5th grade nonfiction passage about pollen counting: 193 words, seven questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
5th gradenonfictionpollen counting193 words
The Technician Who Counts Pollen Grains
For people with allergies, spring can mean sneezing and itchy eyes. Pollen is a tiny dust that plants release into the air. Some people react to it. A pollen counter is a technician who measures how much pollen is in the air. Then people can plan their days.
The work starts with a special sampler on a roof. It pulls in air and traps tiny bits on a sticky strip. Every day, the technician takes the strip to a lab.
Under a microscope, the strip looks like a crowded field of dots. A pollen grain from an oak tree does not look like one from grass or ragweed. Each kind has its own shape and size. The technician learns to tell them apart. Then the technician counts the grains in a small part of the strip. Math tells how many grains were floating in a certain amount of air.
The results are shared in weather reports and on websites. They are often given as low, medium, or high. A person who sees a high count might keep the windows shut. Or the person might take an allergy medicine that a doctor has recommended.
Questions
What is pollen? in the text
Where is the sampler placed? in the text
What traps the pollen on the sampler? in the text
How does the technician tell one kind of pollen from another? in the text
How are the results often reported? in the text
Why does the technician use math after counting a small part of the strip? think about it
Why would a pollen report be useful to someone with allergies? think about it
Words to know
pollen
the fine yellow dust made by flowers, trees, and grasses
allergy
a body reaction, like sneezing, to something harmless
technician
a worker with special training in a skill or tool
microscope
a tool that makes tiny things look big
sampler
a device that collects a small piece of something to study
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Technician Who Counts Pollen Grains
5th grade reading passage
For people with allergies, spring can mean sneezing and itchy eyes. Pollen is a tiny dust that plants release into the air. Some people react to it. A pollen counter is a technician who measures how much pollen is in the air. Then people can plan their days.
The work starts with a special sampler on a roof. It pulls in air and traps tiny bits on a sticky strip. Every day, the technician takes the strip to a lab.
Under a microscope, the strip looks like a crowded field of dots. A pollen grain from an oak tree does not look like one from grass or ragweed. Each kind has its own shape and size. The technician learns to tell them apart. Then the technician counts the grains in a small part of the strip. Math tells how many grains were floating in a certain amount of air.
The results are shared in weather reports and on websites. They are often given as low, medium, or high. A person who sees a high count might keep the windows shut. Or the person might take an allergy medicine that a doctor has recommended.
Questions
What is pollen?
Where is the sampler placed?
What traps the pollen on the sampler?
How does the technician tell one kind of pollen from another?
How are the results often reported?
Why does the technician use math after counting a small part of the strip?
Why would a pollen report be useful to someone with allergies?
Words to know
pollen: the fine yellow dust made by flowers, trees, and grasses
allergy: a body reaction, like sneezing, to something harmless
technician: a worker with special training in a skill or tool
microscope: a tool that makes tiny things look big
sampler: a device that collects a small piece of something to study
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/5/technician-who-counts-pollen-grains
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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 · 184 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3
For people with allergies, spring can mean sneezing and itchy eyes. Pollen is a tiny dust that plants send into the air. Some people react to it. A pollen counter is a worker who measures how much pollen is in the air. Then people can plan their days.
The work starts with a sampler on a roof. It pulls in air. It traps tiny bits on a sticky strip. Each day the worker takes the strip to a lab.
Under a microscope, the strip looks like a field of dots. Pollen from an oak tree looks different from pollen from grass or ragweed. Each kind has its own shape and size. The worker learns to tell them apart. Then the worker counts the grains in a small part of the strip. Math tells how many grains were in a set amount of air.
The results go into weather reports and websites. They are often low, medium, or high. A person who sees a high count might keep the windows shut. Or the person might take an allergy medicine that a doctor said was fine.
▲ This passage · 193 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.5
For people with allergies, spring can mean sneezing and itchy eyes. Pollen is a tiny dust that plants release into the air. Some people react to it. A pollen counter is a technician who measures how much pollen is in the air. Then people can plan their days.
The work starts with a special sampler on a roof. It pulls in air and traps tiny bits on a sticky strip. Every day, the technician takes the strip to a lab.
Under a microscope, the strip looks like a crowded field of dots. A pollen grain from an oak tree does not look like one from grass or ragweed. Each kind has its own shape and size. The technician learns to tell them apart. Then the technician counts the grains in a small part of the strip. Math tells how many grains were floating in a certain amount of air.
The results are shared in weather reports and on websites. They are often given as low, medium, or high. A person who sees a high count might keep the windows shut. Or the person might take an allergy medicine that a doctor has recommended.
■ Harder · 204 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.5
For people who have allergies, springtime can bring sneezing and itchy eyes. Pollen is the fine dust that plants release into the air, and certain people react strongly to it. A pollen counter is a technician who measures how much pollen is drifting through the air so that people can plan their days accordingly.
The work begins with a specialized sampler mounted on a rooftop. It draws in air and traps the minuscule particles on a sticky strip. Every day, the technician retrieves the strip and carries it to a laboratory.
