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Seagrass: Meadows That Hold the Sea Floor

5th grade nonfiction passage about seagrass meadows: 193 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction seagrass meadows 193 words

Seagrass: Meadows That Hold the Sea Floor

Not all grass grows on land. Seagrass is a flowering plant that lives underwater in shallow, sunny parts of the ocean. It has roots, stems, and long green blades, and it even makes tiny flowers and seeds. Seagrass is not the same as seaweed. Seaweed is a kind of alga and has no true roots, while seagrass roots grip the sand.

Those roots do a big job. They weave through the sandy bottom and hold it in place, so waves and currents cannot carry it away so easily. The blades also slow the moving water. When water slows down, the bits of mud and sand it carries settle to the bottom, and the water above becomes clearer.

A seagrass meadow is a busy neighborhood, too. Young fish hide among the blades, where bigger fish have a harder time finding them. Small crabs and snails creep along the leaves. Some sea turtles and manatees graze on the grass the way cows graze in a field. Like land plants, seagrass takes in carbon dioxide and gives off oxygen. A healthy meadow helps keep the coast steady, the water clear, and the sea full of life.

Questions

  1. What kind of plant is seagrass? in the text

  2. How is seagrass different from seaweed? in the text

  3. What do the roots of seagrass do for the sea floor? in the text

  4. Why does the water above a seagrass meadow become clearer? think about it

  5. Why do young fish hide among the blades? think about it

  6. Which animals graze on seagrass? in the text

Words to know

seagrass
a plant with roots and flowers that grows underwater in the sea
alga
a simple plantlike living thing that grows in water
currents
steady flows of water in the sea
meadow
a wide area covered with grass or grasslike plants
graze
to eat plants that are growing in a place
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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 · 148 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

Not all grass grows on land. Seagrass grows underwater in shallow, sunny parts of the sea. It has roots, stems, and green blades. It makes tiny flowers and seeds, too. Seagrass is not seaweed. Seaweed is an alga. It has no true roots. Seagrass roots grip the sand.

The roots hold the sandy bottom in place. Waves and currents cannot carry it away so easily. The blades slow the moving water. Then mud and sand settle to the bottom. The water above gets clearer.

A seagrass meadow is a busy home. Young fish hide in the blades. Big fish cannot find them as well. Small crabs and snails creep on the leaves. Some sea turtles and manatees graze on the grass, like cows in a field. Seagrass takes in carbon dioxide and gives off oxygen. A healthy meadow keeps the coast steady and the sea full of life.

▲ This passage · 193 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.9

Not all grass grows on land. Seagrass is a flowering plant that lives underwater in shallow, sunny parts of the ocean. It has roots, stems, and long green blades, and it even makes tiny flowers and seeds. Seagrass is not the same as seaweed. Seaweed is a kind of alga and has no true roots, while seagrass roots grip the sand.

Those roots do a big job. They weave through the sandy bottom and hold it in place, so waves and currents cannot carry it away so easily. The blades also slow the moving water. When water slows down, the bits of mud and sand it carries settle to the bottom, and the water above becomes clearer.

A seagrass meadow is a busy neighborhood, too. Young fish hide among the blades, where bigger fish have a harder time finding them. Small crabs and snails creep along the leaves. Some sea turtles and manatees graze on the grass the way cows graze in a field. Like land plants, seagrass takes in carbon dioxide and gives off oxygen. A healthy meadow helps keep the coast steady, the water clear, and the sea full of life.

■ Harder · 211 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.5

Not all grass grows on dry land. Seagrass is a flowering plant that thrives underwater in the shallow, sunlit regions of the ocean. It has roots, stems, and long green blades, and it even produces tiny flowers and seeds. Seagrass should not be confused with seaweed. Seaweed is a type of alga that has no true roots, whereas the roots of seagrass grip the sand firmly.

Those roots perform an important job. They weave through the sandy bottom and hold it in place, so the waves and currents cannot sweep it away as easily. The blades also slow the moving water, and when water slows down, the bits of mud and sand it has been carrying settle to the bottom, which leaves the water above noticeably clearer.

A seagrass meadow is a bustling neighborhood as well. Young fish hide among the blades, where larger fish have a much harder time finding them, and small crabs and snails creep along the leaves. Some sea turtles and manatees graze on the grass in the same way that cows graze in a field. Like plants on land, seagrass takes in carbon dioxide and gives off oxygen. A healthy meadow helps to keep the coastline steady, the water clear, and the sea teeming with life.

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 seagrass, alga, currents, meadow and graze 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 4 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 "Seagrass: Meadows That Hold the Sea Floor"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 193 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.9. 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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