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Betelgeuse Is Orange and Rigel Is Blue

5th grade nonfiction passage about star colors and heat: 223 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction star colors and heat 223 words

Betelgeuse Is Orange and Rigel Is Blue

On a clear night, most stars look white. If you look carefully, though, a few show a hint of color. In the group of stars called Orion, one bright star named Betelgeuse looks orange-red. Another bright star in the same group, named Rigel, looks blue-white.

These colors are clues. The color of a star tells astronomers how hot its surface is. Think about a metal rod heated in a fire. First it glows a dull red. As it gets hotter, it turns orange, then yellow, and finally white. Stars follow the same pattern. A star that looks red is cooler than a star that looks yellow, and a blue star is hotter than all of them. Our own sun is somewhere in the middle, and it shines with a yellow-white light.

Notice that the cooler stars are still extremely hot. Even a red star is far hotter than any oven on Earth. The words cool and hot only compare one star with another.

It can be hard to see star colors with just your eyes, because dim light makes it difficult for us to tell colors apart. Binoculars help, and so do cameras that collect light for a longer time. With a little patience, you can find the color of a star for yourself and guess how hot it is.

Questions

  1. What color does Betelgeuse look? in the text

  2. What does the color of a star tell astronomers? in the text

  3. Which is hotter, a red star or a blue star? in the text

  4. Why does the passage compare stars to a metal rod in a fire? think about it

  5. Is a red star cold? How do you know? think about it

  6. What can help you see star colors better? in the text

Words to know

surface
the outside layer of something
pattern
something that happens in the same order again and again
compare
to look at how two things are alike or different
binoculars
a pair of small telescopes that you hold up to both eyes
patience
being able to wait calmly
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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 · 164 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.2

Most stars look white at night. But a few show a bit of color. In Orion, a bright star named Betelgeuse looks orange-red. Another bright star there, named Rigel, looks blue-white.

These colors are clues. The color of a star tells astronomers how hot its surface is. Think of a metal rod in a fire. First it glows dull red. When it gets hotter, it turns orange, then yellow, then white. Stars follow the same pattern. A red star is cooler than a yellow star. A blue star is hotter than all of them. Our sun is in the middle. It shines yellow-white.

Cooler stars are still very hot. Even a red star is far hotter than any oven on Earth. Cool just means cooler than the other stars.

It is hard to see star colors with just your eyes. In dim light, we can not tell colors well. Binoculars help. So do cameras that collect light for a long time.

▲ This passage · 223 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.5

On a clear night, most stars look white. If you look carefully, though, a few show a hint of color. In the group of stars called Orion, one bright star named Betelgeuse looks orange-red. Another bright star in the same group, named Rigel, looks blue-white.

These colors are clues. The color of a star tells astronomers how hot its surface is. Think about a metal rod heated in a fire. First it glows a dull red. As it gets hotter, it turns orange, then yellow, and finally white. Stars follow the same pattern. A star that looks red is cooler than a star that looks yellow, and a blue star is hotter than all of them. Our own sun is somewhere in the middle, and it shines with a yellow-white light.

Notice that the cooler stars are still extremely hot. Even a red star is far hotter than any oven on Earth. The words cool and hot only compare one star with another.

It can be hard to see star colors with just your eyes, because dim light makes it difficult for us to tell colors apart. Binoculars help, and so do cameras that collect light for a longer time. With a little patience, you can find the color of a star for yourself and guess how hot it is.

■ Harder · 232 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.4

On a clear night, the majority of stars appear white, but a careful observer will notice that a few of them carry a distinct tint. In the constellation Orion, the bright star Betelgeuse glows orange-red, while another brilliant star in the same constellation, Rigel, shines with a blue-white light.

These colors are valuable clues. The color of a star tells astronomers how hot its surface is. Consider a metal rod that is heated in a fire: at first it glows a dull red, and as the temperature rises it turns orange, then yellow, and eventually white. Stars follow the same pattern. A red star is cooler than a yellow one, and a blue star is hotter than any of them. Our own sun lies somewhere in the middle, giving off a yellow-white light.

It is important to remember that the so-called cooler stars are still unimaginably hot. Even a red star is far hotter than any oven on Earth, and the words cool and hot merely compare one star with another.

Star colors can be difficult to detect with unaided eyes, because dim light makes it hard for us to tell colors apart. Binoculars are a great help, as are cameras that gather light for a longer period of time. With a little patience, you can find a star's color for yourself and guess how hot it is.

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 surface, pattern, compare, binoculars and patience 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 "Betelgeuse Is Orange and Rigel Is Blue"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 223 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.5. 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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