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Stalactites and Stalagmites: Drip by Drip

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

5th grade nonfiction cave formations 210 words

Stalactites and Stalagmites: Drip by Drip

Deep inside some caves, stone icicles hang from the ceiling, and stone spikes rise from the floor below. They look like they belong in a fantasy movie, but they are made by plain water and time.

Many caves form in limestone, a soft rock. Rainwater picks up a gas from the air and soil, which makes it slightly acidic. As this water trickles down through cracks in the limestone, it dissolves a little of the rock and carries it along.

When a drop reaches the roof of a cave, it hangs there for a moment. Some of the gas escapes into the cave air, and a tiny ring of dissolved rock is left behind. Another drop follows, and then another. Over thousands of years, the rings add up into a hollow stone tube that grows downward. This is a stalactite.

Drops that fall to the floor also leave rock behind. Slowly, a mound builds up and grows toward the ceiling. This is a stalagmite.

If you want to remember which is which, think of the letter c in ceiling, which starts the word stalactite. Sometimes the two meet in the middle and join into a single column. Because they grow so slowly, cave visitors are asked never to touch them.

Questions

  1. What kind of rock do many caves form in? in the text

  2. How does rainwater become slightly acidic? in the text

  3. What is a stalactite? in the text

  4. How does a stalagmite grow? in the text

  5. Why are visitors asked not to touch cave formations? think about it

  6. What forms when a stalactite and stalagmite meet? in the text

Words to know

limestone
a soft rock that water can slowly dissolve
acidic
able to slowly wear away certain kinds of rock
dissolves
mixes into a liquid and seems to disappear
trickles
flows in a thin, slow stream
column
a tall, thick pillar
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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 · 181 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2

Deep in some caves, stone icicles hang from the ceiling. Stone spikes rise from the floor. They look like a fantasy movie, but they are made by water and time.

Many caves form in limestone, a soft rock. Rainwater picks up a gas from the air and soil. This makes it a little acidic. The water trickles down through cracks in the limestone. It dissolves a bit of the rock and carries it along.

When a drop reaches the cave roof, it hangs there. Some of the gas escapes into the cave air. A tiny ring of rock is left behind. Then another drop comes, and another. Over thousands of years, the rings build a hollow stone tube that grows down. This is a stalactite.

Drops that fall to the floor also leave rock behind. A mound grows up toward the ceiling. This is a stalagmite.

To remember which is which, think of the c in ceiling. It starts stalactite. Sometimes the two meet and join into a column. They grow so slowly that visitors are asked never to touch them.

▲ This passage · 210 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.2

Deep inside some caves, stone icicles hang from the ceiling, and stone spikes rise from the floor below. They look like they belong in a fantasy movie, but they are made by plain water and time.

Many caves form in limestone, a soft rock. Rainwater picks up a gas from the air and soil, which makes it slightly acidic. As this water trickles down through cracks in the limestone, it dissolves a little of the rock and carries it along.

When a drop reaches the roof of a cave, it hangs there for a moment. Some of the gas escapes into the cave air, and a tiny ring of dissolved rock is left behind. Another drop follows, and then another. Over thousands of years, the rings add up into a hollow stone tube that grows downward. This is a stalactite.

Drops that fall to the floor also leave rock behind. Slowly, a mound builds up and grows toward the ceiling. This is a stalagmite.

If you want to remember which is which, think of the letter c in ceiling, which starts the word stalactite. Sometimes the two meet in the middle and join into a single column. Because they grow so slowly, cave visitors are asked never to touch them.

■ Harder · 214 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.2

Deep within certain caves, stone icicles dangle from the ceiling while stone spikes rise from the floor beneath them. They resemble scenery from a fantasy film, yet they are created by nothing more than ordinary water and an enormous amount of time.

Many caves develop in limestone, a relatively soft rock. Rainwater absorbs a gas from the air and the soil, which makes it slightly acidic. As this water trickles downward through cracks in the limestone, it dissolves a small amount of the rock and carries it along.

When a drop arrives at the ceiling of a cave, it clings there for a moment. Some of the gas escapes into the cave air, and a tiny ring of dissolved rock is left behind. Another drop follows, and then another. Over thousands of years, the rings accumulate into a hollow stone tube that lengthens downward. This formation is a stalactite.

Drops that land on the floor also deposit rock. Gradually, a mound builds and climbs toward the ceiling. This is a stalagmite.

To remember which is which, think of the letter c in ceiling, which begins the word stalactite. Occasionally, the two meet in the middle and fuse into a single column. Because they grow so slowly, cave visitors are asked never to touch them.

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 limestone, acidic, dissolves, trickles and column 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 "Stalactites and Stalagmites: Drip by Drip"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 210 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.2. 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. 5 ask for something the text says directly and 1 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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