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Five Climates on One Tanzanian Mountain

5th grade nonfiction passage about mountain climate zones: 198 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction mountain climate zones 198 words

Five Climates on One Tanzanian Mountain

Mount Kilimanjaro rises in the east African country of Tanzania. It is the tallest mountain in Africa, and it stands alone on a wide plain instead of in a long chain of peaks. It is a volcano that is no longer erupting. What makes it special is that climbing it feels like traveling across the whole world.

The trip begins at the bottom in warm farmland. Farmers there grow crops such as coffee and bananas. Higher up is a rain forest, where the air is wet and the trees are draped in moss. Monkeys and many birds live among the branches.

Next comes a zone of heath and moorland, with shrubs and tall, odd-looking plants. The air is cooler and the clouds often drift past. Above that is a dry, rocky desert where very little can grow and the nights are cold. Finally, at the top, there is a zone of ice and bare stone, where the air is thin and cold.

Temperature drops as the land gets higher. That simple fact creates a ladder of climates, one stacked above another. Scientists study such mountains to learn how plants and animals fit into each kind of place.

Questions

  1. In which country is Mount Kilimanjaro? in the text

  2. What kind of mountain is Kilimanjaro? in the text

  3. What crops grow in the warm zone at the bottom? in the text

  4. Which zone comes right after the rain forest? in the text

  5. Why does the climate change as you climb higher? think about it

  6. What does the passage mean by saying the climb feels like traveling across the whole world? think about it

Words to know

volcano
a mountain with an opening where melted rock can burst out
plain
a large flat stretch of land
moorland
open land covered with low shrubs and grass
zone
an area that has a certain feature
thin
having less of something than usual, as air high up has less oxygen
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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 · 138 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

Mount Kilimanjaro is in the east African country of Tanzania. It is the tallest mountain in Africa. It stands alone on a wide plain. It is a volcano that is not erupting now. Climbing it feels like a trip across the whole world.

The trip starts in warm farmland. Farmers grow coffee and bananas there. Higher up is a rain forest. The air is wet, and moss hangs from the trees. Monkeys and birds live there.

Next is heath and moorland, with shrubs and odd, tall plants. The air is cooler, and clouds drift by. Above that is a dry, rocky desert. Little can grow, and the nights are cold. At the top are ice and bare stone. The air is thin and cold.

It gets colder as the land gets higher. That makes a ladder of climates.

▲ This passage · 198 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.5

Mount Kilimanjaro rises in the east African country of Tanzania. It is the tallest mountain in Africa, and it stands alone on a wide plain instead of in a long chain of peaks. It is a volcano that is no longer erupting. What makes it special is that climbing it feels like traveling across the whole world.

The trip begins at the bottom in warm farmland. Farmers there grow crops such as coffee and bananas. Higher up is a rain forest, where the air is wet and the trees are draped in moss. Monkeys and many birds live among the branches.

Next comes a zone of heath and moorland, with shrubs and tall, odd-looking plants. The air is cooler and the clouds often drift past. Above that is a dry, rocky desert where very little can grow and the nights are cold. Finally, at the top, there is a zone of ice and bare stone, where the air is thin and cold.

Temperature drops as the land gets higher. That simple fact creates a ladder of climates, one stacked above another. Scientists study such mountains to learn how plants and animals fit into each kind of place.

■ Harder · 208 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.7

Mount Kilimanjaro rises in the east African country of Tanzania. It is the tallest mountain on the continent, and it stands alone on a wide plain rather than within a long chain of peaks. It is a volcano that is no longer erupting. What makes it truly remarkable is that climbing it feels like traveling across the entire world.

The journey begins at the bottom in warm, fertile farmland, where farmers grow crops such as coffee and bananas. Higher up lies a rain forest, where the air is damp and the trees are draped in moss. Monkeys and many species of birds make their homes among the branches.

Next comes a zone of heath and moorland, filled with shrubs and tall, strange-looking plants. The air is noticeably cooler, and clouds often drift past. Above that stretches a dry, rocky desert where very little can grow and the nights are bitterly cold. Finally, at the summit, there is a zone of ice and bare stone, where the air is thin and cold.

Temperature drops as the land rises. That simple fact creates a ladder of climates, each stacked above the one before. Scientists study such mountains to learn how plants and animals adapt to each kind of place.

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 volcano, plain, moorland, zone and thin 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 5 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 "Five Climates on One Tanzanian Mountain"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 198 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.5. 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.

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