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Reading the Tide Table Before the Beach

4th grade nonfiction passage about tide tables and time: 229 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction tide tables and time 229 words

Reading the Tide Table Before the Beach

Before a trip to the seashore, some families check a tide table. A tide table is a chart that lists the times when the ocean will be high and low, and it is a handy guide because the water does not stay in one place all day long.

On many coasts, the sea rises and falls two times each day, and high tide is when the water reaches farthest up the beach while low tide is when it pulls back the farthest. The moon's pull on the ocean is a main cause of these changes, and the trip from high tide to low tide takes a little more than six hours.

Here is a pretend tide table for one morning. High tide is at 6:00 a.m. Low tide is at 12:15 p.m. How long will the water go out? Count from 6:00 to 12:00, which is six hours. Then add the extra 15 minutes. The answer is six hours and fifteen minutes.

Why does it matter? At low tide, more sand and rock are uncovered. That is the best time to look for shells and to peek into tide pools. There is one more thing to know. Each day, the tides come a bit less than an hour later than the day before. So you cannot use yesterday's table. Always read today's, and stay close to a grown-up near the water.

Questions

  1. What does a tide table list? in the text

  2. What is high tide? in the text

  3. What is a main cause of the tides? in the text

  4. In the pretend table, how long does the water go out? in the text

  5. When is the best time to look for shells and peek into tide pools? in the text

  6. Why can you not use yesterday's tide table today? think about it

Words to know

tide
the slow rise and fall of the sea each day
chart
information set out in rows and columns so it is easy to read
coasts
the places where land meets the sea
uncovered
no longer hidden under water or anything else
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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 · 166 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.9

Some families check a tide table before a trip to the beach. A tide table is a chart. It tells when the sea will be high and low. The water does not stay in one place.

On many coasts, the sea goes up and down two times a day. At high tide, the water comes farthest up the beach. At low tide, it goes farthest out. The moon's pull is a main cause. It takes a little more than six hours to go from high to low.

Try a pretend table. High tide is at 6:00 a.m. Low tide is at 12:15 p.m. How long does the water go out? From 6:00 to 12:00 is six hours. Add 15 more minutes. That is six hours and fifteen minutes.

At low tide, more sand and rocks show. That is a good time to look for shells and tide pools.

The tides come a bit less than an hour later each day. Read today's table, and stay near a grown-up.

▲ This passage · 229 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3

Before a trip to the seashore, some families check a tide table. A tide table is a chart that lists the times when the ocean will be high and low, and it is a handy guide because the water does not stay in one place all day long.

On many coasts, the sea rises and falls two times each day, and high tide is when the water reaches farthest up the beach while low tide is when it pulls back the farthest. The moon's pull on the ocean is a main cause of these changes, and the trip from high tide to low tide takes a little more than six hours.

Here is a pretend tide table for one morning. High tide is at 6:00 a.m. Low tide is at 12:15 p.m. How long will the water go out? Count from 6:00 to 12:00, which is six hours. Then add the extra 15 minutes. The answer is six hours and fifteen minutes.

Why does it matter? At low tide, more sand and rock are uncovered. That is the best time to look for shells and to peek into tide pools. There is one more thing to know. Each day, the tides come a bit less than an hour later than the day before. So you cannot use yesterday's table. Always read today's, and stay close to a grown-up near the water.

■ Harder · 239 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.2

Before traveling to the seashore, many families consult a tide table. A tide table is a chart that lists the times when the ocean will be high and when it will be low. It is an extremely useful guide because the water never stays in one place throughout the day.

Along many coasts, the sea rises and falls twice every day. High tide is the moment when the water reaches farthest up the beach, while low tide is when it retreats the farthest. The moon's pull on the ocean is a main cause of these changes, and the journey from high tide to low tide takes a little more than six hours.

Here is a pretend tide table for a single morning. High tide arrives at 6:00 a.m., and low tide arrives at 12:15 p.m. How long will the water be going out? Count from 6:00 to 12:00, which gives six hours, and then add the extra 15 minutes. The answer is six hours and fifteen minutes.

Why does this matter? At low tide, far more sand and rock are uncovered, so it is the best time to hunt for shells and to peek into tide pools. There is one more detail to remember. Each day the tides arrive a bit less than an hour later than they did the day before, so yesterday's table will not help you. Always read today's, and stay close to a grown-up near the water.

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 tide, chart, coasts and uncovered 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.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Reading the Tide Table Before the Beach"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 229 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.3. 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?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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