4th grade nonfiction passage about balance and gravity: 201 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
4th gradenonfictionbalance and gravity201 words
Why Tightrope Walkers Carry a Long Pole
A tightrope walker steps out onto a thin wire high above the ground. In both hands is a long pole. It is not just for show. The pole helps the walker stay balanced.
Every object has a center of gravity. This is the spot where all of the object's weight seems to be gathered. To stay up, a person's center of gravity has to stay right above the place where they stand. On a wire, that place is very narrow. If the walker leans a bit to one side, gravity starts to pull them over.
A long pole spreads weight out wide. It makes the walker harder to tip, because the pole is heavy and far from the body. A small lean now happens more slowly, so the walker has time to fix it. Moving the pole a little to one side moves the center of gravity back over the wire.
You can feel a bit of this yourself. Stand on one foot and hold your arms out to the sides. Most people find they wobble less than with their arms down. Your arms are your pole.
Tightrope walkers practice for years, starting on wires that are low to the ground.
Questions
What does a tightrope walker carry to stay balanced? in the text
What is a center of gravity? in the text
Where must a walker's center of gravity stay to avoid falling? in the text
How does the long pole help when the walker leans a little? think about it
What can you try yourself to feel the same idea? in the text
Why do you think walkers practice on wires near the ground first? think about it
Words to know
balanced
steady, not leaning or falling to either side
gravity
the force that pulls things toward the ground
center of gravity
the point where an object's weight seems to be gathered
wobble
to shake or sway from side to side
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Why Tightrope Walkers Carry a Long Pole
4th grade reading passage
A tightrope walker steps out onto a thin wire high above the ground. In both hands is a long pole. It is not just for show. The pole helps the walker stay balanced.
Every object has a center of gravity. This is the spot where all of the object's weight seems to be gathered. To stay up, a person's center of gravity has to stay right above the place where they stand. On a wire, that place is very narrow. If the walker leans a bit to one side, gravity starts to pull them over.
A long pole spreads weight out wide. It makes the walker harder to tip, because the pole is heavy and far from the body. A small lean now happens more slowly, so the walker has time to fix it. Moving the pole a little to one side moves the center of gravity back over the wire.
You can feel a bit of this yourself. Stand on one foot and hold your arms out to the sides. Most people find they wobble less than with their arms down. Your arms are your pole.
Tightrope walkers practice for years, starting on wires that are low to the ground.
Questions
What does a tightrope walker carry to stay balanced?
What is a center of gravity?
Where must a walker's center of gravity stay to avoid falling?
How does the long pole help when the walker leans a little?
What can you try yourself to feel the same idea?
Why do you think walkers practice on wires near the ground first?
Words to know
balanced: steady, not leaning or falling to either side
gravity: the force that pulls things toward the ground
center of gravity: the point where an object's weight seems to be gathered
wobble: to shake or sway from side to side
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/4/why-tightrope-walkers-carry-a-long-pole
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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 · 161 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1
A tightrope walker steps onto a thin wire high up. In both hands is a long pole. The pole is not just for show. It helps the walker stay balanced.
Every object has a center of gravity. It is the spot where all the weight seems to be gathered. To stay up, a person's center of gravity must stay right over where they stand. On a wire, that spot is very small. If the walker leans to one side, gravity pulls them over.
A long pole spreads weight out wide. It is heavy and far from the body. So the walker is harder to tip. A small lean happens slowly. The walker has time to fix it. Moving the pole to one side moves the center of gravity back over the wire.
You can feel this. Stand on one foot. Hold your arms out. You wobble less. Your arms are your pole.
Walkers practice for years. They start on low wires.
▲ This passage · 201 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.7
A tightrope walker steps out onto a thin wire high above the ground. In both hands is a long pole. It is not just for show. The pole helps the walker stay balanced.
Every object has a center of gravity. This is the spot where all of the object's weight seems to be gathered. To stay up, a person's center of gravity has to stay right above the place where they stand. On a wire, that place is very narrow. If the walker leans a bit to one side, gravity starts to pull them over.
A long pole spreads weight out wide. It makes the walker harder to tip, because the pole is heavy and far from the body. A small lean now happens more slowly, so the walker has time to fix it. Moving the pole a little to one side moves the center of gravity back over the wire.
You can feel a bit of this yourself. Stand on one foot and hold your arms out to the sides. Most people find they wobble less than with their arms down. Your arms are your pole.
Tightrope walkers practice for years, starting on wires that are low to the ground.
■ Harder · 221 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.1
A tightrope walker steps out onto a slender wire suspended high above the ground, gripping a long pole in both hands. The pole is not merely for show, because it plays an important part in keeping the walker balanced.
Every object has a center of gravity, which is the point where all of its weight appears to be gathered. In order to remain upright, a person must keep that center of gravity directly above the place where they are standing. On a wire, that place is extremely narrow, so if the walker leans slightly to one side, gravity immediately begins to pull them over.
