5th grade nonfiction passage about parallax and star distance: 202 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
5th gradenonfictionparallax and star distance202 words
Your Thumb Can Measure the Stars
Hold your thumb out at arm's length and close one eye. Now switch eyes. Your thumb seems to jump sideways against the room behind it. Switch again, and it jumps back. This shift is called parallax, and astronomers use it to find out how far away the stars are.
The trick works because each eye looks from a slightly different spot. Things that are close to you shift a lot between the two views. Things that are far away hardly shift at all. If you bring your thumb nearer to your face, it jumps even more.
Your two eyes sit too close together to show any shift in a star. So astronomers use two views taken half a year apart. At one time of year, Earth is on one side of its path around the sun. Six months later, Earth is on the opposite side. A nearby star seems to move a tiny bit against the faraway stars behind it. The smaller the shift, the farther away the star must be.
The shifts are so small that astronomers need strong telescopes and careful measuring. Still, the idea is the same as the thumb trick, which you can try in just a minute.
Questions
What happens when you switch eyes while holding up your thumb? in the text
What is this shift in position called? in the text
Which shifts more between two views, a close object or a far one? in the text
Why do astronomers take two views half a year apart? think about it
What does a very small shift tell an astronomer about a star? think about it
What happens if you bring your thumb nearer to your face? in the text
Words to know
parallax
the way something seems to move when you look at it from two places
astronomers
scientists who study space and the stars
opposite
on the other side
telescopes
tools that make faraway things look closer
measuring
finding out how big, long, or far something is
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Your Thumb Can Measure the Stars
5th grade reading passage
Hold your thumb out at arm's length and close one eye. Now switch eyes. Your thumb seems to jump sideways against the room behind it. Switch again, and it jumps back. This shift is called parallax, and astronomers use it to find out how far away the stars are.
The trick works because each eye looks from a slightly different spot. Things that are close to you shift a lot between the two views. Things that are far away hardly shift at all. If you bring your thumb nearer to your face, it jumps even more.
Your two eyes sit too close together to show any shift in a star. So astronomers use two views taken half a year apart. At one time of year, Earth is on one side of its path around the sun. Six months later, Earth is on the opposite side. A nearby star seems to move a tiny bit against the faraway stars behind it. The smaller the shift, the farther away the star must be.
The shifts are so small that astronomers need strong telescopes and careful measuring. Still, the idea is the same as the thumb trick, which you can try in just a minute.
Questions
What happens when you switch eyes while holding up your thumb?
What is this shift in position called?
Which shifts more between two views, a close object or a far one?
Why do astronomers take two views half a year apart?
What does a very small shift tell an astronomer about a star?
What happens if you bring your thumb nearer to your face?
Words to know
parallax: the way something seems to move when you look at it from two places
astronomers: scientists who study space and the stars
opposite: on the other side
telescopes: tools that make faraway things look closer
measuring: finding out how big, long, or far something is
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/5/thumb-trick-measures-star-distance
Share
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 · 167 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9
Hold your thumb out. Close one eye. Now switch eyes. Your thumb seems to jump sideways. Switch again, and it jumps back. This is called parallax. Astronomers use it to find how far away stars are.
Each eye looks from a different spot. That is why the thumb jumps. Close things jump a lot between the two views. Far things hardly jump at all. Bring your thumb closer to your face, and it jumps even more.
Your two eyes are too close together to show a shift in a star. So astronomers use two views taken half a year apart. At one time of year, Earth is on one side of its path around the sun. Six months later, it is on the other side. A near star seems to move a tiny bit against the stars behind it. A small shift means the star is far away.
The shifts are very small. Astronomers need strong telescopes. But the idea is the same as your thumb trick.
▲ This passage · 202 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.8
Hold your thumb out at arm's length and close one eye. Now switch eyes. Your thumb seems to jump sideways against the room behind it. Switch again, and it jumps back. This shift is called parallax, and astronomers use it to find out how far away the stars are.
The trick works because each eye looks from a slightly different spot. Things that are close to you shift a lot between the two views. Things that are far away hardly shift at all. If you bring your thumb nearer to your face, it jumps even more.
Your two eyes sit too close together to show any shift in a star. So astronomers use two views taken half a year apart. At one time of year, Earth is on one side of its path around the sun. Six months later, Earth is on the opposite side. A nearby star seems to move a tiny bit against the faraway stars behind it. The smaller the shift, the farther away the star must be.
The shifts are so small that astronomers need strong telescopes and careful measuring. Still, the idea is the same as the thumb trick, which you can try in just a minute.
■ Harder · 211 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.8
Extend your thumb at arm's length and close one eye. Now switch eyes. Your thumb appears to leap sideways against the furniture behind it, and when you switch back, it leaps again. This apparent shift is called parallax, and astronomers rely on it to calculate how far away the stars are.
