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The Slow March of a Sand Dune

5th grade nonfiction passage about how dunes move: 209 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction how dunes move 209 words

The Slow March of a Sand Dune

A sand dune may look like a hill that has always been there, but many dunes are on the move. Over months and years, a dune can travel across the land, one grain at a time.

Wind does the work. It blows sand grains up the gentle side of the dune, the side that faces the wind. The grains hop and roll along the surface until they reach the crest, which is the top edge. Just beyond the crest the wind slows down, so there is nothing to carry the sand any farther. The grains drop onto the steep downwind side. This side is called the slip face.

As sand piles up on the slip face, it gets too steep to hold. Little slides of sand pour down the slope and settle at the bottom. Meanwhile, more grains keep arriving from the gentle side. Sand is always leaving the back of the dune and being added at the front.

The result is that the whole dune shifts forward in the direction the wind blows. Some dunes move only a few steps each year. In places where dunes creep toward roads or farms, people plant grasses to hold the sand in place, because roots can keep grains from blowing away.

Questions

  1. What carries the sand grains up the gentle side of a dune? in the text

  2. What is the steep downwind side of a dune called? in the text

  3. Why do grains drop at the crest? in the text

  4. How does the whole dune move forward? think about it

  5. Why do people plant grasses near moving dunes? think about it

  6. What does the word crest mean in this passage? in the text

Words to know

dune
a hill of sand shaped by the wind
crest
the highest edge of a hill or wave
grains
tiny hard pieces, like bits of sand
steep
sloping sharply, almost straight up and down
shifts
moves from one place to another
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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 · 172 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5

A sand dune may look like a hill that has always been there. But many dunes move. Over months and years, a dune can travel across the land, one grain at a time.

Wind does the work. It blows sand up the gentle side of the dune, the side that faces the wind. The grains hop and roll to the crest, the top edge. Just past the crest, the wind slows down. It can not carry the sand any farther. The grains drop onto the steep side. This side is called the slip face.

Sand piles up on the slip face until it is too steep. Then little slides of sand pour down the slope. More grains keep coming from the gentle side. Sand leaves the back of the dune and is added to the front.

So the whole dune moves the way the wind blows. Some dunes move only a few steps a year. Where dunes creep toward roads or farms, people plant grasses. The roots hold the sand in place.

▲ This passage · 209 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4

A sand dune may look like a hill that has always been there, but many dunes are on the move. Over months and years, a dune can travel across the land, one grain at a time.

Wind does the work. It blows sand grains up the gentle side of the dune, the side that faces the wind. The grains hop and roll along the surface until they reach the crest, which is the top edge. Just beyond the crest the wind slows down, so there is nothing to carry the sand any farther. The grains drop onto the steep downwind side. This side is called the slip face.

As sand piles up on the slip face, it gets too steep to hold. Little slides of sand pour down the slope and settle at the bottom. Meanwhile, more grains keep arriving from the gentle side. Sand is always leaving the back of the dune and being added at the front.

The result is that the whole dune shifts forward in the direction the wind blows. Some dunes move only a few steps each year. In places where dunes creep toward roads or farms, people plant grasses to hold the sand in place, because roots can keep grains from blowing away.

■ Harder · 209 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7

A sand dune may resemble a hill that has stood in place forever, but a great many dunes are constantly on the move. Over months and years, a dune can migrate across the landscape, carried forward one grain at a time.

The wind performs all of the labor. It drives sand grains up the gentle windward side of the dune, and the grains hop and roll along the surface until they reach the crest, which is the uppermost edge. Just beyond the crest, the wind loses its speed, so nothing remains to carry the sand any farther. The grains tumble onto the steep downwind side, which is known as the slip face.

As sand accumulates on the slip face, the slope eventually becomes too steep to hold. Small avalanches of sand pour down and settle at the base, while fresh grains continue to arrive from the gentle side. Sand is constantly departing from the back of the dune and being added to the front.

Consequently, the entire dune drifts forward in the direction the wind blows. Some dunes advance only a few steps each year. In places where dunes creep toward roads or farms, people plant grasses, because roots can anchor the grains and keep them from blowing away.

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 dune, crest, grains, steep and shifts 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 "The Slow March of a Sand Dune"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 209 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.0. 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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