4th grade nonfiction passage about why the atacama desert is dry: 183 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
4th gradenonfictionwhy the atacama desert is dry183 words
The Desert Where Clouds Rarely Drop Rain
The Atacama Desert lies in northern Chile, between the ocean and the mountains. It is one of the driest places on Earth. In some spots, years can pass with hardly any rain. Why is it so dry when the sea is right next door?
There are two main reasons. The first is the Andes, a long line of tall mountains to the east. Wet air that blows in from the other side of the continent has to climb over them. It loses most of its water on the way up, so the land on the far side stays dry.
The second reason is the ocean itself. A cold current flows north along the coast. It chills the air above the water, and cold air cannot hold much moisture. So the air hangs low and makes fog instead of rain.
That fog is a gift. Some small plants and animals drink the moisture that drifts in. In a few villages, people hang up big nets that catch the tiny drops. The water runs into tanks, and it is used for drinking and growing plants.
Questions
Where is the Atacama Desert? in the text
What are the Andes? in the text
What does the cold ocean current do to the air above it? in the text
How do some villages get water from the fog? in the text
Why does wet air lose its water when it climbs the mountains? think about it
Why is it surprising that the desert is so dry? think about it
Words to know
desert
a place that gets very little rain
continent
one of the Earth's seven very large land masses
current
a stream of water that moves through the ocean
moisture
a small amount of water in the air or on a surface
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Desert Where Clouds Rarely Drop Rain
4th grade reading passage
The Atacama Desert lies in northern Chile, between the ocean and the mountains. It is one of the driest places on Earth. In some spots, years can pass with hardly any rain. Why is it so dry when the sea is right next door?
There are two main reasons. The first is the Andes, a long line of tall mountains to the east. Wet air that blows in from the other side of the continent has to climb over them. It loses most of its water on the way up, so the land on the far side stays dry.
The second reason is the ocean itself. A cold current flows north along the coast. It chills the air above the water, and cold air cannot hold much moisture. So the air hangs low and makes fog instead of rain.
That fog is a gift. Some small plants and animals drink the moisture that drifts in. In a few villages, people hang up big nets that catch the tiny drops. The water runs into tanks, and it is used for drinking and growing plants.
Questions
Where is the Atacama Desert?
What are the Andes?
What does the cold ocean current do to the air above it?
How do some villages get water from the fog?
Why does wet air lose its water when it climbs the mountains?
Why is it surprising that the desert is so dry?
Words to know
desert: a place that gets very little rain
continent: one of the Earth's seven very large land masses
current: a stream of water that moves through the ocean
moisture: a small amount of water in the air or on a surface
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/4/why-the-atacama-desert-stays-dry
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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 · 170 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.8
The Atacama Desert is in northern Chile. It lies between the ocean and the mountains. It is one of the driest places on Earth. In some spots, years go by with almost no rain. The sea is right next door. So why is it so dry?
There are two reasons. The first is the Andes. These are tall mountains to the east. Wet air from the other side of the land has to climb over them. The air loses most of its water on the way up. So the land on the far side stays dry.
The second reason is the ocean. A cold current flows north along the coast. It chills the air over the water. Cold air cannot hold much water. So the air stays low and makes fog, not rain.
The fog helps. Some small plants and animals drink it. In a few villages, people hang big nets to catch the tiny drops. The water runs into tanks. People use it to drink and to grow plants.
▲ This passage · 183 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.4
The Atacama Desert lies in northern Chile, between the ocean and the mountains. It is one of the driest places on Earth. In some spots, years can pass with hardly any rain. Why is it so dry when the sea is right next door?
There are two main reasons. The first is the Andes, a long line of tall mountains to the east. Wet air that blows in from the other side of the continent has to climb over them. It loses most of its water on the way up, so the land on the far side stays dry.
The second reason is the ocean itself. A cold current flows north along the coast. It chills the air above the water, and cold air cannot hold much moisture. So the air hangs low and makes fog instead of rain.
That fog is a gift. Some small plants and animals drink the moisture that drifts in. In a few villages, people hang up big nets that catch the tiny drops. The water runs into tanks, and it is used for drinking and growing plants.
■ Harder · 200 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.9
The Atacama Desert stretches across northern Chile, squeezed between the Pacific Ocean and a wall of mountains. It ranks among the driest places on Earth, and in certain spots whole years can pass with hardly any rain. That seems strange, because the sea is so close by.
Two main causes explain the dryness. The first is the Andes, a long chain of towering mountains to the east. Moist air arriving from the far side of the continent must climb up and over them, and it sheds most of its water on the way. By the time the air descends toward the desert, little moisture remains.
