4th grade nonfiction passage about how seeds spread: 162 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
4th gradenonfictionhow seeds spread162 words
Seeds That Travel
A plant cannot walk, so how do its seeds get to new places? Seeds need room to grow. If they all dropped under the parent plant, they would crowd one another. So many seeds travel to find space.
Some seeds travel on the wind. A dandelion seed has a puff of fine hairs that works like a parachute. A maple seed has a flat wing that spins like a helicopter as it falls.
Some seeds float. A coconut can drift across the ocean on the waves and begin to grow when it lands on a distant beach.
Other seeds hitch a ride on animals. Burrs have tiny hooks that catch on fur or socks. Many seeds are inside fruit. An animal eats the fruit, and the seeds pass through its body and fall to the ground far from the parent.
A few plants shoot their seeds out. When a pod dries, it twists and bursts open, throwing its seeds in every direction.
Questions
Why do seeds need to travel? in the text
How does a dandelion seed travel? in the text
How can a coconut get to a distant beach? in the text
How do burrs travel? in the text
How does an animal help spread the seeds inside a fruit? in the text
Why does a spinning wing help a maple seed travel farther? think about it
Words to know
parachute
a wide cover that slows a fall through the air
crowd
to press close together with too little room
burrs
prickly seed cases that stick to fur and clothes
pod
a long case that holds seeds
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Seeds That Travel
4th grade reading passage
A plant cannot walk, so how do its seeds get to new places? Seeds need room to grow. If they all dropped under the parent plant, they would crowd one another. So many seeds travel to find space.
Some seeds travel on the wind. A dandelion seed has a puff of fine hairs that works like a parachute. A maple seed has a flat wing that spins like a helicopter as it falls.
Some seeds float. A coconut can drift across the ocean on the waves and begin to grow when it lands on a distant beach.
Other seeds hitch a ride on animals. Burrs have tiny hooks that catch on fur or socks. Many seeds are inside fruit. An animal eats the fruit, and the seeds pass through its body and fall to the ground far from the parent.
A few plants shoot their seeds out. When a pod dries, it twists and bursts open, throwing its seeds in every direction.
Questions
Why do seeds need to travel?
How does a dandelion seed travel?
How can a coconut get to a distant beach?
How do burrs travel?
How does an animal help spread the seeds inside a fruit?
Why does a spinning wing help a maple seed travel farther?
Words to know
parachute: a wide cover that slows a fall through the air
crowd: to press close together with too little room
burrs: prickly seed cases that stick to fur and clothes
pod: a long case that holds seeds
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/4/seeds-that-travel
Share
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 · 153 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1
A plant cannot walk. So how do its seeds get to new places? Seeds need room to grow. If they all fell under the parent plant, they would crowd each other. So many seeds travel to find space.
Some seeds go on the wind. A dandelion seed has a puff of fine hairs like a parachute. A maple seed has a flat wing. It spins like a helicopter as it falls.
Some seeds float. A coconut can drift across the ocean on the waves. It starts to grow when it lands on a faraway beach.
Other seeds ride on animals. Burrs have tiny hooks that catch on fur or socks. Many seeds are inside fruit. An animal eats the fruit. The seeds pass through its body and fall far from the parent.
A few plants shoot out their seeds. When a pod dries, it twists and pops open. Seeds fly in every direction.
▲ This passage · 162 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3
A plant cannot walk, so how do its seeds get to new places? Seeds need room to grow. If they all dropped under the parent plant, they would crowd one another. So many seeds travel to find space.
Some seeds travel on the wind. A dandelion seed has a puff of fine hairs that works like a parachute. A maple seed has a flat wing that spins like a helicopter as it falls.
Some seeds float. A coconut can drift across the ocean on the waves and begin to grow when it lands on a distant beach.
Other seeds hitch a ride on animals. Burrs have tiny hooks that catch on fur or socks. Many seeds are inside fruit. An animal eats the fruit, and the seeds pass through its body and fall to the ground far from the parent.
A few plants shoot their seeds out. When a pod dries, it twists and bursts open, throwing its seeds in every direction.
■ Harder · 172 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.2
A plant cannot walk, so how do its seeds reach new places? Seeds require room to grow, and if they all dropped beneath the parent plant, they would crowd one another. As a result, many seeds travel in search of space.
Some seeds are carried by the wind. A dandelion seed has a puff of delicate hairs that works like a parachute, and a maple seed has a flat wing that spins like a helicopter blade as it falls.
Other seeds float. A coconut can drift across the ocean on the waves and begin to sprout after it lands on a distant beach.
