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Thousands of Potatoes in the Peruvian Andes

4th grade nonfiction passage about potato farming in peru: 200 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction potato farming in peru 200 words

Thousands of Potatoes in the Peruvian Andes

When you think of a potato, you may picture a plain, brown one. In the mountains of Peru, potatoes come in a surprising rainbow. Some are purple, some are red, and some are yellow or pink. Some are round, some are long, and some are twisted like knobby fingers.

Farmers in the Andes have grown potatoes for thousands of years. Peru is home to thousands of different kinds. Why are there so many? The mountains have many different heights, and each height has its own weather. A farmer can plant one kind on a warm slope and another in a cold, windy field high above. Each kind does best where it fits.

Cold weather helped the farmers invent a clever way to keep potatoes for a long time. They leave small potatoes outside on freezing nights. In the day, the sun warms them and people stamp out the water. After days of freezing and drying, the potatoes become light, hard, and dry. This food is called chuno, and it can be stored for a long time.

Today, many families still grow several kinds of potatoes in one small field. If bad weather hurts one kind, another may still grow well.

Questions

  1. What colors can potatoes be in the mountains of Peru? in the text

  2. How long have farmers in the Andes grown potatoes? in the text

  3. Why does a farmer plant different kinds at different heights? in the text

  4. What is chuno? in the text

  5. Why might a family grow several kinds of potatoes in one field? think about it

  6. Why is the cold weather helpful for making chuno? think about it

Words to know

knobby
covered with small, hard lumps
slope
the side of a hill or mountain
freezing
so cold that water turns to ice
stored
put away and kept for later use
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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 · 187 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

When you think of a potato, you may see a plain brown one. In the mountains of Peru, potatoes come in many colors. Some are purple. Some are red. Some are yellow or pink. Some are round and some are long. Some are twisted like knobby fingers.

Farmers in the Andes have grown potatoes for thousands of years. Peru has thousands of kinds. Why so many? The mountains have many heights, and each height has its own weather. A farmer can plant one kind on a warm slope. Another kind goes in a cold, windy field up high. Each kind grows best where it fits.

The cold helped farmers find a way to keep potatoes for a long time. They leave small potatoes outside on freezing nights. In the day, the sun warms them, and people stamp out the water. After days of freezing and drying, the potatoes are light, hard, and dry. This food is called chuno. It can be stored for a long time.

Today, many families grow a few kinds in one small field. If bad weather hurts one kind, another may still grow.

▲ This passage · 200 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.6

When you think of a potato, you may picture a plain, brown one. In the mountains of Peru, potatoes come in a surprising rainbow. Some are purple, some are red, and some are yellow or pink. Some are round, some are long, and some are twisted like knobby fingers.

Farmers in the Andes have grown potatoes for thousands of years. Peru is home to thousands of different kinds. Why are there so many? The mountains have many different heights, and each height has its own weather. A farmer can plant one kind on a warm slope and another in a cold, windy field high above. Each kind does best where it fits.

Cold weather helped the farmers invent a clever way to keep potatoes for a long time. They leave small potatoes outside on freezing nights. In the day, the sun warms them and people stamp out the water. After days of freezing and drying, the potatoes become light, hard, and dry. This food is called chuno, and it can be stored for a long time.

Today, many families still grow several kinds of potatoes in one small field. If bad weather hurts one kind, another may still grow well.

■ Harder · 212 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.9

When most people think of a potato, they picture a plain, brown one. In the mountains of Peru, however, potatoes come in a surprising rainbow of colors. Some are purple, some are red, and others are yellow or pink. Some are round, some are long, and some are twisted like knobby fingers.

Farmers in the Andes have cultivated potatoes for thousands of years, and Peru is home to thousands of different varieties. Why are there so many? The mountains rise to many different heights, and each height has its own kind of weather. A farmer can plant one variety on a warm slope and a completely different one in a cold, windy field far above. Each variety thrives best in the place that suits it.

The cold climate also inspired the farmers to invent a clever way of preserving potatoes. They leave small potatoes outdoors on freezing nights. During the day, the sun warms them and people stamp out the water. After several days of freezing and drying, the potatoes become light, hard, and dry. This food, called chuno, can be stored for a very long time.

Today, many families still plant several varieties together in one small field. If bad weather damages one kind, another may still produce a good harvest.

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 knobby, slope, freezing and stored 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 "Thousands of Potatoes in the Peruvian Andes"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 200 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.6. 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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