Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Why Red Roses Look Gray at Dusk

4th grade nonfiction passage about seeing in dim light: 200 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction seeing in dim light 200 words

Why Red Roses Look Gray at Dusk

On a summer evening, a garden slowly changes. In the bright afternoon, the red roses looked deep red and the leaves looked bright green. As the sun sets, the colors seem to wash out until everything looks gray. Is the garden really changing? No. Your eyes are.

At the back of each eye is a layer of cells that catch light. There are two main kinds. Cones help you see color, and they work best in bright light. Rods work well in dim light, but they only see in shades of gray.

During the day, your cones do most of the work, and you see a colorful world. At dusk there is not enough light for the cones, so your rods take over. That is why colors fade.

Rods are spread more toward the edges of the back of your eye. Because of this, you can sometimes see a faint star better by looking a little to the side of it, not straight at it.

Your eyes also need time to change. When you walk from a bright room into a dark one, you may see almost nothing at first. After a few minutes, your eyes adjust and shapes appear.

Questions

  1. Which cells help you see color? in the text

  2. Which cells work well in dim light? in the text

  3. In what shades do rods see? in the text

  4. Why do colors fade at dusk? think about it

  5. How might you see a faint star better? in the text

  6. What happens to your eyes a few minutes after you enter a dark room? in the text

Words to know

dusk
the time in the evening when the light is fading
cones
eye cells that help you see color in bright light
rods
eye cells that help you see in dim light
adjust
to change a little so you fit a new place or situation
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 · 184 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7

On a summer evening, a garden slowly changes. In the bright afternoon, the roses looked deep red. The leaves looked bright green. As the sun sets, the colors seem to fade until all looks gray. Is the garden really changing? No. Your eyes are.

At the back of each eye is a layer of cells that catch light. There are two main kinds. Cones help you see color. They work best in bright light. Rods work well in dim light. But rods only see shades of gray.

By day, your cones do most of the work. You see a colorful world. At dusk there is not enough light for the cones. So your rods take over. That is why colors fade.

Rods are mostly toward the edges of the back of your eye. So you can sometimes see a faint star better by looking a little to the side of it.

Your eyes also need time. If you walk from a bright room into a dark one, you may see almost nothing at first. After a few minutes, your eyes adjust. Then shapes appear.

▲ This passage · 200 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2

On a summer evening, a garden slowly changes. In the bright afternoon, the red roses looked deep red and the leaves looked bright green. As the sun sets, the colors seem to wash out until everything looks gray. Is the garden really changing? No. Your eyes are.

At the back of each eye is a layer of cells that catch light. There are two main kinds. Cones help you see color, and they work best in bright light. Rods work well in dim light, but they only see in shades of gray.

During the day, your cones do most of the work, and you see a colorful world. At dusk there is not enough light for the cones, so your rods take over. That is why colors fade.

Rods are spread more toward the edges of the back of your eye. Because of this, you can sometimes see a faint star better by looking a little to the side of it, not straight at it.

Your eyes also need time to change. When you walk from a bright room into a dark one, you may see almost nothing at first. After a few minutes, your eyes adjust and shapes appear.

■ Harder · 208 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.7

On a summer evening, a garden gradually transforms. In the bright afternoon, the red roses appeared deep crimson and the leaves looked vivid green. As the sun sets, the colors seem to wash out until everything looks gray. Is the garden really changing? Not at all. Your eyes are.

At the back of each eye lies a layer of cells that catch light. There are two main kinds. Cones allow you to see color, and they work best in bright light. Rods function well in dim light, but they can only see in shades of gray.

During the day, your cones do most of the work, and you see a colorful world. At dusk there is not enough light for the cones, so your rods take over. That is why colors fade.

Rods are spread more heavily toward the edges of the back of your eye. Because of this, you can sometimes see a faint star more clearly by looking slightly to the side of it instead of straight at it.

Your eyes also need time to change. When you walk from a bright room into a dark one, you may see almost nothing at first. After a few minutes, your eyes adjust and shapes begin to appear.

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 dusk, cones, rods and adjust 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 "Why Red Roses Look Gray at Dusk"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 200 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.2. 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?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.