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The Water Hiding in Sand and Rock

4th grade nonfiction passage about groundwater and wells: 194 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction groundwater and wells 194 words

The Water Hiding in Sand and Rock

When rain falls, not all of it runs into rivers. Some soaks into the ground. It slips down through tiny spaces between bits of soil, sand, and gravel until it reaches a layer where every space is full of water. This underground water is called groundwater.

Groundwater is not a big underground lake. Picture a sponge instead. The water fills the small holes inside sand or cracked rock. A layer of rock or sand that holds a lot of water, and lets it flow, is called an aquifer.

People have long used groundwater. To reach it, they dig or drill a well. The well is a deep hole that goes down into the aquifer. A pump or a bucket brings the water up. In places with little rain, wells can be the main way families get water for drinking and for farms.

Groundwater moves slowly, often only a short distance in a day. It can take years for rain to travel through the ground. That means a well can run low if people pump out water faster than rain can refill it. Using water carefully helps keep a well full for years to come.

Questions

  1. What is groundwater? in the text

  2. What is an aquifer? in the text

  3. How do people reach groundwater? in the text

  4. Why does the passage compare groundwater to a sponge? think about it

  5. How fast does groundwater usually move? in the text

  6. Why can a well run low? think about it

Words to know

groundwater
water that is stored under the ground
aquifer
a layer of rock or sand that holds water underground
drill
to make a deep hole using a tool or machine
gravel
small pieces of rock, bigger than sand
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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 · 184 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3

When rain falls, not all of it runs into rivers. Some soaks into the ground. It slips through tiny spaces in soil, sand, and gravel. It goes down until it reaches a layer where every space is full of water. This water is called groundwater.

Groundwater is not a big underground lake. Think of a sponge. The water fills the small holes in sand or cracked rock. A layer of rock or sand that holds a lot of water and lets it flow is called an aquifer.

People have long used groundwater. To reach it, they dig or drill a well. A well is a deep hole that goes down into the aquifer. A pump or a bucket brings the water up. Where there is little rain, wells can be the main way to get water for drinking and farms.

Groundwater moves slowly, often just a short way in a day. Rain can take years to travel through the ground. A well can run low if people pump out water faster than rain refills it. Using water with care helps keep a well full.

▲ This passage · 194 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.4

When rain falls, not all of it runs into rivers. Some soaks into the ground. It slips down through tiny spaces between bits of soil, sand, and gravel until it reaches a layer where every space is full of water. This underground water is called groundwater.

Groundwater is not a big underground lake. Picture a sponge instead. The water fills the small holes inside sand or cracked rock. A layer of rock or sand that holds a lot of water, and lets it flow, is called an aquifer.

People have long used groundwater. To reach it, they dig or drill a well. The well is a deep hole that goes down into the aquifer. A pump or a bucket brings the water up. In places with little rain, wells can be the main way families get water for drinking and for farms.

Groundwater moves slowly, often only a short distance in a day. It can take years for rain to travel through the ground. That means a well can run low if people pump out water faster than rain can refill it. Using water carefully helps keep a well full for years to come.

■ Harder · 222 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7

When rain falls, not all of it flows into rivers and streams. A portion soaks into the ground and trickles down through the tiny gaps between particles of soil, sand, and gravel until it reaches a layer in which every gap is filled with water. This underground water is known as groundwater.

Groundwater is not a vast underground lake, as many people imagine. A better picture is a sponge. The water occupies the small holes within sand or cracked rock. A layer of rock or sand that holds a great deal of water, and allows it to flow, is called an aquifer.

People have relied on groundwater for a very long time. To reach it, they dig or drill a well, which is a deep hole that extends down into the aquifer. A pump or a bucket then brings the water to the surface. In regions that receive little rain, wells can be the principal source of water for drinking and for farming.

Groundwater travels slowly, often covering only a short distance in a day, and it can take years for rain to make its way through the ground. Consequently, a well can run low if people pump out water faster than the rain is able to refill it. Using water carefully helps keep a well full for many years to come.

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 groundwater, aquifer, drill and gravel 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 "The Water Hiding in Sand and Rock"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 194 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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