A long pole spreads weight far out to each side. Because the pole is heavy and extends well away from the body, it makes the walker much harder to tip. Even a small lean now develops more slowly, which gives the walker time to correct it, and shifting the pole a little to one side moves the center of gravity back over the wire.
You can experience a version of this yourself. Stand on one foot and hold your arms out to the sides, and most people discover that they wobble less than with their arms down. Your arms act as your pole.
Tightrope walkers practice for years, beginning on wires that are close to the ground.
A tightrope walker steps onto a thin wire high up. In both hands is a long pole. The pole is not just for show. It helps the walker stay balanced.
Every object has a center of gravity. It is the spot where all the weight seems to be gathered. To stay up, a person's center of gravity must stay right over where they stand. On a wire, that spot is very small. If the walker leans to one side, gravity pulls them over.
A long pole spreads weight out wide. It is heavy and far from the body. So the walker is harder to tip. A small lean happens slowly. The walker has time to fix it. Moving the pole to one side moves the center of gravity back over the wire.
You can feel this. Stand on one foot. Hold your arms out. You wobble less. Your arms are your pole.
Walkers practice for years. They start on low wires.
Questions
What does a tightrope walker carry to stay balanced?
What is a center of gravity?
Where must the center of gravity stay?
How does the pole help when the walker leans a little?
What can you try to feel the same idea?
Why do walkers practice on low wires first?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Why Tightrope Walkers Carry a Long Pole
A tightrope walker steps out onto a thin wire high above the ground. In both hands is a long pole. It is not just for show. The pole helps the walker stay balanced.
Every object has a center of gravity. This is the spot where all of the object's weight seems to be gathered. To stay up, a person's center of gravity has to stay right above the place where they stand. On a wire, that place is very narrow. If the walker leans a bit to one side, gravity starts to pull them over.
A long pole spreads weight out wide. It makes the walker harder to tip, because the pole is heavy and far from the body. A small lean now happens more slowly, so the walker has time to fix it. Moving the pole a little to one side moves the center of gravity back over the wire.
You can feel a bit of this yourself. Stand on one foot and hold your arms out to the sides. Most people find they wobble less than with their arms down. Your arms are your pole.
Tightrope walkers practice for years, starting on wires that are low to the ground.
Questions
What does a tightrope walker carry to stay balanced?
What is a center of gravity?
Where must a walker's center of gravity stay to avoid falling?
How does the long pole help when the walker leans a little?
What can you try yourself to feel the same idea?
Why do you think walkers practice on wires near the ground first?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Why Tightrope Walkers Carry a Long Pole
A tightrope walker steps out onto a slender wire suspended high above the ground, gripping a long pole in both hands. The pole is not merely for show, because it plays an important part in keeping the walker balanced.
Every object has a center of gravity, which is the point where all of its weight appears to be gathered. In order to remain upright, a person must keep that center of gravity directly above the place where they are standing. On a wire, that place is extremely narrow, so if the walker leans slightly to one side, gravity immediately begins to pull them over.
A long pole spreads weight far out to each side. Because the pole is heavy and extends well away from the body, it makes the walker much harder to tip. Even a small lean now develops more slowly, which gives the walker time to correct it, and shifting the pole a little to one side moves the center of gravity back over the wire.
You can experience a version of this yourself. Stand on one foot and hold your arms out to the sides, and most people discover that they wobble less than with their arms down. Your arms act as your pole.
Tightrope walkers practice for years, beginning on wires that are close to the ground.
Questions
What does a tightrope walker hold to remain balanced?
How does the passage define a center of gravity?
Where must a walker keep the center of gravity in order to stay up?
How does the pole help when the walker leans slightly?
What can you try yourself to experience the same idea?
Why might walkers begin practicing on wires close to the ground?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Why Tightrope Walkers Carry a Long Pole
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1)
A long pole.
The spot where all the weight of an object seems to be gathered.
Right over the place where the person stands.
The lean happens slowly, so the walker has time to fix it.
Stand on one foot with your arms out.
They can learn balance safely without a long fall.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.7)
A long pole.
The spot where all of an object's weight seems to be gathered.
Right above the place where they stand.
It makes the lean happen more slowly, giving time to fix it.
Stand on one foot with your arms out to the sides.
They can learn balance safely without a long fall.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.1)
A long pole.
The point where all of an object's weight appears to be gathered.
Directly above the place where they are standing.
It makes the lean develop more slowly, giving time to correct it.
Stand on one foot and hold your arms out to the sides.
They can learn balance safely without risking a long fall.
Free at teach.peabody.kids
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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 balanced, gravity, center of gravity and wobble 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.
What reading level is "Why Tightrope Walkers Carry a Long Pole"?
It was written for 4th grade. It has 201 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.7. 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.
Is this passage from a published book?
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