4th grade nonfiction passage about animal senses: 159 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
4th gradenonfictionanimal senses159 words
How Owls Hunt at Night
Owls are hunters of the night. While most birds sleep after dark, an owl wakes up and goes to work. Its body has special tools that make night hunting possible.
An owl has very large eyes. They are built to gather even a little bit of light, so the owl can see in the dark. The eyes cannot move in their sockets, though. To look around, an owl turns its whole head. Some owls can turn their heads almost all the way around.
An owl also has excellent hearing. In many kinds of owls, one ear sits a little higher on the head than the other. Because of this, a sound reaches one ear a tiny moment before the other. The owl uses that difference to find out exactly where a mouse is hiding, even under the snow.
Soft feathers help an owl fly without much noise. A mouse cannot hear the owl coming until it is too late.
Questions
What does an owl do while most birds are sleeping? in the text
How does an owl look around if its eyes cannot move? in the text
What sense helps an owl find a mouse hiding under the snow? in the text
Why does a sound reach one of an owl's ears before the other? in the text
What helps an owl fly without much noise? in the text
Why might an owl need a head that can turn so far? think about it
Words to know
sockets
the round hollow places in the skull that hold the eyes
gather
to collect or bring together
hearing
the ability to notice sounds with the ears
feathers
the light, soft parts that cover a bird's body
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
How Owls Hunt at Night
4th grade reading passage
Owls are hunters of the night. While most birds sleep after dark, an owl wakes up and goes to work. Its body has special tools that make night hunting possible.
An owl has very large eyes. They are built to gather even a little bit of light, so the owl can see in the dark. The eyes cannot move in their sockets, though. To look around, an owl turns its whole head. Some owls can turn their heads almost all the way around.
An owl also has excellent hearing. In many kinds of owls, one ear sits a little higher on the head than the other. Because of this, a sound reaches one ear a tiny moment before the other. The owl uses that difference to find out exactly where a mouse is hiding, even under the snow.
Soft feathers help an owl fly without much noise. A mouse cannot hear the owl coming until it is too late.
Questions
What does an owl do while most birds are sleeping?
How does an owl look around if its eyes cannot move?
What sense helps an owl find a mouse hiding under the snow?
Why does a sound reach one of an owl's ears before the other?
What helps an owl fly without much noise?
Why might an owl need a head that can turn so far?
Words to know
sockets: the round hollow places in the skull that hold the eyes
gather: to collect or bring together
hearing: the ability to notice sounds with the ears
feathers: the light, soft parts that cover a bird's body
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/4/how-owls-hunt-at-night
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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 · 142 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7
Owls hunt at night. Most birds sleep when it is dark. An owl wakes up and goes to work. Its body has tools for hunting in the dark.
An owl has big eyes. They take in a little light, so the owl can see at night. The eyes cannot move in their sockets. So the owl turns its whole head to look around. Some owls can turn their heads almost all the way around.
An owl hears very well. In many kinds of owls, one ear sits a bit higher than the other. A sound gets to one ear a tiny bit before the other. The owl uses this to find a mouse. It can find one even under the snow.
Soft feathers let an owl fly with little noise. A mouse cannot hear the owl coming until it is too late.
▲ This passage · 159 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.1
Owls are hunters of the night. While most birds sleep after dark, an owl wakes up and goes to work. Its body has special tools that make night hunting possible.
An owl has very large eyes. They are built to gather even a little bit of light, so the owl can see in the dark. The eyes cannot move in their sockets, though. To look around, an owl turns its whole head. Some owls can turn their heads almost all the way around.
An owl also has excellent hearing. In many kinds of owls, one ear sits a little higher on the head than the other. Because of this, a sound reaches one ear a tiny moment before the other. The owl uses that difference to find out exactly where a mouse is hiding, even under the snow.
Soft feathers help an owl fly without much noise. A mouse cannot hear the owl coming until it is too late.
■ Harder · 174 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8
Owls are nocturnal hunters. While most birds are asleep after dark, an owl wakes up and goes to work, and its body is equipped with remarkable tools for hunting at night.
An owl's enormous eyes are built to gather even a small amount of light, which allows the owl to see in the dark. However, the eyes are fixed in place and cannot swivel in their sockets. To look around, an owl must turn its entire head, and some owls can rotate their heads almost all the way around.
