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Fiber: The Rough Stuff Your Gut Needs

5th grade nonfiction passage about fiber in food: 215 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction fiber in food 215 words

Fiber: The Rough Stuff Your Gut Needs

Most food is broken down and used by your body. Fiber is different. It comes from plants, and your body cannot digest it. It passes right through you. That might sound useless, but fiber has some important jobs to do.

Fiber is the tough part of plant foods. You find it in beans, whole grains like oats, fruits, and vegetables. The skin of an apple and the strings in celery are fiber you can see and chew. Even soft foods such as lentils and pears are full of it.

As fiber moves through your intestines, it adds bulk. That means it gives the food leftovers some body, so the muscles in the gut have something to push along. Food moves through at a steady pace and does not get stuck. Some kinds of fiber also soak up water and turn into a soft gel. And some kinds act as food for the helpful bacteria that live in your large intestine.

A bowl of oatmeal with berries, or a bean burrito, will give you plenty. If you eat more fiber, remember to drink enough water too. The fiber works best when it has water to soak up. Next time you crunch into a raw carrot, remember that your gut is glad you picked something with fiber.

Questions

  1. Where does fiber come from? in the text

  2. What is special about how the body treats fiber? in the text

  3. What are two foods that have fiber? in the text

  4. How does fiber help food move along the intestines? think about it

  5. Why should you drink water when you eat more fiber? think about it

  6. What does fiber do for the helpful bacteria in the large intestine? in the text

Words to know

fiber
the tough part of plant foods that the body cannot digest
digest
to break food down so the body can use it
bulk
the size and body that something gives
steady
moving evenly and not stopping and starting
lentils
small round seeds that are cooked and eaten
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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 2.7

Your body breaks down most food and uses it. Fiber is different. It comes from plants. Your body cannot digest it. It passes right through you. That may sound useless, but fiber has important jobs.

Fiber is the tough part of plant foods. You find it in beans, oats, fruits, and vegetables. The skin of an apple has fiber. So do the strings in celery. You can see and chew them. Soft foods like lentils and pears have lots of it too.

Fiber moves through your intestines and adds bulk. That means it gives the leftover food some body. The muscles in your gut have something to push along. Food moves at a steady pace. It does not get stuck. Some fiber soaks up water and turns into a soft gel. Some fiber is food for the helpful bacteria in your large intestine.

A bowl of oatmeal with berries gives you plenty. So does a bean burrito. If you eat more fiber, drink enough water too. Fiber works best when it can soak up water. When you crunch a raw carrot, your gut is glad.

▲ This passage · 215 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.4

Most food is broken down and used by your body. Fiber is different. It comes from plants, and your body cannot digest it. It passes right through you. That might sound useless, but fiber has some important jobs to do.

Fiber is the tough part of plant foods. You find it in beans, whole grains like oats, fruits, and vegetables. The skin of an apple and the strings in celery are fiber you can see and chew. Even soft foods such as lentils and pears are full of it.

As fiber moves through your intestines, it adds bulk. That means it gives the food leftovers some body, so the muscles in the gut have something to push along. Food moves through at a steady pace and does not get stuck. Some kinds of fiber also soak up water and turn into a soft gel. And some kinds act as food for the helpful bacteria that live in your large intestine.

A bowl of oatmeal with berries, or a bean burrito, will give you plenty. If you eat more fiber, remember to drink enough water too. The fiber works best when it has water to soak up. Next time you crunch into a raw carrot, remember that your gut is glad you picked something with fiber.

■ Harder · 231 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.8

Most of the food you eat is broken down and put to use by your body. Fiber, however, is different. It originates in plants, and your body is unable to digest it, so it simply passes straight through you. That may sound pointless, but fiber performs several important jobs.

Fiber is the tough portion of plant foods. You can find it in beans, whole grains such as oats, fruits, and vegetables. The skin of an apple and the strings in celery are fiber that you can actually see and chew. Even soft foods like lentils and pears are packed with it.

As fiber travels through your intestines, it adds bulk. In other words, it gives the leftover food some body, so the muscles in your gut have something substantial to push along. Food then moves at a steady pace instead of getting stuck. Certain kinds of fiber also soak up water and turn into a soft gel, and other kinds serve as food for the helpful bacteria that live in your large intestine.

A bowl of oatmeal topped with berries, or a bean burrito, will supply you with plenty. If you start eating more fiber, remember to drink enough water as well, because fiber works best when it has water to soak up. The next time you crunch into a raw carrot, remember that your gut is grateful for your choice.

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 fiber, digest, bulk, steady and lentils 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 "Fiber: The Rough Stuff Your Gut Needs"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 215 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.4. 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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