Beneath a microscope, the strip resembles a crowded field of dots. A pollen grain from an oak tree looks nothing like one from grass or ragweed, since each variety has its own distinctive shape and size, and the technician learns to distinguish them. The technician then counts the grains in a small portion of the strip and applies mathematics to estimate how many grains were floating in a given volume of air.
The results are shared through weather reports and websites, frequently as low, medium, or high. Someone who learns that the count is high might decide to keep the windows closed or to take an allergy medicine that a doctor has recommended.
For people with allergies, spring can mean sneezing and itchy eyes. Pollen is a tiny dust that plants send into the air. Some people react to it. A pollen counter is a worker who measures how much pollen is in the air. Then people can plan their days.
The work starts with a sampler on a roof. It pulls in air. It traps tiny bits on a sticky strip. Each day the worker takes the strip to a lab.
Under a microscope, the strip looks like a field of dots. Pollen from an oak tree looks different from pollen from grass or ragweed. Each kind has its own shape and size. The worker learns to tell them apart. Then the worker counts the grains in a small part of the strip. Math tells how many grains were in a set amount of air.
The results go into weather reports and websites. They are often low, medium, or high. A person who sees a high count might keep the windows shut. Or the person might take an allergy medicine that a doctor said was fine.
Questions
What is pollen?
Where is the sampler put?
What traps the pollen on the sampler?
How does the worker tell one kind of pollen from another?
How are the results often given?
Why does the worker use math after counting a small part?
Why is a pollen report useful for a person with allergies?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Technician Who Counts Pollen Grains
For people with allergies, spring can mean sneezing and itchy eyes. Pollen is a tiny dust that plants release into the air. Some people react to it. A pollen counter is a technician who measures how much pollen is in the air. Then people can plan their days.
The work starts with a special sampler on a roof. It pulls in air and traps tiny bits on a sticky strip. Every day, the technician takes the strip to a lab.
Under a microscope, the strip looks like a crowded field of dots. A pollen grain from an oak tree does not look like one from grass or ragweed. Each kind has its own shape and size. The technician learns to tell them apart. Then the technician counts the grains in a small part of the strip. Math tells how many grains were floating in a certain amount of air.
The results are shared in weather reports and on websites. They are often given as low, medium, or high. A person who sees a high count might keep the windows shut. Or the person might take an allergy medicine that a doctor has recommended.
Questions
What is pollen?
Where is the sampler placed?
What traps the pollen on the sampler?
How does the technician tell one kind of pollen from another?
How are the results often reported?
Why does the technician use math after counting a small part of the strip?
Why would a pollen report be useful to someone with allergies?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Technician Who Counts Pollen Grains
For people who have allergies, springtime can bring sneezing and itchy eyes. Pollen is the fine dust that plants release into the air, and certain people react strongly to it. A pollen counter is a technician who measures how much pollen is drifting through the air so that people can plan their days accordingly.
The work begins with a specialized sampler mounted on a rooftop. It draws in air and traps the minuscule particles on a sticky strip. Every day, the technician retrieves the strip and carries it to a laboratory.
Beneath a microscope, the strip resembles a crowded field of dots. A pollen grain from an oak tree looks nothing like one from grass or ragweed, since each variety has its own distinctive shape and size, and the technician learns to distinguish them. The technician then counts the grains in a small portion of the strip and applies mathematics to estimate how many grains were floating in a given volume of air.
The results are shared through weather reports and websites, frequently as low, medium, or high. Someone who learns that the count is high might decide to keep the windows closed or to take an allergy medicine that a doctor has recommended.
Questions
What is pollen?
Where is the sampler mounted?
What traps the pollen on the sampler?
How does the technician distinguish one kind of pollen from another?
How are the results frequently reported?
Why does the technician apply mathematics after counting a small portion of the strip?
Why would a pollen report be valuable to someone with allergies?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Technician Who Counts Pollen Grains
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3)
A tiny dust that plants send into the air.
On a roof.
A sticky strip.
By the shape and size of each grain under a microscope.
As low, medium, or high.
Counting every grain would take too long, so a small count is used to find the total.
It tells them when to stay in or get ready.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.5)
The tiny dust that plants release into the air.
On a roof.
A sticky strip.
By looking at each grain's shape and size under a microscope.
As low, medium, or high.
Counting every grain would take too long, so the count from one part is used to figure out the total in the air.
It lets them know when to stay inside or get ready before they go out.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.5)
The fine dust that plants release into the air.
On a rooftop.
A sticky strip.
By the distinctive shape and size of each grain under a microscope.
As low, medium, or high.
Counting every grain would take far too long, so the small count is used to estimate the total in the air.
It tells them when to stay inside or prepare before they go out.
Free at teach.peabody.kids
How to use it
Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.
Ideas for class
Before reading, put pollen, allergy, technician, microscope and sampler 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 6 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.
What reading level is "The Technician Who Counts Pollen Grains"?
It was written for 5th grade. It has 193 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 seven. 5 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?
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