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Washing Away Germs

4th grade nonfiction passage about staying healthy: 172 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction staying healthy 172 words

Washing Away Germs

Germs are living things so small that you cannot see them. Some germs are harmless, but others can make you sick. Germs can stick to your hands when you touch a door handle, a pencil, or a pet. If you then touch your eyes, nose, or mouth, the germs can get into your body.

Washing your hands with soap and water is one of the best ways to stop germs from spreading. Water alone does not work as well. Each tiny piece of soap has one end that grabs oil and dirt and another end that grabs water. When you rub your hands together, the soap pulls germs off your skin, and the water washes them away.

Scrub for about twenty seconds. That is about as long as it takes to sing the happy birthday song twice. Be sure to wash the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.

Wash your hands before you eat, after you use the bathroom, and after you cough, sneeze, or play outside.

Questions

  1. What are germs? in the text

  2. How can germs get into your body? in the text

  3. Why does soap work better than water alone? think about it

  4. How long should you scrub your hands? in the text

  5. Which parts of your hands should you remember to wash? in the text

  6. When should you wash your hands? in the text

Words to know

germs
tiny living things that can cause sickness
harmless
not able to hurt anyone
spreading
moving from one place or person to another
scrub
to rub hard to get something clean
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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 · 167 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.2

Germs are living things so small that you cannot see them. Some germs are harmless, but some can make you sick. Germs can stick to your hands when you touch a door handle, a pencil, or a pet. Then you might touch your eyes, nose, or mouth. The germs can get into your body that way.

Washing your hands with soap and water is a very good way to stop germs. Water alone does not work as well. Each tiny piece of soap has one end that grabs oil and dirt. The other end grabs water. When you rub your hands, the soap pulls germs off your skin. The water washes them away.

Scrub for about twenty seconds. That is as long as it takes to sing the happy birthday song twice. Wash the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.

Wash your hands before you eat. Wash them after you use the bathroom. Wash them after you cough, sneeze, or play outside.

▲ This passage · 172 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.3

Germs are living things so small that you cannot see them. Some germs are harmless, but others can make you sick. Germs can stick to your hands when you touch a door handle, a pencil, or a pet. If you then touch your eyes, nose, or mouth, the germs can get into your body.

Washing your hands with soap and water is one of the best ways to stop germs from spreading. Water alone does not work as well. Each tiny piece of soap has one end that grabs oil and dirt and another end that grabs water. When you rub your hands together, the soap pulls germs off your skin, and the water washes them away.

Scrub for about twenty seconds. That is about as long as it takes to sing the happy birthday song twice. Be sure to wash the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.

Wash your hands before you eat, after you use the bathroom, and after you cough, sneeze, or play outside.

■ Harder · 175 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.2

Germs are living organisms so minuscule that you cannot see them. Some germs are harmless, but others can make you ill. Germs can cling to your hands when you touch a door handle, a pencil, or a pet, and if you then touch your eyes, nose, or mouth, the germs can enter your body.

Washing your hands with soap and water is one of the most effective ways to prevent germs from spreading, because water alone does not work nearly as well. Each tiny piece of soap has one end that grabs oil and dirt and another end that grabs water. When you rub your hands together, the soap pulls germs off your skin, and the water carries them away.

Scrub for approximately twenty seconds, which is about as long as it takes to sing the happy birthday song twice. Be sure to wash the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and underneath your nails.

Wash your hands before you eat, after you use the bathroom, and after you cough, sneeze, or play outside.

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 germs, harmless, spreading and scrub 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 3 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 "Washing Away Germs"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 172 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.3. 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.

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