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How a Seesaw Balances a Heavy Friend

4th grade nonfiction passage about levers and balance: 229 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction levers and balance 229 words

How a Seesaw Balances a Heavy Friend

On a playground seesaw, two children of the same size can balance with their feet just off the ground. But what if one friend weighs much more than the other? The seesaw can still balance. All it takes is moving to the right spots.

A seesaw is a kind of lever. A lever is a stiff bar that turns around a fixed point called the pivot. On a seesaw, the pivot is the middle support under the board. Each rider pushes down on their end of the board, and the push tries to turn the board around the pivot.

How hard a rider turns the board depends on two things. One is how much the rider weighs. The other is how far the rider sits from the pivot. A heavy rider close to the pivot may turn the board no more than a light rider sitting far away. That is the secret of balance.

So if a big friend sits near the middle, and a smaller friend sits far out at the end, the board can level out. Sliding the heavy friend even closer makes the light friend rise up. Sliding them away makes the heavy friend drop down.

Levers are everywhere. A crowbar, a pair of scissors and a wheelbarrow all work with this idea. Each uses a pivot to turn a small push into a bigger one.

Questions

  1. What is a lever? in the text

  2. What is the pivot on a seesaw? in the text

  3. What two things decide how hard a rider turns the board? in the text

  4. How can a heavy friend balance a lighter friend? think about it

  5. What happens if the heavy friend slides even closer to the pivot? think about it

  6. Which tools are named as levers? in the text

Words to know

lever
a stiff bar that turns around a fixed point to help move things
pivot
the fixed point that a lever turns around
weighs
has a certain heaviness
wheelbarrow
a small cart with one wheel for carrying loads
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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 · 192 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.7

Two children of the same size can balance on a seesaw. Their feet are just off the ground. But what if one friend weighs much more? The seesaw can still balance. You just move to the right spots.

A seesaw is a lever. A lever is a stiff bar that turns around a fixed point called the pivot. On a seesaw, the pivot is the middle support under the board. Each rider pushes down on one end. The push tries to turn the board around the pivot.

Two things decide how hard a rider turns the board. One is how much the rider weighs. The other is how far the rider sits from the pivot. A heavy rider close to the pivot can turn the board no more than a light rider far away. That is the secret of balance.

A big friend sits near the middle. A smaller friend sits far out at the end. The board can level out. Slide the heavy friend even closer, and the light friend rises. Slide them away, and the heavy friend drops.

Levers are everywhere. A crowbar, scissors and a wheelbarrow use this idea.

▲ This passage · 229 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4

On a playground seesaw, two children of the same size can balance with their feet just off the ground. But what if one friend weighs much more than the other? The seesaw can still balance. All it takes is moving to the right spots.

A seesaw is a kind of lever. A lever is a stiff bar that turns around a fixed point called the pivot. On a seesaw, the pivot is the middle support under the board. Each rider pushes down on their end of the board, and the push tries to turn the board around the pivot.

How hard a rider turns the board depends on two things. One is how much the rider weighs. The other is how far the rider sits from the pivot. A heavy rider close to the pivot may turn the board no more than a light rider sitting far away. That is the secret of balance.

So if a big friend sits near the middle, and a smaller friend sits far out at the end, the board can level out. Sliding the heavy friend even closer makes the light friend rise up. Sliding them away makes the heavy friend drop down.

Levers are everywhere. A crowbar, a pair of scissors and a wheelbarrow all work with this idea. Each uses a pivot to turn a small push into a bigger one.

■ Harder · 236 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.1

On a playground seesaw, two children of equal size can balance with their feet hovering just above the ground. But what if one friend weighs considerably more than the other? Remarkably, the seesaw can still balance, so long as the riders move to the right spots.

A seesaw is a kind of lever. A lever is a stiff bar that turns around a fixed point known as the pivot, and on a seesaw the pivot is the middle support beneath the board. Each rider pushes down on one end of the board, and that push tries to turn the board around the pivot.

How strongly a rider turns the board depends on two factors. The first is how much the rider weighs, and the second is how far the rider sits from the pivot. A heavy rider close to the pivot may turn the board no more than a light rider sitting far away, and that is the secret of balance.

If a big friend sits near the middle while a smaller friend sits far out at the end, the board can level out. Sliding the heavy friend even closer makes the light friend rise, while sliding the heavy friend outward makes that friend drop.

Levers can be found everywhere. A crowbar, a pair of scissors and a wheelbarrow all rely on this idea, using a pivot to turn a small push into a bigger one.

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 lever, pivot, weighs and wheelbarrow 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.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "How a Seesaw Balances a Heavy Friend"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 229 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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