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Why Swiss Cheese Has Holes

4th grade nonfiction passage about how cheese gets holes: 180 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction how cheese gets holes 180 words

Why Swiss Cheese Has Holes

Have you ever wondered why some cheese is full of holes? Swiss cheese is a good example. The round holes are called eyes, and they are made by tiny living things.

Cheese starts as milk. Cheesemakers add helpful bacteria to the milk. The bacteria are far too small to see. Then they turn the milk into a soft solid called curd, and they press the curd into a big wheel.

Next the wheel rests in a warm room for a few weeks. During this time, one kind of bacteria in the cheese gives off a gas. The gas cannot escape from the thick cheese, so it forms small bubbles. The bubbles stay in place as the cheese gets firm, and they leave behind round holes.

The holes are not a mistake. They are a sign that the cheese has aged the right way. Some cheesemakers say the holes also help give the cheese its mild, nutty taste.

Not all cheeses have holes. Cheddar, for example, is pressed more tightly, so there is no room for the gas to make bubbles.

Questions

  1. What are the holes in Swiss cheese called? in the text

  2. What do cheesemakers add to milk to start making cheese? in the text

  3. What makes the bubbles inside the cheese? in the text

  4. Why does the gas turn into bubbles instead of escaping? think about it

  5. Are the holes a mistake? in the text

  6. Why does cheddar not have holes? in the text

Words to know

bacteria
tiny living things too small to see
curd
the soft solid that forms when milk is made into cheese
aged
left to rest for a long time so the flavor changes
wheel
a large, round block of cheese
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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 · 149 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4

Why does some cheese have holes? Swiss cheese is a good example. The round holes are called eyes. Tiny living things make them.

Cheese starts as milk. Cheesemakers add helpful bacteria to the milk. Bacteria are too small to see. They help turn the milk into curd. Curd is a soft solid. The cheesemaker presses the curd into a big wheel.

The wheel rests in a warm room for a few weeks. One kind of bacteria in the cheese gives off a gas. The cheese is thick, so the gas cannot get out. It makes small bubbles. The cheese gets firm, and the bubbles leave round holes.

The holes are not a mistake. They show the cheese aged the right way. Some cheesemakers say the holes go with the mild, nutty taste.

Cheddar has no holes. It is pressed tighter, so the gas has no room to make bubbles.

▲ This passage · 180 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.6

Have you ever wondered why some cheese is full of holes? Swiss cheese is a good example. The round holes are called eyes, and they are made by tiny living things.

Cheese starts as milk. Cheesemakers add helpful bacteria to the milk. The bacteria are far too small to see. Then they turn the milk into a soft solid called curd, and they press the curd into a big wheel.

Next the wheel rests in a warm room for a few weeks. During this time, one kind of bacteria in the cheese gives off a gas. The gas cannot escape from the thick cheese, so it forms small bubbles. The bubbles stay in place as the cheese gets firm, and they leave behind round holes.

The holes are not a mistake. They are a sign that the cheese has aged the right way. Some cheesemakers say the holes also help give the cheese its mild, nutty taste.

Not all cheeses have holes. Cheddar, for example, is pressed more tightly, so there is no room for the gas to make bubbles.

■ Harder · 184 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.6

Have you ever wondered why certain cheeses are full of holes? Swiss cheese is a famous example. Its round holes are called eyes, and they are produced by microscopic living things.

Cheese begins as milk. Cheesemakers stir helpful bacteria into the milk, and these organisms are far too small for anyone to see. The milk then turns into a soft solid called curd, which the cheesemaker presses into a large wheel.

Afterward, the wheel rests in a warm room for several weeks. During that time, one kind of bacteria inside the cheese gives off a gas. Because the cheese is so thick, the gas has nowhere to escape, so it gathers into small bubbles. The bubbles stay in place while the cheese grows firm, and they leave behind round holes.

The holes are not a mistake. They are a sign that the cheese has aged properly. Some cheesemakers also believe that the holes go along with the cheese's mild, nutty taste.

Not every cheese has holes. Cheddar, for instance, is pressed far more tightly, which leaves no room for the gas to form bubbles.

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 bacteria, curd, aged and wheel 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 Swiss Cheese Has Holes"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 180 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.6. 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. 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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