The second cause is the ocean itself. A cold current flows northward along the coast and chills the air above the water. Cold air cannot hold much moisture, so instead of rising into rain clouds, the air hangs low and forms fog.
That fog turns out to be valuable. Some small plants and animals survive by drinking the moisture that drifts in. In a few villages, people stretch large nets in the path of the fog to catch the tiny droplets. The water trickles into tanks and is used for drinking and for growing plants.
The Atacama Desert is in northern Chile. It lies between the ocean and the mountains. It is one of the driest places on Earth. In some spots, years go by with almost no rain. The sea is right next door. So why is it so dry?
There are two reasons. The first is the Andes. These are tall mountains to the east. Wet air from the other side of the land has to climb over them. The air loses most of its water on the way up. So the land on the far side stays dry.
The second reason is the ocean. A cold current flows north along the coast. It chills the air over the water. Cold air cannot hold much water. So the air stays low and makes fog, not rain.
The fog helps. Some small plants and animals drink it. In a few villages, people hang big nets to catch the tiny drops. The water runs into tanks. People use it to drink and to grow plants.
Questions
Where is the Atacama Desert?
What are the Andes?
What does the cold ocean current do to the air?
How do some villages get water from the fog?
Why does wet air lose its water on the mountains?
Why is it surprising that the desert is so dry?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Desert Where Clouds Rarely Drop Rain
The Atacama Desert lies in northern Chile, between the ocean and the mountains. It is one of the driest places on Earth. In some spots, years can pass with hardly any rain. Why is it so dry when the sea is right next door?
There are two main reasons. The first is the Andes, a long line of tall mountains to the east. Wet air that blows in from the other side of the continent has to climb over them. It loses most of its water on the way up, so the land on the far side stays dry.
The second reason is the ocean itself. A cold current flows north along the coast. It chills the air above the water, and cold air cannot hold much moisture. So the air hangs low and makes fog instead of rain.
That fog is a gift. Some small plants and animals drink the moisture that drifts in. In a few villages, people hang up big nets that catch the tiny drops. The water runs into tanks, and it is used for drinking and growing plants.
Questions
Where is the Atacama Desert?
What are the Andes?
What does the cold ocean current do to the air above it?
How do some villages get water from the fog?
Why does wet air lose its water when it climbs the mountains?
Why is it surprising that the desert is so dry?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Desert Where Clouds Rarely Drop Rain
The Atacama Desert stretches across northern Chile, squeezed between the Pacific Ocean and a wall of mountains. It ranks among the driest places on Earth, and in certain spots whole years can pass with hardly any rain. That seems strange, because the sea is so close by.
Two main causes explain the dryness. The first is the Andes, a long chain of towering mountains to the east. Moist air arriving from the far side of the continent must climb up and over them, and it sheds most of its water on the way. By the time the air descends toward the desert, little moisture remains.
The second cause is the ocean itself. A cold current flows northward along the coast and chills the air above the water. Cold air cannot hold much moisture, so instead of rising into rain clouds, the air hangs low and forms fog.
That fog turns out to be valuable. Some small plants and animals survive by drinking the moisture that drifts in. In a few villages, people stretch large nets in the path of the fog to catch the tiny droplets. The water trickles into tanks and is used for drinking and for growing plants.
Questions
Where is the Atacama Desert?
What are the Andes?
How does the cold current affect the air above the water?
How do some villages collect water from the fog?
Why does moist air lose its water when it crosses the mountains?
Why is the dryness of the desert surprising?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Desert Where Clouds Rarely Drop Rain
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.8)
In northern Chile, between the ocean and the mountains.
Tall mountains to the east of the desert.
It chills the air, so the air holds little water and makes fog.
They hang big nets to catch the drops, and the water runs into tanks.
Rising air gets cold and drops its water on the way up.
It is next to the sea, and you might expect lots of rain near an ocean.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.4)
In northern Chile, between the ocean and the mountains.
A long line of tall mountains to the east of the desert.
It chills the air, so the air holds little moisture and makes fog.
They hang big nets that catch the tiny drops, and the water runs into tanks.
Rising air cools and drops its water on the way up, so little is left for the far side.
It is right next to the sea, and you might expect plenty of rain near an ocean.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.9)
In northern Chile, between the Pacific Ocean and the mountains.
A long chain of towering mountains to the east of the desert.
It chills the air, so the air holds little moisture and forms fog.
They stretch large nets to catch the droplets, and the water trickles into tanks.
Rising air cools and sheds its water on the way up, leaving little for the far side.
It lies beside the sea, and plenty of rain might be expected near an ocean.
Free at teach.peabody.kids
How to use it
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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 desert, continent, current and moisture 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.
What reading level is "The Desert Where Clouds Rarely Drop Rain"?
It was written for 4th grade. It has 183 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.4. 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.
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