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Dung Beetles Steer by the Milky Way

5th grade nonfiction passage about dung beetle navigation: 215 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction dung beetle navigation 215 words

Dung Beetles Steer by the Milky Way

A dung beetle has a simple but important job. It finds a pile of animal dung, shapes a piece into a ball and rolls it away. The beetle will eat the ball or bury it for its young. But there is a problem. Other beetles crowd around the pile and may try to steal the ball.

The best plan is to roll the ball in a straight line, and away from the crowd as fast as possible. If the beetle wandered in circles, it could roll right back into the other beetles.

The beetle stands on top of its ball and turns around in a little dance. It looks at the sky to find its direction. In the day, it uses the sun. Some beetles can also use the pattern of light in the sky that we cannot see. On moonlit nights, they use the moon.

Scientists wanted to know what happens when there is no moon. They found that some dung beetles use the band of stars called the Milky Way. They are the first animals known to do this. A beetle does not see the stars as detailed points, but it sees the faint, bright band across the sky.

The beetle has a tiny brain, but it has a great sense of direction.

Questions

  1. What does a dung beetle do with the ball it makes? in the text

  2. Why is rolling in a straight line a good plan? think about it

  3. What does the beetle use to find direction in the day? in the text

  4. What does the beetle use on nights with no moon? in the text

  5. Why does the beetle climb on top of its ball and turn around? think about it

  6. What is special about the beetle's use of the Milky Way? in the text

Words to know

dung
the waste that animals leave behind
wandered
moved around with no clear path
direction
the way you are heading
faint
weak and hard to see
pattern
a repeating design
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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 · 185 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

A dung beetle has a simple job. It finds a pile of animal dung and shapes a piece into a ball. Then it rolls the ball away. The beetle will eat the ball or bury it for its young. But there is a problem. Other beetles crowd around the pile and may steal the ball.

The best plan is to roll the ball in a straight line, away from the crowd. If the beetle went in circles, it could roll right back to the other beetles.

The beetle climbs on top of its ball and turns around in a little dance. It looks at the sky to find its direction. In the day, it uses the sun. On nights with a moon, it uses the moon.

Scientists wanted to know what happens with no moon. They found that some dung beetles use the band of stars called the Milky Way. They are the first animals known to do this. The beetle cannot see single stars well. It sees the faint, bright band.

The beetle has a tiny brain, but it knows which way to go.

▲ This passage · 215 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9

A dung beetle has a simple but important job. It finds a pile of animal dung, shapes a piece into a ball and rolls it away. The beetle will eat the ball or bury it for its young. But there is a problem. Other beetles crowd around the pile and may try to steal the ball.

The best plan is to roll the ball in a straight line, and away from the crowd as fast as possible. If the beetle wandered in circles, it could roll right back into the other beetles.

The beetle stands on top of its ball and turns around in a little dance. It looks at the sky to find its direction. In the day, it uses the sun. Some beetles can also use the pattern of light in the sky that we cannot see. On moonlit nights, they use the moon.

Scientists wanted to know what happens when there is no moon. They found that some dung beetles use the band of stars called the Milky Way. They are the first animals known to do this. A beetle does not see the stars as detailed points, but it sees the faint, bright band across the sky.

The beetle has a tiny brain, but it has a great sense of direction.

■ Harder · 226 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.2

A dung beetle has a simple but vital job. It locates a pile of animal dung, shapes a piece of it into a ball and rolls it away. The beetle will eat the ball or bury it as food for its young. Unfortunately, there is a complication. Other beetles swarm around the pile and may attempt to steal the ball.

The best strategy is to roll the ball in a straight line, and to move away from the crowd as quickly as possible. If the beetle wandered in circles, it might roll straight back into the other beetles.

The beetle stands on top of its ball and turns around in a small dance. It studies the sky to determine its direction. During the day, it relies on the sun. Some beetles can also use a pattern of light in the sky that we cannot see. On moonlit nights, they use the moon.

Scientists wondered what happens when there is no moon at all. They discovered that some dung beetles use the broad band of stars called the Milky Way. These beetles are the first animals known to do this. A beetle does not see the stars as sharp, detailed points, but it does see the faint, bright band stretching across the sky.

The beetle has a tiny brain, yet it possesses a remarkable sense of direction.

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 dung, wandered, direction, faint and pattern 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 "Dung Beetles Steer by the Milky Way"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 215 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.9. 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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