4th grade nonfiction passage about planting potatoes: 186 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
4th gradenonfictionplanting potatoes186 words
Growing a Potato From a Potato
Most plants grow from seeds, but potatoes are different. A gardener usually starts a potato plant with another potato. This works because a potato is not a root. It is a swollen underground stem that stores food for the plant.
Look closely at a potato and you will see small dents. These are called eyes. Each eye can sprout, and a sprout can grow into a whole new plant. A gardener can cut a potato into chunks, as long as each chunk has at least one or two eyes. The chunks are left to dry for a day or so, so the cut sides heal over.
The chunks are planted a few inches deep in loose soil. Soon green shoots push up into the light. As the plant grows, the gardener piles soil around the base of the stems. This keeps the new potatoes covered, because potatoes that see the sun turn green and are not good to eat.
After the leaves turn yellow and die back, the new potatoes are ready. The gardener digs gently, and the soil gives up a handful of new treasure.
Questions
What do gardeners usually use to start a potato plant? in the text
What is a potato, according to the passage? in the text
What are the eyes on a potato? in the text
Why do gardeners let cut chunks dry for a day? in the text
Why does the gardener pile soil around the stems as the plant grows? think about it
How can a gardener tell the new potatoes are ready? in the text
Words to know
swollen
made bigger and rounder than usual
sprout
to start to grow a new shoot
chunks
thick pieces cut from something
shoots
young stems that are just beginning to grow
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Growing a Potato From a Potato
4th grade reading passage
Most plants grow from seeds, but potatoes are different. A gardener usually starts a potato plant with another potato. This works because a potato is not a root. It is a swollen underground stem that stores food for the plant.
Look closely at a potato and you will see small dents. These are called eyes. Each eye can sprout, and a sprout can grow into a whole new plant. A gardener can cut a potato into chunks, as long as each chunk has at least one or two eyes. The chunks are left to dry for a day or so, so the cut sides heal over.
The chunks are planted a few inches deep in loose soil. Soon green shoots push up into the light. As the plant grows, the gardener piles soil around the base of the stems. This keeps the new potatoes covered, because potatoes that see the sun turn green and are not good to eat.
After the leaves turn yellow and die back, the new potatoes are ready. The gardener digs gently, and the soil gives up a handful of new treasure.
Questions
What do gardeners usually use to start a potato plant?
What is a potato, according to the passage?
What are the eyes on a potato?
Why do gardeners let cut chunks dry for a day?
Why does the gardener pile soil around the stems as the plant grows?
How can a gardener tell the new potatoes are ready?
Words to know
swollen: made bigger and rounder than usual
sprout: to start to grow a new shoot
chunks: thick pieces cut from something
shoots: young stems that are just beginning to grow
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/4/growing-a-potato-from-a-potato
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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 · 151 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9
Most plants grow from seeds. Potatoes are different. A gardener can start a potato plant with another potato. A potato is not a root. It is a swollen underground stem. It stores food for the plant.
Look at a potato. You will see small dents called eyes. Each eye can sprout into a new plant. A gardener can cut a potato into chunks. Each chunk needs one or two eyes. The chunks dry for a day so the cut sides heal over.
The chunks are planted a few inches deep in loose soil. Green shoots push up into the light. As the plant grows, the gardener piles soil around the stems. This keeps the new potatoes covered. Potatoes that see the sun turn green and are not good to eat.
When the leaves turn yellow and die back, the new potatoes are ready. The gardener digs gently and finds new treasure.
▲ This passage · 186 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.6
Most plants grow from seeds, but potatoes are different. A gardener usually starts a potato plant with another potato. This works because a potato is not a root. It is a swollen underground stem that stores food for the plant.
Look closely at a potato and you will see small dents. These are called eyes. Each eye can sprout, and a sprout can grow into a whole new plant. A gardener can cut a potato into chunks, as long as each chunk has at least one or two eyes. The chunks are left to dry for a day or so, so the cut sides heal over.
The chunks are planted a few inches deep in loose soil. Soon green shoots push up into the light. As the plant grows, the gardener piles soil around the base of the stems. This keeps the new potatoes covered, because potatoes that see the sun turn green and are not good to eat.
After the leaves turn yellow and die back, the new potatoes are ready. The gardener digs gently, and the soil gives up a handful of new treasure.
■ Harder · 198 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.2
Most plants begin as seeds, but potatoes are different. A gardener usually starts a potato plant with another potato, and this works because a potato is not a root at all. It is a swollen underground stem that stores food for the plant.
If you look closely at a potato, you will notice small dents known as eyes. Each eye is able to sprout, and the sprout can grow into an entire new plant. A gardener may cut a potato into several chunks, provided that every chunk carries at least one or two eyes. The chunks are then left to dry for a day or so, which allows the cut surfaces to heal over.
