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Planning a Sunny Vegetable Bed

5th grade nonfiction passage about starting a vegetable garden: 213 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction starting a vegetable garden 213 words

Planning a Sunny Vegetable Bed

Starting a vegetable garden is fun, but a little planning makes the difference between a bumper crop and a patch of sad sprouts. Follow these steps for a small garden bed.

First, choose your spot. Most vegetables need many hours of direct sunlight every day, so pick a place that is not shaded by buildings or big trees. It also helps to be near a water source, since you will be watering often.

Second, prepare the soil. Ask an adult to help you loosen it with a shovel or garden fork so that roots can spread. Pull out weeds and rocks. Then mix in some compost, which adds nutrients that plants will use as they grow.

Third, read the seed packet. It tells you how deep to plant the seeds and how far apart the plants should be. Spacing matters. If plants crowd together, they compete for light, water, and food, and none of them grows well.

Fourth, water gently. A soft spray keeps the seeds from washing away. The soil should stay damp but not muddy.

Finally, add a layer of mulch, such as straw, around the plants. Mulch keeps the soil moist and blocks weeds. Check your garden often, and soon you will see tiny green shoots pushing through the soil.

Questions

  1. What kind of spot should you choose for a vegetable bed? in the text

  2. Why should you loosen the soil? in the text

  3. What does compost add to the soil? in the text

  4. Where can you find out how deep to plant a seed? in the text

  5. Why does spacing matter when planting? think about it

  6. Why is mulch helpful in a garden? think about it

Words to know

direct
coming straight from the source without anything in the way
loosen
to make less tight or packed
spacing
the room left between things
compete
to try to get the same thing as others
mulch
a covering of straw or leaves spread over soil
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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 · 197 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2

Starting a vegetable garden is fun. A little planning helps you grow a big crop instead of sad sprouts. Follow these steps for a small garden bed.

First, pick your spot. Most vegetables need many hours of direct sun each day. Pick a place that is not shaded by buildings or big trees. It also helps to be near water, because you will water often.

Second, get the soil ready. Ask an adult to help you loosen it with a shovel or a garden fork. Then roots can spread. Pull out weeds and rocks. Mix in some compost. Compost adds nutrients that plants will use as they grow.

Third, read the seed packet. It tells you how deep to plant the seeds. It tells you how far apart the plants should be. Spacing matters. Plants that crowd together fight for light, water, and food. None of them grows well.

Fourth, water gently. A soft spray keeps the seeds from washing away. The soil should be damp but not muddy.

Last, spread mulch, such as straw, around the plants. Mulch keeps the soil moist and stops weeds. Check your garden often. Soon you will see tiny green shoots.

▲ This passage · 213 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.7

Starting a vegetable garden is fun, but a little planning makes the difference between a bumper crop and a patch of sad sprouts. Follow these steps for a small garden bed.

First, choose your spot. Most vegetables need many hours of direct sunlight every day, so pick a place that is not shaded by buildings or big trees. It also helps to be near a water source, since you will be watering often.

Second, prepare the soil. Ask an adult to help you loosen it with a shovel or garden fork so that roots can spread. Pull out weeds and rocks. Then mix in some compost, which adds nutrients that plants will use as they grow.

Third, read the seed packet. It tells you how deep to plant the seeds and how far apart the plants should be. Spacing matters. If plants crowd together, they compete for light, water, and food, and none of them grows well.

Fourth, water gently. A soft spray keeps the seeds from washing away. The soil should stay damp but not muddy.

Finally, add a layer of mulch, such as straw, around the plants. Mulch keeps the soil moist and blocks weeds. Check your garden often, and soon you will see tiny green shoots pushing through the soil.

■ Harder · 227 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7

Starting a vegetable garden is enjoyable, but a bit of careful planning makes the difference between an abundant harvest and a patch of feeble sprouts. The following steps will guide you through creating a small garden bed.

First, select your location. Most vegetables require many hours of direct sunlight every day, so choose a place that buildings and large trees do not shade. Proximity to a water source is also valuable, since you will be watering frequently.

Second, prepare the soil. With an adult's assistance, loosen it using a shovel or garden fork so that roots can spread easily. Remove any weeds and rocks, and then blend in some compost, which supplies nutrients that the plants will consume as they grow.

Third, read the seed packet carefully, because it specifies how deep to plant the seeds and how far apart the plants should stand. Spacing matters a great deal. When plants are crowded together, they compete for light, water, and food, and none of them grows well.

Fourth, water gently. A soft spray prevents the seeds from washing away, and the soil should remain damp without becoming muddy.

Finally, spread a layer of mulch, such as straw, around the plants. Mulch retains moisture in the soil and suppresses weeds. Inspect your garden often, and before long you will notice tiny green shoots pushing up through the soil.

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 direct, loosen, spacing, compete and mulch 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 "Planning a Sunny Vegetable Bed"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 213 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.7. 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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