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Mushrooms and the Hidden Web

5th grade nonfiction passage about fungi and mushrooms: 210 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction fungi and mushrooms 210 words

Mushrooms and the Hidden Web

A mushroom may look like a small plant, but it is not one. Mushrooms belong to a group called fungi. Fungi are neither plants nor animals. They cannot make food from sunlight the way green plants do, so they must get food from other things.

The part you see above ground is only a small piece of the fungus. Most of it is hidden in the soil or inside a rotting log. There it grows as a web of thin white threads called mycelium. The threads spread through the material and take in the food around them.

When the time is right, the web pushes up a mushroom. Its job is to make spores, which are tiny specks that work a bit like seeds. Many mushrooms have thin folds called gills under the cap, and the spores drop from them. Wind carries the spores away, and some may land in a good spot and start a new web.

Fungi are important to forests. Many of them break down dead leaves and wood, which returns nutrients to the soil. Other fungi attach to tree roots and help the trees take in water and minerals. Never eat a wild mushroom, because some are poisonous and only an expert can tell them apart.

Questions

  1. Why are mushrooms not plants? in the text

  2. What is mycelium? in the text

  3. What do mushrooms make so that new fungi can grow? in the text

  4. How do fungi help a forest? in the text

  5. Why does the writer say the mushroom is only a small piece of the fungus? think about it

  6. Why should you never eat a wild mushroom? think about it

Words to know

fungi
living things such as mushrooms and molds that are not plants or animals
mycelium
the hidden web of threads that makes up most of a fungus
spores
tiny specks that fungi use to spread and start new growth
nutrients
substances that living things need to grow and stay healthy
poisonous
able to make a person or animal sick if 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 · 177 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.8

A mushroom looks like a small plant, but it is not a plant. It is a fungus. Fungi are not plants and not animals. A fungus cannot make food from sunlight. It must get food from other things.

The mushroom you see is just a small part of the fungus. Most of it is hidden in the soil or in a rotting log. There it is a web of thin white threads called mycelium. The threads take in food from the soil or the log.

When the time is right, the web grows a mushroom. The mushroom makes spores. Spores are tiny specks, a little like seeds. Many mushrooms have thin folds called gills under the cap. The spores fall from the gills. The wind carries them away. Some land in a good spot and grow a new web.

Fungi help forests. Many of them break down dead leaves and wood. This puts nutrients back into the soil. Other fungi touch tree roots and help the trees get water. Never eat a wild mushroom. Some are poisonous.

▲ This passage · 210 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.3

A mushroom may look like a small plant, but it is not one. Mushrooms belong to a group called fungi. Fungi are neither plants nor animals. They cannot make food from sunlight the way green plants do, so they must get food from other things.

The part you see above ground is only a small piece of the fungus. Most of it is hidden in the soil or inside a rotting log. There it grows as a web of thin white threads called mycelium. The threads spread through the material and take in the food around them.

When the time is right, the web pushes up a mushroom. Its job is to make spores, which are tiny specks that work a bit like seeds. Many mushrooms have thin folds called gills under the cap, and the spores drop from them. Wind carries the spores away, and some may land in a good spot and start a new web.

Fungi are important to forests. Many of them break down dead leaves and wood, which returns nutrients to the soil. Other fungi attach to tree roots and help the trees take in water and minerals. Never eat a wild mushroom, because some are poisonous and only an expert can tell them apart.

■ Harder · 222 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.7

At first glance a mushroom resembles a small plant, but it is not one. Mushrooms belong to a separate kingdom of living things called fungi, which are neither plants nor animals. Because fungi cannot manufacture food from sunlight the way green plants do, they must absorb nourishment from other materials.

The portion you see above ground is only a tiny fraction of the organism. Most of the fungus remains concealed in the soil or inside a decaying log, where it grows as a sprawling web of thin white threads called mycelium. These threads spread through the material and take in whatever food they find there.

When conditions are right, the web pushes up a mushroom, whose purpose is to produce spores, the microscopic specks that work somewhat like seeds. Many mushrooms have thin folds called gills beneath the cap, and the spores drift down from them. Wind scatters the spores far and wide, and the few that settle in a favorable spot may begin a brand new web.

Fungi are essential to forests. Many of them break down dead leaves and wood, returning nutrients to the soil, while others attach to tree roots and help the trees absorb water and minerals. Nobody should ever eat a wild mushroom, because several kinds are poisonous and only an expert can reliably tell them apart.

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 fungi, mycelium, spores, nutrients and poisonous 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 "Mushrooms and the Hidden Web"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 210 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.3. 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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