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Caddisfly Larvae Build Houses to Carry

5th grade nonfiction passage about caddisfly larvae and their cases: 221 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction caddisfly larvae and their cases 221 words

Caddisfly Larvae Build Houses to Carry

Look into a clear, cool stream and you may see a small pile of sand grains or tiny twigs moving along the bottom. Inside is a caddisfly larva, and the pile is its house.

A caddisfly starts life as an egg in the water. The larva that hatches is soft and has no armor. A hungry fish could eat it with one bite. So the larva makes a case. It makes silk from its own body and uses it as glue. Then it sticks together grains of sand, small stones, bits of leaves or twigs, depending on its kind. The case is a tube with an opening at each end, and the larva lives inside.

The larva carries its case everywhere. Only its head and legs poke out when it crawls and feeds. When a fish comes close, the larva can slip back inside. The stones can be heavy, but they also help the larva stay on the bottom, even when the water flows fast.

As the larva grows, it adds new pieces to the front of its case. When it is full grown, it seals itself in and changes. Later it climbs out and flies away as an adult that looks a little like a moth.

The caddisfly larva shows that a home can be a tool for staying safe.

Questions

  1. Where does a caddisfly larva live? in the text

  2. What does the larva use as glue to build its case? in the text

  3. What materials might a larva use to build a case? in the text

  4. Why does a caddisfly larva need a case? think about it

  5. How does the larva make its case bigger as it grows? in the text

  6. How can heavy stones in the case be useful? think about it

Words to know

larva
a young insect that looks different from its adult form
armor
a hard covering that protects the body
silk
a thin, strong thread made by some insects
stream
a small river that flows along
tube
a long hollow shape like a pipe
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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 · 183 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9

Look into a clear, cool stream. You may see a small pile of sand or tiny twigs moving along the bottom. Inside is a caddisfly larva. The pile is its house.

A caddisfly starts as an egg in the water. The larva that hatches is soft and has no armor. A fish could eat it in one bite. So the larva makes a case. It makes silk from its own body and uses it as glue. It sticks together grains of sand, small stones, leaves or twigs. The case is a tube with an opening at each end. The larva lives inside.

The larva carries its case everywhere. Only its head and legs poke out. If a fish comes close, the larva slips back in. The stones can be heavy, but they help the larva stay on the bottom when the water flows fast.

As the larva grows, it adds new pieces to the front of its case. When it is full grown, it seals itself in and changes. Later it flies away as an adult that looks a little like a moth.

▲ This passage · 221 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2

Look into a clear, cool stream and you may see a small pile of sand grains or tiny twigs moving along the bottom. Inside is a caddisfly larva, and the pile is its house.

A caddisfly starts life as an egg in the water. The larva that hatches is soft and has no armor. A hungry fish could eat it with one bite. So the larva makes a case. It makes silk from its own body and uses it as glue. Then it sticks together grains of sand, small stones, bits of leaves or twigs, depending on its kind. The case is a tube with an opening at each end, and the larva lives inside.

The larva carries its case everywhere. Only its head and legs poke out when it crawls and feeds. When a fish comes close, the larva can slip back inside. The stones can be heavy, but they also help the larva stay on the bottom, even when the water flows fast.

As the larva grows, it adds new pieces to the front of its case. When it is full grown, it seals itself in and changes. Later it climbs out and flies away as an adult that looks a little like a moth.

The caddisfly larva shows that a home can be a tool for staying safe.

■ Harder · 234 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.5

Peer into a clear, cool stream and you may notice a small heap of sand grains or tiny twigs creeping along the bottom. Inside it is a caddisfly larva, and the heap is its house.

A caddisfly begins life as an egg laid in the water. The larva that hatches is soft and entirely without armor, so a hungry fish could swallow it in a single bite. To protect itself, the larva constructs a case. It produces silk from its own body and uses it as glue, cementing together grains of sand, small stones, bits of leaves or twigs, depending on its kind. The finished case is a tube with an opening at each end, and the larva lives inside it.

The larva drags its case wherever it goes. Only its head and legs poke out while it crawls and feeds. Whenever a fish approaches, the larva can slip back inside. The stones may be heavy, but they also help the larva stay anchored to the bottom, even when the water rushes by quickly.

As the larva grows, it adds new pieces to the front of its case. When it is fully grown, it seals itself in and undergoes a great change. Eventually it climbs out and flies away as an adult that looks somewhat like a moth.

The caddisfly larva demonstrates that a home can also serve as a tool for staying safe.

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 larva, armor, silk, stream and tube 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 "Caddisfly Larvae Build Houses to Carry"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 221 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. 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?

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

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