An owl also has outstanding hearing. In many kinds of owls, one ear sits slightly higher on the head than the other. As a result, a sound reaches one ear a tiny moment before it reaches the other, and the owl uses that difference to pinpoint exactly where a mouse is hiding, even beneath the snow.
Finally, soft feathers allow an owl to glide through the air with very little noise, so a mouse cannot hear the hunter approaching until it is far too late.
Owls hunt at night. Most birds sleep when it is dark. An owl wakes up and goes to work. Its body has tools for hunting in the dark.
An owl has big eyes. They take in a little light, so the owl can see at night. The eyes cannot move in their sockets. So the owl turns its whole head to look around. Some owls can turn their heads almost all the way around.
An owl hears very well. In many kinds of owls, one ear sits a bit higher than the other. A sound gets to one ear a tiny bit before the other. The owl uses this to find a mouse. It can find one even under the snow.
Soft feathers let an owl fly with little noise. A mouse cannot hear the owl coming until it is too late.
Questions
What does an owl do while most birds sleep?
How does an owl look around if its eyes cannot move?
What helps an owl find a mouse under the snow?
Why does a sound get to one ear before the other?
What lets an owl fly with little noise?
Why does an owl need to turn its head so far?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
How Owls Hunt at Night
Owls are hunters of the night. While most birds sleep after dark, an owl wakes up and goes to work. Its body has special tools that make night hunting possible.
An owl has very large eyes. They are built to gather even a little bit of light, so the owl can see in the dark. The eyes cannot move in their sockets, though. To look around, an owl turns its whole head. Some owls can turn their heads almost all the way around.
An owl also has excellent hearing. In many kinds of owls, one ear sits a little higher on the head than the other. Because of this, a sound reaches one ear a tiny moment before the other. The owl uses that difference to find out exactly where a mouse is hiding, even under the snow.
Soft feathers help an owl fly without much noise. A mouse cannot hear the owl coming until it is too late.
Questions
What does an owl do while most birds are sleeping?
How does an owl look around if its eyes cannot move?
What sense helps an owl find a mouse hiding under the snow?
Why does a sound reach one of an owl's ears before the other?
What helps an owl fly without much noise?
Why might an owl need a head that can turn so far?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
How Owls Hunt at Night
Owls are nocturnal hunters. While most birds are asleep after dark, an owl wakes up and goes to work, and its body is equipped with remarkable tools for hunting at night.
An owl's enormous eyes are built to gather even a small amount of light, which allows the owl to see in the dark. However, the eyes are fixed in place and cannot swivel in their sockets. To look around, an owl must turn its entire head, and some owls can rotate their heads almost all the way around.
An owl also has outstanding hearing. In many kinds of owls, one ear sits slightly higher on the head than the other. As a result, a sound reaches one ear a tiny moment before it reaches the other, and the owl uses that difference to pinpoint exactly where a mouse is hiding, even beneath the snow.
Finally, soft feathers allow an owl to glide through the air with very little noise, so a mouse cannot hear the hunter approaching until it is far too late.
Questions
What does an owl do while most birds are asleep after dark?
How does an owl look around, since its eyes are fixed in place?
Which sense helps an owl find a mouse hidden beneath the snow?
Why does a sound reach one of an owl's ears before the other?
What allows an owl to glide through the air quietly?
Why might an owl need a head that can turn so far?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: How Owls Hunt at Night
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7)
It wakes up and hunts.
It turns its whole head.
Its hearing.
In many owls, one ear sits a bit higher than the other.
Its soft feathers.
Its eyes cannot move, so it can only see where its head points.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.1)
It wakes up and hunts.
It turns its whole head.
Its hearing.
In many owls, one ear sits a little higher than the other.
Its soft feathers.
Its eyes cannot move, so it can only look where its head points. Turning the head lets it see in many directions.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 8)
It wakes up and hunts.
It turns its entire head.
Its hearing.
In many kinds of owls, one ear sits slightly higher on the head than the other.
Its soft feathers.
Its eyes are fixed and cannot move, so the owl can only look where its head points. Turning the head lets it see in many directions.
Free at teach.peabody.kids
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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 sockets, gather, hearing and feathers 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 6 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.
It was written for 4th grade. It has 159 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. 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.
Is this passage from a published book?
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