Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Why City Kids See So Few Stars

5th grade nonfiction passage about light pollution and stars: 226 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction light pollution and stars 226 words

Why City Kids See So Few Stars

On a clear night far from any town, thousands of stars can fill the sky, and a pale band called the Milky Way stretches across it. In a big city, the same sky may show only a handful of stars. The stars have not gone anywhere. The problem is the glow of our own lights.

Street lamps, signs, and office windows all send light upward. This light bounces off tiny bits of dust and water in the air, and it spreads out into a haze over the whole city. People call it skyglow. It acts like a bright curtain, and the faint stars behind it are lost. Only the brightest stars and planets can shine through.

This kind of overlight is called light pollution. It does more than hide the stars. Lights that shine in the wrong direction waste energy, and bright lights at night can confuse some animals, such as birds that travel after dark.

There are easy fixes. Shields on lamps can point the light down toward the ground, where people need it. Lights can be turned off when no one is using them. Some towns have even made rules about outdoor lights so that people can enjoy dark skies. To see the stars well, travel to a place with few lights and give your eyes about twenty minutes to adjust to the dark.

Questions

  1. What can you see on a clear night far from any town? in the text

  2. What is skyglow? in the text

  3. Why can city dwellers see only the brightest stars? think about it

  4. What is this kind of overlight called? in the text

  5. Why do lamp shields that point light down help? think about it

  6. How long should your eyes adjust to the dark? in the text

Words to know

haze
a thin cloud that makes the air look blurry
skyglow
the bright glow over a city caused by its lights
pollution
something that makes the air, water, or land less clean or healthy
adjust
to change slowly so that you fit a new situation
shields
covers that protect something or keep something out
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 · 207 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9

On a clear night far from any town, thousands of stars fill the sky. A pale band called the Milky Way stretches across it. In a big city, the same sky may show only a few stars. The stars have not gone anywhere. The problem is the glow of our own lights.

Street lamps, signs, and office windows send light up. This light bounces off tiny bits of dust and water in the air. It spreads out into a haze over the city. People call it skyglow. It acts like a bright curtain, and faint stars behind it are lost. Only the brightest stars and planets shine through.

This extra light is called light pollution. It does more than hide the stars. Lights that shine the wrong way waste energy. Bright lights at night can also confuse some animals, such as birds that fly after dark.

There are easy fixes. Shields on lamps can point the light down to the ground, where people need it. Lights can be turned off when no one is using them. Some towns even have rules about outdoor lights. To see the stars well, go to a place with few lights. Give your eyes about twenty minutes to adjust to the dark.

▲ This passage · 226 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.5

On a clear night far from any town, thousands of stars can fill the sky, and a pale band called the Milky Way stretches across it. In a big city, the same sky may show only a handful of stars. The stars have not gone anywhere. The problem is the glow of our own lights.

Street lamps, signs, and office windows all send light upward. This light bounces off tiny bits of dust and water in the air, and it spreads out into a haze over the whole city. People call it skyglow. It acts like a bright curtain, and the faint stars behind it are lost. Only the brightest stars and planets can shine through.

This kind of overlight is called light pollution. It does more than hide the stars. Lights that shine in the wrong direction waste energy, and bright lights at night can confuse some animals, such as birds that travel after dark.

There are easy fixes. Shields on lamps can point the light down toward the ground, where people need it. Lights can be turned off when no one is using them. Some towns have even made rules about outdoor lights so that people can enjoy dark skies. To see the stars well, travel to a place with few lights and give your eyes about twenty minutes to adjust to the dark.

■ Harder · 248 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.9

On a clear night far from any town, thousands of stars can blanket the sky, and a pale band known as the Milky Way stretches from one horizon to the other. In a large city, that very same sky may reveal only a handful of stars. The stars have not gone anywhere. The difficulty is the glow of our own lights.

Street lamps, glowing signs, and office windows all send light upward. This light bounces off countless tiny bits of dust and water in the air and spreads out into a haze that covers the entire city. People call it skyglow. It behaves like a bright curtain, and the faint stars that lie behind it are lost from view. Only the brightest stars and planets are strong enough to shine through.

This kind of excessive lighting is known as light pollution, and it does more than hide the stars. Lights that shine in the wrong direction squander energy, and bright lights at night can confuse certain animals, such as birds that migrate after dark.

Fortunately, there are simple remedies. Shields on lamps can aim the light down toward the ground, where people actually need it, and lights can be switched off when nobody is using them. Some towns have even established rules about outdoor lighting so that residents can enjoy dark skies. To see the stars at their best, travel to a place with few lights and allow your eyes about twenty minutes to adjust to the darkness.

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 haze, skyglow, pollution, adjust and shields 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 3 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 City Kids See So Few Stars"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 226 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.5. 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.

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