Afterward, the chunks are planted a few inches deep in loose soil, and soon green shoots push upward into the light. While the plant grows, the gardener keeps piling soil around the base of the stems. This keeps the developing potatoes covered, because potatoes exposed to the sun turn green and are not good to eat.
Once the leaves have turned yellow and died back, the new potatoes are ready. The gardener digs gently, and the soil gives up a handful of buried treasure.
Most plants grow from seeds. Potatoes are different. A gardener can start a potato plant with another potato. A potato is not a root. It is a swollen underground stem. It stores food for the plant.
Look at a potato. You will see small dents called eyes. Each eye can sprout into a new plant. A gardener can cut a potato into chunks. Each chunk needs one or two eyes. The chunks dry for a day so the cut sides heal over.
The chunks are planted a few inches deep in loose soil. Green shoots push up into the light. As the plant grows, the gardener piles soil around the stems. This keeps the new potatoes covered. Potatoes that see the sun turn green and are not good to eat.
When the leaves turn yellow and die back, the new potatoes are ready. The gardener digs gently and finds new treasure.
Questions
What do gardeners use to start a potato plant?
What is a potato?
What are the eyes on a potato?
Why do cut chunks dry for a day?
Why does the gardener pile soil around the stems?
How does a gardener know the new potatoes are ready?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Growing a Potato From a Potato
Most plants grow from seeds, but potatoes are different. A gardener usually starts a potato plant with another potato. This works because a potato is not a root. It is a swollen underground stem that stores food for the plant.
Look closely at a potato and you will see small dents. These are called eyes. Each eye can sprout, and a sprout can grow into a whole new plant. A gardener can cut a potato into chunks, as long as each chunk has at least one or two eyes. The chunks are left to dry for a day or so, so the cut sides heal over.
The chunks are planted a few inches deep in loose soil. Soon green shoots push up into the light. As the plant grows, the gardener piles soil around the base of the stems. This keeps the new potatoes covered, because potatoes that see the sun turn green and are not good to eat.
After the leaves turn yellow and die back, the new potatoes are ready. The gardener digs gently, and the soil gives up a handful of new treasure.
Questions
What do gardeners usually use to start a potato plant?
What is a potato, according to the passage?
What are the eyes on a potato?
Why do gardeners let cut chunks dry for a day?
Why does the gardener pile soil around the stems as the plant grows?
How can a gardener tell the new potatoes are ready?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Growing a Potato From a Potato
Most plants begin as seeds, but potatoes are different. A gardener usually starts a potato plant with another potato, and this works because a potato is not a root at all. It is a swollen underground stem that stores food for the plant.
If you look closely at a potato, you will notice small dents known as eyes. Each eye is able to sprout, and the sprout can grow into an entire new plant. A gardener may cut a potato into several chunks, provided that every chunk carries at least one or two eyes. The chunks are then left to dry for a day or so, which allows the cut surfaces to heal over.
Afterward, the chunks are planted a few inches deep in loose soil, and soon green shoots push upward into the light. While the plant grows, the gardener keeps piling soil around the base of the stems. This keeps the developing potatoes covered, because potatoes exposed to the sun turn green and are not good to eat.
Once the leaves have turned yellow and died back, the new potatoes are ready. The gardener digs gently, and the soil gives up a handful of buried treasure.
Questions
What does a gardener usually use to start a potato plant?
According to the passage, what is a potato?
What are the eyes on a potato?
Why are the cut chunks left to dry for a day or so?
Why does the gardener keep piling soil around the stems?
How can a gardener tell that the new potatoes are ready?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Growing a Potato From a Potato
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9)
Another potato.
A swollen underground stem that stores food for the plant.
Small dents that can sprout into new plants.
So the cut sides heal over.
To keep the new potatoes covered, because potatoes in the sun turn green and are not good to eat.
The leaves turn yellow and die back.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.6)
Another potato.
A swollen underground stem that stores food for the plant.
Small dents that can each sprout into a new plant.
So the cut sides heal over.
To keep the new potatoes covered, because potatoes that see the sun turn green and are not good to eat.
The leaves turn yellow and die back.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.2)
Another potato.
A swollen underground stem that stores food for the plant.
Small dents that can each sprout into an entire new plant.
So the cut surfaces can heal over.
To keep the developing potatoes covered, since potatoes exposed to the sun turn green and are not good to eat.
The leaves turn yellow and die back.
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 swollen, sprout, chunks and shoots 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 "Growing a Potato From a Potato"?
It was written for 4th grade. It has 186 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.6. 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.
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