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How a Big Magnet Sorts Scrap Metal

4th grade nonfiction passage about magnets and metals: 213 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction magnets and metals 213 words

How a Big Magnet Sorts Scrap Metal

At a recycling center, a crane swings a huge magnet over a pile of mixed metal. When the magnet is switched on, steel lifts up and clings to it. When the magnet is switched off, the steel drops into a bin. The crane has sorted a heap in a few moments.

Magnets do not pull on every kind of metal. They pull strongly on iron and on steel, which is made mostly of iron. Many food cans are made of steel, so a magnet will pick them up. An aluminum drink can is different. A magnet does not pull on it, and neither does it pull on copper pipe, glass or plastic.

You can test this idea safely with a small fridge magnet. Try it on a steel paper clip, a coin, an aluminum can and a wooden spoon. Only some of them will stick. Make a chart of what you find.

Magnets work even when something thin sits between them and the metal. A magnet can hold a drawing to a fridge door, with paper in the gap. The pull gets weaker as the gap gets wider, though.

In sorting plants, magnets take out steel first. Then other machines separate the rest. This saves workers from picking through heavy piles by hand.

Questions

  1. What does the crane magnet do when it is switched on? in the text

  2. Which metals do magnets pull strongly? in the text

  3. Which things are not pulled by a magnet? in the text

  4. Why will a magnet pick up many food cans? in the text

  5. Why can a magnet hold a drawing to a fridge door? think about it

  6. Why is a big magnet helpful at a sorting plant? think about it

Words to know

recycling
turning old things into new materials so they can be used again
clings
holds on tightly to something
aluminum
a light, silvery metal used for drink cans
separate
to pull things apart into groups
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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 · 193 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4

At a recycling center, a crane swings a huge magnet over a pile of mixed metal. The magnet is switched on. Steel lifts up and clings to it. The magnet is switched off. The steel drops into a bin. The crane sorts a heap in a few moments.

Magnets do not pull on every metal. They pull hard on iron and on steel. Steel is made mostly of iron. Many food cans are steel, so a magnet picks them up. An aluminum drink can is different. A magnet does not pull on it. It does not pull on copper pipe, glass or plastic.

You can test this with a small fridge magnet. Try it on a steel paper clip, a coin, an aluminum can and a wooden spoon. Only some will stick. Make a chart of what you find.

A magnet works through a thin gap. It can hold a drawing on a fridge door with paper in between. The pull gets weaker as the gap gets wider.

In sorting plants, magnets take out the steel first. Other machines sort the rest. Workers do not have to pick through heavy piles by hand.

▲ This passage · 213 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4

At a recycling center, a crane swings a huge magnet over a pile of mixed metal. When the magnet is switched on, steel lifts up and clings to it. When the magnet is switched off, the steel drops into a bin. The crane has sorted a heap in a few moments.

Magnets do not pull on every kind of metal. They pull strongly on iron and on steel, which is made mostly of iron. Many food cans are made of steel, so a magnet will pick them up. An aluminum drink can is different. A magnet does not pull on it, and neither does it pull on copper pipe, glass or plastic.

You can test this idea safely with a small fridge magnet. Try it on a steel paper clip, a coin, an aluminum can and a wooden spoon. Only some of them will stick. Make a chart of what you find.

Magnets work even when something thin sits between them and the metal. A magnet can hold a drawing to a fridge door, with paper in the gap. The pull gets weaker as the gap gets wider, though.

In sorting plants, magnets take out steel first. Then other machines separate the rest. This saves workers from picking through heavy piles by hand.

■ Harder · 228 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.4

At a recycling center, a crane swings an enormous magnet over a heap of mixed metal. When the magnet is switched on, steel leaps upward and clings to it, and when the magnet is switched off, the steel drops into a waiting bin. In just a few moments, the crane has sorted an entire pile.

Magnets do not attract every kind of metal. They pull strongly on iron and on steel, which is made mostly of iron. Many food cans are made of steel, so a magnet will pick them up. An aluminum drink can behaves differently, because a magnet exerts no pull on it, and the same is true of copper pipe, glass and plastic.

You can test this idea safely with a small fridge magnet. Try it on a steel paper clip, a coin, an aluminum can and a wooden spoon, and you will find that only some of them stick. Record your results in a chart.

A magnet can even work when something thin lies between it and the metal. That is how a magnet holds a drawing to a fridge door with the paper sitting in the gap. The pull grows weaker, however, as the gap becomes wider.

In sorting plants, magnets remove the steel first, and then other machines separate the remaining materials. This spares workers from picking through heavy piles by hand.

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 recycling, clings, aluminum and separate 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 "How a Big Magnet Sorts Scrap Metal"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 213 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.0. 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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