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The Spiral Pump That Lifts Water Uphill

5th grade nonfiction passage about the Archimedes screw: 203 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction the Archimedes screw 203 words

The Spiral Pump That Lifts Water Uphill

Water normally runs downhill, so lifting it takes some kind of machine. One of the oldest is the screw pump, often named after Archimedes, an ancient Greek thinker. It looks like a giant screw hidden inside a long tube, and it can raise water from a low ditch to a higher field.

The design is simple. A wide spiral ridge winds around a central shaft, and the shaft rests in a tilted tube. The lower end of the tube sits in the water. When a person turns a handle at the top, the whole screw spins inside the tube.

As the screw turns, water slips into the bottom of the spiral. The water cannot slide back out, because each turn of the ridge forms a small pocket that holds it. The pockets seem to travel upward along the shaft, carrying their water with them. At the top, the water pours out into a channel.

Farmers used machines like this to move water for their crops. Today, bigger versions help drain flooded land and move water at treatment plants. Some similar machines carry grain or soil instead of water. The idea of a spiral that lifts things has lasted for a very long time.

Questions

  1. Where does the lower end of the tube sit? in the text

  2. What do you turn at the top to spin the screw? in the text

  3. What happens to the water when it reaches the top? in the text

  4. What does each turn of the ridge form that holds the water? in the text

  5. Why does the water not slide back down as the screw turns? think about it

  6. Why might a farmer want a screw pump near a low ditch? think about it

Words to know

spiral
a shape that winds around and around
shaft
a long rod in the middle of a machine
tilted
leaning to one side, not straight up
ridge
a raised line along a surface
drain
to let water flow away
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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 · 157 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4

Water runs downhill. To lift it, you need a machine. One old machine is the screw pump. It is named after Archimedes, a thinker from ancient Greece. It looks like a big screw inside a long tube.

A wide ridge winds around a center shaft. The shaft sits in a tube that leans a bit. The low end of the tube is in the water. A person turns a handle at the top. The screw spins in the tube.

Water slips into the bottom of the spiral. It cannot slide back out. Each turn of the ridge makes a small pocket, and the pocket holds the water. The pockets move up the shaft with the water inside. At the top, the water pours out into a channel.

Farmers used these machines to water their crops. Today, bigger ones help drain flooded land. Some carry grain, not water. A spiral that lifts things is a very old idea.

▲ This passage · 203 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.3

Water normally runs downhill, so lifting it takes some kind of machine. One of the oldest is the screw pump, often named after Archimedes, an ancient Greek thinker. It looks like a giant screw hidden inside a long tube, and it can raise water from a low ditch to a higher field.

The design is simple. A wide spiral ridge winds around a central shaft, and the shaft rests in a tilted tube. The lower end of the tube sits in the water. When a person turns a handle at the top, the whole screw spins inside the tube.

As the screw turns, water slips into the bottom of the spiral. The water cannot slide back out, because each turn of the ridge forms a small pocket that holds it. The pockets seem to travel upward along the shaft, carrying their water with them. At the top, the water pours out into a channel.

Farmers used machines like this to move water for their crops. Today, bigger versions help drain flooded land and move water at treatment plants. Some similar machines carry grain or soil instead of water. The idea of a spiral that lifts things has lasted for a very long time.

■ Harder · 207 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.7

Water naturally flows downhill, so raising it to a higher place requires some kind of machine. Among the oldest is the screw pump, frequently named after Archimedes, an ancient Greek thinker. It resembles an enormous screw concealed inside a long tube, and it can carry water from a low ditch up to a higher field.

The design is surprisingly simple. A broad spiral ridge winds around a central shaft, and the shaft rests inside a tilted tube whose lower end sits in the water. When a person turns a handle at the top, the entire screw spins within the tube.

As the screw rotates, water slips into the bottom of the spiral. It cannot slide back out, because every turn of the ridge forms a small pocket that traps it. The pockets appear to travel upward along the shaft, carrying their water along with them, and at the top the water pours out into a channel.

Farmers once relied on machines like this to move water to their crops. Today, much larger versions help drain flooded land and move water at treatment plants, and some similar machines carry grain or soil instead. The notion of a spiral that lifts things has endured for a very long time.

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 spiral, shaft, tilted, ridge and drain 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 "The Spiral Pump That Lifts Water Uphill"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 203 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.3. 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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