Still other seeds hitch a ride on animals. Burrs have tiny hooks that catch on fur or socks. Many seeds are hidden inside fruit, and when an animal eats the fruit, the seeds pass through its body and fall to the ground far from the parent.
A few plants actually shoot their seeds out. When a pod dries, it twists and bursts open, hurling its seeds in every direction.
A plant cannot walk. So how do its seeds get to new places? Seeds need room to grow. If they all fell under the parent plant, they would crowd each other. So many seeds travel to find space.
Some seeds go on the wind. A dandelion seed has a puff of fine hairs like a parachute. A maple seed has a flat wing. It spins like a helicopter as it falls.
Some seeds float. A coconut can drift across the ocean on the waves. It starts to grow when it lands on a faraway beach.
Other seeds ride on animals. Burrs have tiny hooks that catch on fur or socks. Many seeds are inside fruit. An animal eats the fruit. The seeds pass through its body and fall far from the parent.
A few plants shoot out their seeds. When a pod dries, it twists and pops open. Seeds fly in every direction.
Questions
Why do seeds need to travel?
How does a dandelion seed travel?
How can a coconut get to a faraway beach?
How do burrs travel?
How does an animal spread the seeds inside a fruit?
Why does a spinning wing help a maple seed go farther?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Seeds That Travel
A plant cannot walk, so how do its seeds get to new places? Seeds need room to grow. If they all dropped under the parent plant, they would crowd one another. So many seeds travel to find space.
Some seeds travel on the wind. A dandelion seed has a puff of fine hairs that works like a parachute. A maple seed has a flat wing that spins like a helicopter as it falls.
Some seeds float. A coconut can drift across the ocean on the waves and begin to grow when it lands on a distant beach.
Other seeds hitch a ride on animals. Burrs have tiny hooks that catch on fur or socks. Many seeds are inside fruit. An animal eats the fruit, and the seeds pass through its body and fall to the ground far from the parent.
A few plants shoot their seeds out. When a pod dries, it twists and bursts open, throwing its seeds in every direction.
Questions
Why do seeds need to travel?
How does a dandelion seed travel?
How can a coconut get to a distant beach?
How do burrs travel?
How does an animal help spread the seeds inside a fruit?
Why does a spinning wing help a maple seed travel farther?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Seeds That Travel
A plant cannot walk, so how do its seeds reach new places? Seeds require room to grow, and if they all dropped beneath the parent plant, they would crowd one another. As a result, many seeds travel in search of space.
Some seeds are carried by the wind. A dandelion seed has a puff of delicate hairs that works like a parachute, and a maple seed has a flat wing that spins like a helicopter blade as it falls.
Other seeds float. A coconut can drift across the ocean on the waves and begin to sprout after it lands on a distant beach.
Still other seeds hitch a ride on animals. Burrs have tiny hooks that catch on fur or socks. Many seeds are hidden inside fruit, and when an animal eats the fruit, the seeds pass through its body and fall to the ground far from the parent.
A few plants actually shoot their seeds out. When a pod dries, it twists and bursts open, hurling its seeds in every direction.
Questions
Why do seeds need to travel?
How does a dandelion seed travel?
How can a coconut reach a distant beach?
How do burrs travel?
How does an animal help spread the seeds hidden inside a fruit?
Why does a spinning wing help a maple seed travel farther?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Seeds That Travel
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1)
They need room to grow. Under the parent plant they would crowd each other.
On the wind, with a puff of hairs like a parachute.
It floats across the ocean on the waves.
Their tiny hooks catch on fur or socks.
It eats the fruit, and the seeds fall far from the parent plant.
Spinning slows its fall, so the wind can carry it farther.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3)
They need room to grow. If they all fell under the parent plant, they would crowd one another.
On the wind, using a puff of fine hairs like a parachute.
It floats and drifts across the ocean on the waves.
Their tiny hooks catch on fur or socks.
It eats the fruit, and the seeds fall to the ground far from the parent plant.
The spinning slows its fall, so the wind has more time to carry it away.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.2)
They require room to grow, and they would crowd one another beneath the parent plant.
On the wind, with a puff of delicate hairs that works like a parachute.
It floats and drifts across the ocean on the waves.
Their tiny hooks catch on fur or socks.
It eats the fruit, and the seeds fall to the ground far from the parent plant.
The spinning slows its fall, so the wind has more time to carry it away.
Free at teach.peabody.kids
How to use it
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 parachute, crowd, burrs and pod 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 162 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.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.