4th grade nonfiction passage about insulated bottles: 189 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
4th gradenonfictioninsulated bottles189 words
Why a Thermos Keeps Soup Hot
You pour hot soup into a bottle in the morning. At lunchtime, the soup is still warm. How does the bottle do that?
The secret is in the walls. A thermos is really a bottle inside another bottle. Between the two walls is a space where almost all of the air has been taken out. Heat has a hard time crossing empty space. Without air to carry it, the warmth of the soup cannot easily slip through to the outside.
The inside walls are often shiny, too. A shiny surface bounces heat back, the way a mirror bounces light. That keeps even more warmth inside the bottle. Finally, a tight stopper at the top keeps warm air from escaping through the opening.
A thermos works for cold drinks as well. The same walls that hold heat in will also keep heat out. A cold drink stays cold because the warmth of the day cannot easily reach it. A scientist named James Dewar built the first bottle of this kind more than a hundred years ago. He wanted to keep very cold materials from warming up while he studied them.
Questions
What is a thermos made of, according to the passage? in the text
What has been taken out of the space between the walls? in the text
What does a shiny inside wall do with heat? in the text
What does the tight stopper do? in the text
Why does a thermos keep cold drinks cold? in the text
Why might a thermos stop working well if its outer wall cracked? think about it
Words to know
thermos
a bottle with double walls that keeps drinks hot or cold
stopper
a plug or cap that closes the top of a bottle
surface
the outside or top layer of something
escaping
getting out and getting away
materials
the things that something is made from or used with
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Why a Thermos Keeps Soup Hot
4th grade reading passage
You pour hot soup into a bottle in the morning. At lunchtime, the soup is still warm. How does the bottle do that?
The secret is in the walls. A thermos is really a bottle inside another bottle. Between the two walls is a space where almost all of the air has been taken out. Heat has a hard time crossing empty space. Without air to carry it, the warmth of the soup cannot easily slip through to the outside.
The inside walls are often shiny, too. A shiny surface bounces heat back, the way a mirror bounces light. That keeps even more warmth inside the bottle. Finally, a tight stopper at the top keeps warm air from escaping through the opening.
A thermos works for cold drinks as well. The same walls that hold heat in will also keep heat out. A cold drink stays cold because the warmth of the day cannot easily reach it. A scientist named James Dewar built the first bottle of this kind more than a hundred years ago. He wanted to keep very cold materials from warming up while he studied them.
Questions
What is a thermos made of, according to the passage?
What has been taken out of the space between the walls?
What does a shiny inside wall do with heat?
What does the tight stopper do?
Why does a thermos keep cold drinks cold?
Why might a thermos stop working well if its outer wall cracked?
Words to know
thermos: a bottle with double walls that keeps drinks hot or cold
stopper: a plug or cap that closes the top of a bottle
surface: the outside or top layer of something
escaping: getting out and getting away
materials: the things that something is made from or used with
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/4/why-a-thermos-keeps-soup-hot
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 · 126 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7
You pour hot soup into a bottle in the morning. At lunch the soup is still warm. How?
The secret is in the walls. A thermos is a bottle inside a bottle. Between the walls, almost all the air is gone. Heat cannot cross empty space well. So the warmth of the soup stays in.
The inside walls are often shiny. A shiny wall bounces heat back, like a mirror bounces light. A tight stopper at the top keeps warm air from getting out.
A thermos works for cold drinks, too. The walls keep the heat out. A cold drink stays cold.
A scientist named James Dewar made the first one more than a hundred years ago. He wanted to keep cold things from warming up.
▲ This passage · 189 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2
You pour hot soup into a bottle in the morning. At lunchtime, the soup is still warm. How does the bottle do that?
The secret is in the walls. A thermos is really a bottle inside another bottle. Between the two walls is a space where almost all of the air has been taken out. Heat has a hard time crossing empty space. Without air to carry it, the warmth of the soup cannot easily slip through to the outside.
The inside walls are often shiny, too. A shiny surface bounces heat back, the way a mirror bounces light. That keeps even more warmth inside the bottle. Finally, a tight stopper at the top keeps warm air from escaping through the opening.
A thermos works for cold drinks as well. The same walls that hold heat in will also keep heat out. A cold drink stays cold because the warmth of the day cannot easily reach it. A scientist named James Dewar built the first bottle of this kind more than a hundred years ago. He wanted to keep very cold materials from warming up while he studied them.
■ Harder · 202 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.3
Imagine pouring steaming soup into a bottle early in the morning and discovering at lunchtime that it is still warm. How does the bottle manage to do that?
The secret lies in its walls. A thermos is really a bottle sitting inside another bottle. Between the two walls is a space from which almost all of the air has been removed. Heat has a very hard time crossing empty space, because without air to carry it, the warmth of the soup cannot easily slip through to the outside.