The trick works because each eye observes the world from a slightly different position. Objects that are close to you shift dramatically between the two views, whereas distant objects barely shift at all. If you bring your thumb nearer to your face, the jump becomes even more obvious.
Your eyes sit far too close together to reveal any shift in a star, so astronomers compare two views taken half a year apart. At one point in the year, Earth lies on one side of its enormous path around the sun. Six months later, it has traveled to the opposite side. A nearby star appears to move a tiny amount against the faraway stars behind it, and the smaller that shift is, the more distant the star must be.
These shifts are so minute that astronomers must use powerful telescopes and extremely careful measurements. Nevertheless, the principle is identical to the thumb trick that you can try in a single minute.
Hold your thumb out. Close one eye. Now switch eyes. Your thumb seems to jump sideways. Switch again, and it jumps back. This is called parallax. Astronomers use it to find how far away stars are.
Each eye looks from a different spot. That is why the thumb jumps. Close things jump a lot between the two views. Far things hardly jump at all. Bring your thumb closer to your face, and it jumps even more.
Your two eyes are too close together to show a shift in a star. So astronomers use two views taken half a year apart. At one time of year, Earth is on one side of its path around the sun. Six months later, it is on the other side. A near star seems to move a tiny bit against the stars behind it. A small shift means the star is far away.
The shifts are very small. Astronomers need strong telescopes. But the idea is the same as your thumb trick.
Questions
What does your thumb seem to do when you switch eyes?
What is this shift called?
Which jumps more, a close thing or a far thing?
Why do astronomers use two views half a year apart?
What does a small shift tell astronomers about a star?
What happens when your thumb is closer to your face?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Your Thumb Can Measure the Stars
Hold your thumb out at arm's length and close one eye. Now switch eyes. Your thumb seems to jump sideways against the room behind it. Switch again, and it jumps back. This shift is called parallax, and astronomers use it to find out how far away the stars are.
The trick works because each eye looks from a slightly different spot. Things that are close to you shift a lot between the two views. Things that are far away hardly shift at all. If you bring your thumb nearer to your face, it jumps even more.
Your two eyes sit too close together to show any shift in a star. So astronomers use two views taken half a year apart. At one time of year, Earth is on one side of its path around the sun. Six months later, Earth is on the opposite side. A nearby star seems to move a tiny bit against the faraway stars behind it. The smaller the shift, the farther away the star must be.
The shifts are so small that astronomers need strong telescopes and careful measuring. Still, the idea is the same as the thumb trick, which you can try in just a minute.
Questions
What happens when you switch eyes while holding up your thumb?
What is this shift in position called?
Which shifts more between two views, a close object or a far one?
Why do astronomers take two views half a year apart?
What does a very small shift tell an astronomer about a star?
What happens if you bring your thumb nearer to your face?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Your Thumb Can Measure the Stars
Extend your thumb at arm's length and close one eye. Now switch eyes. Your thumb appears to leap sideways against the furniture behind it, and when you switch back, it leaps again. This apparent shift is called parallax, and astronomers rely on it to calculate how far away the stars are.
The trick works because each eye observes the world from a slightly different position. Objects that are close to you shift dramatically between the two views, whereas distant objects barely shift at all. If you bring your thumb nearer to your face, the jump becomes even more obvious.
Your eyes sit far too close together to reveal any shift in a star, so astronomers compare two views taken half a year apart. At one point in the year, Earth lies on one side of its enormous path around the sun. Six months later, it has traveled to the opposite side. A nearby star appears to move a tiny amount against the faraway stars behind it, and the smaller that shift is, the more distant the star must be.
These shifts are so minute that astronomers must use powerful telescopes and extremely careful measurements. Nevertheless, the principle is identical to the thumb trick that you can try in a single minute.
Questions
What happens to your thumb when you switch eyes?
What is this apparent shift in position called?
Which shifts more between two views, a nearby object or a distant one?
Why do astronomers compare views taken half a year apart?
What does a very small shift reveal about a star?
What happens when you bring your thumb nearer to your face?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Your Thumb Can Measure the Stars
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9)
It seems to jump sideways.
Parallax.
A close thing.
Our two eyes are too close together to show a shift in a star, but Earth moves far in six months.
The star is far away.
It jumps even more.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.8)
Your thumb seems to jump sideways against the background.
Parallax.
A close object.
Two eyes sit too close together to show a shift in a star, but Earth moves far across its path in six months.
The star is very far away.
It jumps even more.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.8)
It appears to leap sideways against the background.
Parallax.
A nearby object.
Our eyes are too close together to reveal a shift in a star, but Earth travels across its path in six months.
The star is very distant.
The jump becomes even more obvious.
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 parallax, astronomers, opposite, telescopes and measuring 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.
What reading level is "Your Thumb Can Measure the Stars"?
It was written for 5th grade. It has 202 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.8. 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.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.