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The Tongue Map That Never Existed

4th grade nonfiction passage about taste and the tongue: 188 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction taste and the tongue 188 words

The Tongue Map That Never Existed

You may have seen a picture of the tongue split into zones. The tip is marked sweet, the sides are marked sour and salty, and the back is marked bitter. For many years, schools taught this idea. It turns out to be a myth.

Your tongue is covered with tiny bumps, and on the bumps are taste buds. Each taste bud holds little cells that can notice sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory tastes. These cells are spread over the whole tongue. You can notice a sweet taste at the back of your tongue, and you can notice a bitter taste at the tip.

You can test the old map with a grown-up. Touch a tiny drop of juice to different spots on a clean tongue. You will notice the flavor wherever you put it.

Some parts of the tongue may be a little more sensitive to certain tastes. But the difference is small. The old map made it seem as if each taste lived in its own neighborhood. In truth, your whole tongue works as a team, and every part of it can taste almost everything.

Questions

  1. What did the old tongue map say about the tip of the tongue? in the text

  2. Where are the taste buds found? in the text

  3. Can you name two of the five tastes the cells can notice? in the text

  4. How can you test the old map at home? in the text

  5. Why does the writer say the tongue works as a team? think about it

  6. If the old map were true, what would happen when juice touched the tongue's back? think about it

Words to know

myth
an idea many people believe that is not true
taste buds
tiny parts on the tongue that notice flavors
savory
a rich, meaty kind of taste
sensitive
quick to notice something
flavor
the taste of a food or drink
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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 · 157 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.8

You may have seen a picture of the tongue in zones. The tip says sweet. The sides say sour and salty. The back says bitter. Schools taught this for years. But it is a myth.

Your tongue has tiny bumps. Taste buds sit on the bumps. Each taste bud has little cells. They can notice sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory tastes. These cells are all over the tongue. You can notice a sweet taste at the back. You can notice a bitter taste at the tip.

You can test the old map with a grown-up. Put a tiny drop of juice on different spots of a clean tongue. You taste it wherever you put it.

Some spots may notice a taste a little more. But the difference is small. The old map made each taste seem to live in its own place. Really, your whole tongue is a team. Every part can taste almost everything.

▲ This passage · 188 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.1

You may have seen a picture of the tongue split into zones. The tip is marked sweet, the sides are marked sour and salty, and the back is marked bitter. For many years, schools taught this idea. It turns out to be a myth.

Your tongue is covered with tiny bumps, and on the bumps are taste buds. Each taste bud holds little cells that can notice sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory tastes. These cells are spread over the whole tongue. You can notice a sweet taste at the back of your tongue, and you can notice a bitter taste at the tip.

You can test the old map with a grown-up. Touch a tiny drop of juice to different spots on a clean tongue. You will notice the flavor wherever you put it.

Some parts of the tongue may be a little more sensitive to certain tastes. But the difference is small. The old map made it seem as if each taste lived in its own neighborhood. In truth, your whole tongue works as a team, and every part of it can taste almost everything.

■ Harder · 192 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.1

You may have encountered a diagram of the tongue divided into separate zones. The tip is labeled sweet, the sides are labeled sour and salty, and the back is labeled bitter. For many years, classrooms taught this idea as fact. It turns out to be a myth.

Your tongue is covered with tiny bumps, and embedded in those bumps are taste buds. Each taste bud contains small cells that can detect sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory tastes. These cells are distributed across the entire tongue. You can detect a sweet taste at the back of your tongue, and you can detect a bitter taste at the tip.

You can test the old map yourself with a grown-up. Touch a tiny drop of juice to several different spots on a clean tongue. You will notice the flavor wherever it lands.

Certain areas of the tongue may be slightly more sensitive to particular tastes, but the difference is small. The old map made it seem as though each taste lived in its own neighborhood. In reality, your whole tongue works as a team, and every part of it can taste almost everything.

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 myth, taste buds, savory, sensitive and flavor 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 5 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 "The Tongue Map That Never Existed"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 188 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.1. 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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