The inner walls are frequently shiny as well. A shiny surface reflects heat in the same way that a mirror reflects light, which keeps even more warmth inside the bottle. Finally, a tight stopper at the top prevents warm air from escaping through the opening.
A thermos works equally well for cold drinks, since the same walls that hold heat in will also keep heat out. A cold drink stays cold because the warmth of the day cannot easily reach it. A scientist named James Dewar built the first bottle of this kind more than a hundred years ago, because he wanted to prevent very cold materials from warming up while he studied them.
You pour hot soup into a bottle in the morning. At lunch the soup is still warm. How?
The secret is in the walls. A thermos is a bottle inside a bottle. Between the walls, almost all the air is gone. Heat cannot cross empty space well. So the warmth of the soup stays in.
The inside walls are often shiny. A shiny wall bounces heat back, like a mirror bounces light. A tight stopper at the top keeps warm air from getting out.
A thermos works for cold drinks, too. The walls keep the heat out. A cold drink stays cold.
A scientist named James Dewar made the first one more than a hundred years ago. He wanted to keep cold things from warming up.
Questions
What is a thermos made of?
What is gone from the space between the walls?
What does a shiny wall do with heat?
What does the tight stopper do?
Why does a thermos keep cold drinks cold?
Why might a thermos work badly if its outer wall cracked?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Why a Thermos Keeps Soup Hot
You pour hot soup into a bottle in the morning. At lunchtime, the soup is still warm. How does the bottle do that?
The secret is in the walls. A thermos is really a bottle inside another bottle. Between the two walls is a space where almost all of the air has been taken out. Heat has a hard time crossing empty space. Without air to carry it, the warmth of the soup cannot easily slip through to the outside.
The inside walls are often shiny, too. A shiny surface bounces heat back, the way a mirror bounces light. That keeps even more warmth inside the bottle. Finally, a tight stopper at the top keeps warm air from escaping through the opening.
A thermos works for cold drinks as well. The same walls that hold heat in will also keep heat out. A cold drink stays cold because the warmth of the day cannot easily reach it. A scientist named James Dewar built the first bottle of this kind more than a hundred years ago. He wanted to keep very cold materials from warming up while he studied them.
Questions
What is a thermos made of, according to the passage?
What has been taken out of the space between the walls?
What does a shiny inside wall do with heat?
What does the tight stopper do?
Why does a thermos keep cold drinks cold?
Why might a thermos stop working well if its outer wall cracked?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Why a Thermos Keeps Soup Hot
Imagine pouring steaming soup into a bottle early in the morning and discovering at lunchtime that it is still warm. How does the bottle manage to do that?
The secret lies in its walls. A thermos is really a bottle sitting inside another bottle. Between the two walls is a space from which almost all of the air has been removed. Heat has a very hard time crossing empty space, because without air to carry it, the warmth of the soup cannot easily slip through to the outside.
The inner walls are frequently shiny as well. A shiny surface reflects heat in the same way that a mirror reflects light, which keeps even more warmth inside the bottle. Finally, a tight stopper at the top prevents warm air from escaping through the opening.
A thermos works equally well for cold drinks, since the same walls that hold heat in will also keep heat out. A cold drink stays cold because the warmth of the day cannot easily reach it. A scientist named James Dewar built the first bottle of this kind more than a hundred years ago, because he wanted to prevent very cold materials from warming up while he studied them.
Questions
What is a thermos made of, according to the passage?
What has been removed from the space between the two walls?
What does a shiny inner wall do with heat?
What does the tight stopper accomplish?
Why does a thermos keep cold drinks cold?
Why might a thermos perform poorly if its outer wall cracked?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Why a Thermos Keeps Soup Hot
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7)
A bottle inside another bottle.
Almost all of the air.
It bounces heat back inside.
It keeps warm air from getting out.
The walls keep the heat outside.
Air could get into the empty space and carry heat across.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2)
A bottle inside another bottle.
Almost all of the air.
It bounces heat back inside.
It keeps warm air from escaping through the opening.
The walls keep the outside warmth from reaching the drink.
Air could get into the empty space and carry heat across, so the drink would warm up or cool down faster.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.3)
A bottle sitting inside another bottle.
Almost all of the air.
It reflects heat back inside, the way a mirror reflects light.
It prevents warm air from escaping through the opening.
The same walls keep the warmth of the day from reaching the drink.
Air could enter the empty space and carry heat across it, so the drink would warm up or cool down faster.
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 thermos, stopper, surface, escaping and materials 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.
What reading level is "Why a Thermos Keeps Soup Hot"?
It was written for 4th grade. It has 189 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.2. 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?
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