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Green Bananas and the Gas That Ripens Them

5th grade nonfiction passage about ripening bananas: 235 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction ripening bananas 235 words

Green Bananas and the Gas That Ripens Them

Most bananas are picked while they are still hard and green. They travel to far-off countries in cool ships, and they arrive at the store looking just as green as when they left the farm. Then, within a week or so, they turn yellow and sweet. What makes the change happen?

Many fruits make a gas called ethylene. You cannot see or smell it, but it works like a message that tells the fruit to ripen. Once the gas builds up, the banana begins to change in several ways. Starch in the fruit breaks down into sugar, so the banana tastes sweeter. The firm flesh turns soft. The green coloring in the peel fades away, and the yellow underneath shows up.

Workers use this fact when they get bananas ready for shoppers. They keep the fruit in special rooms where the air is carefully controlled. When the stores need ripe bananas, the workers let in a small amount of ethylene to start the ripening, and they keep the temperature cool enough that it does not happen too fast.

You can use the same idea at home. If your bananas are too green, put them in a paper bag. The bag traps the ethylene, so the fruit ripens faster. Adding an apple to the bag helps more, since apples give off the gas too. To slow ripening down, keep the bananas away from other fruit.

Questions

  1. Why are most bananas picked while still green? think about it

  2. What is the name of the gas that makes fruit ripen? in the text

  3. What happens to the starch in a ripening banana? in the text

  4. What happens to the green coloring in the peel? in the text

  5. How does a paper bag help a banana ripen faster? in the text

  6. How could you slow down the ripening of bananas at home? think about it

Words to know

ethylene
a gas that fruit gives off which tells it to ripen
ripen
to become ready to eat as fruit softens and sweetens
starch
a plain substance in plants that can turn into sugar
peel
the outer skin of a fruit
controlled
kept steady by careful watching and adjusting
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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 · 214 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3

Most bananas are picked while they are hard and green. They ride in cool ships to far-off countries. They get to the store still looking green. Then, in about a week, they turn yellow and sweet. What makes this happen?

Many fruits make a gas called ethylene. You cannot see or smell it. It works like a message that tells the fruit to ripen. When the gas builds up, the banana changes in three ways. The starch in the fruit breaks down into sugar, so it tastes sweeter. The firm flesh turns soft. The green coloring in the peel fades, and the yellow shows.

Workers use this fact to get bananas ready for shoppers. They keep the fruit in special rooms where the air is carefully controlled. When stores need ripe bananas, workers let in a small amount of ethylene to start the ripening. They keep the room cool so it does not happen too fast.

You can use the same idea at home. If your bananas are too green, put them in a paper bag. The bag traps the ethylene. The fruit ripens faster. Add an apple to the bag, and it helps more, since apples give off the gas too. To slow ripening down, keep the bananas away from other fruit.

▲ This passage · 235 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5

Most bananas are picked while they are still hard and green. They travel to far-off countries in cool ships, and they arrive at the store looking just as green as when they left the farm. Then, within a week or so, they turn yellow and sweet. What makes the change happen?

Many fruits make a gas called ethylene. You cannot see or smell it, but it works like a message that tells the fruit to ripen. Once the gas builds up, the banana begins to change in several ways. Starch in the fruit breaks down into sugar, so the banana tastes sweeter. The firm flesh turns soft. The green coloring in the peel fades away, and the yellow underneath shows up.

Workers use this fact when they get bananas ready for shoppers. They keep the fruit in special rooms where the air is carefully controlled. When the stores need ripe bananas, the workers let in a small amount of ethylene to start the ripening, and they keep the temperature cool enough that it does not happen too fast.

You can use the same idea at home. If your bananas are too green, put them in a paper bag. The bag traps the ethylene, so the fruit ripens faster. Adding an apple to the bag helps more, since apples give off the gas too. To slow ripening down, keep the bananas away from other fruit.

■ Harder · 231 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.9

Most bananas are harvested while they are still firm and green. They cross the ocean in refrigerated ships bound for distant countries, and they reach the store looking just as green as when they departed the farm. Then, within roughly a week, they turn yellow and sweet. What brings about this transformation?

Many fruits produce a gas called ethylene. It is invisible and odorless, but it functions like a message instructing the fruit to ripen. Once the gas accumulates, the banana changes in several ways. The starch in the fruit breaks down into sugar, so the banana tastes sweeter. The firm flesh becomes soft. The green coloring in the peel gradually fades, revealing the yellow underneath.

Workers take advantage of this fact when they prepare bananas for shoppers. They store the fruit in special rooms where the air is carefully controlled. When stores need ripe bananas, the workers introduce a small amount of ethylene to begin the ripening, and they keep the temperature cool enough that the process does not proceed too quickly.

You can apply the same principle at home. If your bananas are too green, place them in a paper bag. The bag traps the ethylene, so the fruit ripens faster. Adding an apple to the bag helps even more, since apples release the gas as well. To slow the ripening down, keep the bananas away from other fruit.

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 ethylene, ripen, starch, peel and controlled 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 1 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 "Green Bananas and the Gas That Ripens Them"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 235 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.0. 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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