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Jumping Spiders See the World in Close-Up

5th grade nonfiction passage about jumping spiders and their eyes: 208 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction jumping spiders and their eyes 208 words

Jumping Spiders See the World in Close-Up

Many spiders catch food in webs and wait for it to arrive. Jumping spiders do not. They hunt in the open, like tiny cats, and they rely on very good eyes.

A jumping spider has eight eyes. Two big ones face straight forward, and they work a bit like the lenses of a camera. These eyes can see small details sharply, which is rare for such a small animal. The other six eyes are smaller, and they are good at noticing movement from the sides and from behind. When something moves, the spider turns to look at it with its big eyes.

When a jumping spider spots an insect, it does not rush. It creeps closer, slowly, keeping low and still when it needs to. When it is near enough, it crouches and leaps. Many of these spiders can jump many times their own body length.

The spider has a safety trick. As it walks, it lets out a fine line of silk behind it, called a dragline. If the spider jumps and misses, or if it falls, the dragline helps catch it so it can climb back up.

A jumping spider is small enough to sit on a fingertip, yet it is a careful and clever hunter.

Questions

  1. How do jumping spiders catch food? in the text

  2. How many eyes does a jumping spider have? in the text

  3. What are the two big front eyes good at? in the text

  4. What do the smaller eyes notice? in the text

  5. What does a spider use a dragline for? in the text

  6. Why does the passage compare the spider to a tiny cat? think about it

Words to know

lenses
curved pieces of glass or clear tissue that focus light
sharply
in a very clear way
crouches
bends low to the ground
dragline
a safety thread of silk trailing behind a spider
rely
to depend on something
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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 · 189 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1

Many spiders catch food in webs and wait. Jumping spiders do not. They hunt in the open, like tiny cats. They rely on very good eyes.

A jumping spider has eight eyes. Two big ones face straight forward. They work a bit like the lenses of a camera. These eyes can see small details sharply, which is rare for such a small animal. The other six eyes are smaller. They notice movement from the sides and from behind. When something moves, the spider turns to look at it with its big eyes.

When a jumping spider spots an insect, it does not rush. It creeps closer, slowly, and keeps low. When it is near enough, it crouches and leaps. Many of these spiders can jump many times their own body length.

The spider has a safety trick. As it walks, it lets out a fine line of silk behind it, called a dragline. If the spider misses a jump or falls, the dragline helps catch it. Then it can climb back up.

A jumping spider is small enough to sit on a fingertip. But it is a careful hunter.

▲ This passage · 208 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.6

Many spiders catch food in webs and wait for it to arrive. Jumping spiders do not. They hunt in the open, like tiny cats, and they rely on very good eyes.

A jumping spider has eight eyes. Two big ones face straight forward, and they work a bit like the lenses of a camera. These eyes can see small details sharply, which is rare for such a small animal. The other six eyes are smaller, and they are good at noticing movement from the sides and from behind. When something moves, the spider turns to look at it with its big eyes.

When a jumping spider spots an insect, it does not rush. It creeps closer, slowly, keeping low and still when it needs to. When it is near enough, it crouches and leaps. Many of these spiders can jump many times their own body length.

The spider has a safety trick. As it walks, it lets out a fine line of silk behind it, called a dragline. If the spider jumps and misses, or if it falls, the dragline helps catch it so it can climb back up.

A jumping spider is small enough to sit on a fingertip, yet it is a careful and clever hunter.

■ Harder · 217 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.2

Many spiders trap their food in webs and then wait for it to arrive. Jumping spiders do nothing of the kind. They hunt in the open, much like tiny cats, and they depend upon exceptionally good eyesight.

A jumping spider has eight eyes. Two large ones face straight ahead, and they function somewhat like the lenses of a camera. These eyes can see small details sharply, which is unusual for such a tiny animal. The other six eyes are smaller, and they are skilled at noticing movement from the sides and from behind. Whenever something moves, the spider swivels around to examine it with its big eyes.

When a jumping spider spots an insect, it does not rush forward. Instead, it creeps closer slowly, staying low and still whenever necessary. Once it is near enough, it crouches and leaps. Many of these spiders can jump many times their own body length.

The spider also has a safety trick. As it walks, it releases a fine line of silk behind it, called a dragline. If the spider misses a jump, or if it tumbles off an edge, the dragline helps catch it so that it can climb back up.

A jumping spider is small enough to sit on a fingertip, yet it is a careful and clever hunter.

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 lenses, sharply, crouches, dragline and rely 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 6 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 "Jumping Spiders See the World in Close-Up"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 208 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.6. 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. 5 ask for something the text says directly and 1 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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