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Salt Ponds: Sunshine Makes Salt

4th grade nonfiction passage about making sea salt: 196 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction making sea salt 196 words

Salt Ponds: Sunshine Makes Salt

Seawater is salty, and that salt can be collected for the kitchen. In warm, sunny places near the coast, people make salt in a simple way. They let the sun do most of the work.

First, seawater is let into a shallow pond with a low wall around it. Because the pond is shallow, the sun can warm all of the water. As the water heats, some of it turns into vapor and rises into the air. This is called evaporation. Salt does not rise with the water. It stays behind.

As the water level drops, the salt becomes more crowded in the water that is left. Often the workers move the water through a series of ponds, one after another. In each pond, more water evaporates and the water gets saltier.

At last, the water in the final pond holds so much salt that it can hold no more. White crystals of salt begin to form and settle on the bottom. When the water has all dried away, workers rake the salt into piles. The salt is then cleaned, dried, and packed.

It takes warm weather, wind, and patience, but the sea provides the salt.

Questions

  1. Why is the pond for making salt shallow? in the text

  2. What is evaporation? in the text

  3. What stays behind when the water evaporates? in the text

  4. Why do workers move the water through a series of ponds? think about it

  5. What happens when the water holds all the salt it can? in the text

  6. Why do salt ponds work best in warm, sunny places? think about it

Words to know

shallow
not deep
vapor
water that has turned into a gas you cannot see
evaporation
the change of a liquid into a gas
crystals
small, hard bits with flat sides, like grains of salt
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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 · 177 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2

Seawater is salty. That salt can be collected for the kitchen. In warm, sunny places by the coast, people make salt in a simple way. The sun does most of the work.

First, seawater goes into a shallow pond with a low wall around it. The pond is shallow, so the sun can warm all the water. As the water heats, some of it turns into vapor and rises into the air. This is called evaporation. The salt does not rise. It stays behind.

As the water drops, the salt is more crowded in the water that is left. Workers often move the water through a line of ponds. In each pond, more water evaporates and the water gets saltier.

In the last pond, the water has so much salt it can hold no more. White crystals of salt form and settle on the bottom. When all the water dries up, workers rake the salt into piles. The salt is then cleaned, dried, and packed.

It takes warm weather, wind, and patience. The sea gives the salt.

▲ This passage · 196 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.4

Seawater is salty, and that salt can be collected for the kitchen. In warm, sunny places near the coast, people make salt in a simple way. They let the sun do most of the work.

First, seawater is let into a shallow pond with a low wall around it. Because the pond is shallow, the sun can warm all of the water. As the water heats, some of it turns into vapor and rises into the air. This is called evaporation. Salt does not rise with the water. It stays behind.

As the water level drops, the salt becomes more crowded in the water that is left. Often the workers move the water through a series of ponds, one after another. In each pond, more water evaporates and the water gets saltier.

At last, the water in the final pond holds so much salt that it can hold no more. White crystals of salt begin to form and settle on the bottom. When the water has all dried away, workers rake the salt into piles. The salt is then cleaned, dried, and packed.

It takes warm weather, wind, and patience, but the sea provides the salt.

■ Harder · 203 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.9

Seawater is salty, and that salt can be gathered for use in the kitchen. In warm, sunny places along the coast, people produce salt in a remarkably simple way, allowing the sun to do most of the work.

To begin, seawater is let into a shallow pond surrounded by a low wall. Because the pond is shallow, the sun is able to warm all of the water. As the water heats up, some of it changes into vapor and rises into the air, a process called evaporation. Salt does not rise along with the water, so it is left behind.

As the water level falls, the salt becomes more concentrated in the water that remains. Workers frequently channel the water through a series of ponds, one after another, and in each pond more water evaporates and the water grows saltier.

Eventually, the water in the final pond contains so much salt that it can hold no more. White crystals of salt begin to form and settle on the bottom. Once the water has dried away entirely, workers rake the salt into piles, and it is then cleaned, dried, and packed.

It requires warm weather, wind, and patience, but the sea supplies the salt.

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 shallow, vapor, evaporation and crystals 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 "Salt Ponds: Sunshine Makes Salt"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 196 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.4. 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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