves that travel in steady, regular lines, could be felt as they rocked the canoe, so even in total darkness a sailor could tell which direction to point it.
Birds offered additional clues. Certain seabirds fly far out to sea each morning and return to land at night, so a wayfinder who watched them heading home could guess that land was probably nearby.
Wayfinders never wrote these lessons down. Instead, they learned them from their teachers and preserved them in songs and stories.
Questions
What did Pacific sailors rely on in place of compasses and maps?
In which direction do stars rise?
What are ocean swells?
Why could a sailor sense the swells even in total darkness?
What could it mean if seabirds were heading back toward land at night?
How did wayfinders preserve their knowledge without writing it down?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Finding Islands by Stars and Swells
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4)
They used stars, swells and birds.
In the east.
Waves that roll in steady lines.
The swells rocked the canoe, so no one had to see them.
Land is probably close.
They learned from teachers and kept it in songs and stories.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2)
They used the stars, the swells and the birds.
In the east.
Waves that roll in steady lines across the ocean.
The swells rocked the canoe, so the sailor did not need to see them.
Land is probably close.
They learned from teachers and remembered it in songs and stories.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.3)
They relied on the stars, the swells and the birds.
In the east.
Waves that travel in steady, regular lines across the sea.
The swells rocked the canoe, so the sailor could feel them without seeing them.
Land was probably nearby.
They learned from teachers and kept it in songs and stories.
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 wayfinding, horizon, swells and clues 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 4 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 "Finding Islands by Stars and Swells"?
It was written for 4th grade. It has 169 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.2. 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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