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Desert Cactus, Rainforest Fern

5th grade nonfiction passage about desert and rainforest plants: 203 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction desert and rainforest plants 203 words

Desert Cactus, Rainforest Fern

Plants live almost everywhere, but a plant that thrives in one place may not survive in another. A desert cactus and a rainforest fern are good examples, because their homes are nearly opposite.

A desert gets very little rain. A cactus is built to save every drop. Its thick stem can swell as it stores water inside, and a waxy skin keeps that water from escaping. Instead of broad leaves, which would lose water in the heat, it has sharp spines. The spines also help protect the cactus from animals that might bite into it. Its roots spread out close to the surface, so they can soak up water quickly when a rare rain arrives.

A rainforest is warm and wet. A fern growing on the forest floor does not need to save water. Its problem is a lack of light, because the tall trees above block most of the sun. So the fern has thin, wide fronds that spread out to catch the little light that gets through. Many rainforest plants have leaves with pointed tips. The tips help rain run off, which keeps the leaves from staying soggy.

Both plants live well, but each has different tools for a different home.

Questions

  1. How does a cactus store water? in the text

  2. Why does a cactus have spines instead of broad leaves? think about it

  3. Why do cactus roots spread out near the surface? think about it

  4. What problem does a rainforest fern face? in the text

  5. How do wide fronds help the fern? in the text

  6. What do pointed leaf tips do for rainforest plants? in the text

Words to know

thrives
grows well and stays healthy
spines
sharp, pointed parts on a plant
fronds
the large, feathery leaves of a fern
waxy
smooth and slippery, like wax
soggy
soaked with water
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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 · 194 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9

Plants live almost everywhere, but a plant that does well in one place may not live in another. A desert cactus and a rainforest fern show this well. Their homes are almost opposite.

A desert gets very little rain. A cactus is built to save every drop. Its thick stem swells as it stores water inside. A waxy skin keeps the water from leaking out. It has sharp spines instead of broad leaves. Broad leaves would lose water in the heat. The spines also help keep animals from biting the cactus. Its roots spread out near the surface, so they can soak up water fast when a rare rain comes.

A rainforest is warm and wet. A fern on the forest floor does not need to save water. Its problem is too little light. The tall trees above block most of the sun. So the fern has thin, wide fronds. They spread out to catch the little light that gets through. Many rainforest plants have leaves with pointed tips. The tips help rain run off, so the leaves do not stay soggy.

Both plants live well. Each has different tools for a different home.

▲ This passage · 203 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.9

Plants live almost everywhere, but a plant that thrives in one place may not survive in another. A desert cactus and a rainforest fern are good examples, because their homes are nearly opposite.

A desert gets very little rain. A cactus is built to save every drop. Its thick stem can swell as it stores water inside, and a waxy skin keeps that water from escaping. Instead of broad leaves, which would lose water in the heat, it has sharp spines. The spines also help protect the cactus from animals that might bite into it. Its roots spread out close to the surface, so they can soak up water quickly when a rare rain arrives.

A rainforest is warm and wet. A fern growing on the forest floor does not need to save water. Its problem is a lack of light, because the tall trees above block most of the sun. So the fern has thin, wide fronds that spread out to catch the little light that gets through. Many rainforest plants have leaves with pointed tips. The tips help rain run off, which keeps the leaves from staying soggy.

Both plants live well, but each has different tools for a different home.

■ Harder · 213 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.7

Plants have colonized nearly every habitat on Earth, but a species that flourishes in one environment may be unable to survive in another. A desert cactus and a rainforest fern illustrate this principle well, because their homes are almost complete opposites.

A desert receives very little rainfall, and a cactus is built to conserve every drop. Its thick stem can swell as it stores water inside, and a waxy skin prevents that water from escaping. Instead of broad leaves, which would lose moisture in the scorching heat, it bears sharp spines that also help protect it from animals that might bite into it. Its roots spread out close to the surface, allowing them to absorb water quickly whenever a rare rain arrives.

A rainforest, by contrast, is warm and wet. A fern growing on the forest floor has no need to conserve water. Its difficulty is a shortage of light, since the tall trees overhead block most of the sunshine. Consequently, the fern has thin, wide fronds that spread out to capture the little light that filters through. Many rainforest plants also have leaves with pointed tips, which help rain run off so the leaves do not remain soggy.

Both plants live successfully, but each uses different tools suited to a different home.

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 thrives, spines, fronds, waxy and soggy 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 2 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 "Desert Cactus, Rainforest Fern"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 203 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.9. 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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