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Turning Kitchen Scraps into Soil

5th grade nonfiction passage about making compost: 223 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction making compost 223 words

Turning Kitchen Scraps into Soil

Instead of throwing away apple cores and banana peels, a gardener can turn them into rich, dark soil. This is called composting. It works because tiny living things, along with worms and bugs, eat dead plant material and break it into crumbly food for new plants.

To start a compost pile, you need two kinds of material. The first kind is green material, which is wet and full of nutrients. Fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, and fresh grass clippings are examples. The second kind is brown material, which is dry and woody. Dead leaves, shredded paper, and small twigs belong here. A good pile has more brown material than green, and the layers should be mixed together.

The pile also needs air and water. Every week or so, an adult can help stir it with a fork so that air gets inside. The pile should feel as damp as a squeezed sponge. If it is too dry, add a little water. If it is too wet and smelly, add more dry leaves.

Leave out meat, fish, and dairy foods. They can attract rats and flies and make the pile smell bad.

After a few months, the bottom of the pile turns into dark compost that smells like a forest floor. Mix it into a garden bed, and the plants will thank you.

Questions

  1. What is composting? in the text

  2. What are two green materials for a compost pile? in the text

  3. What kind of material should a good pile have more of? in the text

  4. Why does an adult stir the pile with a fork? think about it

  5. What should you do if the pile is too wet and smelly? in the text

  6. Why should meat and dairy foods be left out? think about it

Words to know

compost
dark, crumbly material made from rotted plants that helps soil
nutrients
substances that plants need to grow well
shredded
cut or torn into thin strips
damp
slightly wet
attract
to bring something closer
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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 · 186 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

You can turn apple cores and banana peels into rich, dark soil. This is called composting. Tiny living things, worms, and bugs eat dead plant material. They break it into crumbly food for new plants.

To start a pile, you need two kinds of material. Green material is wet and full of nutrients. Fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, and fresh grass are green. Brown material is dry. Dead leaves, shredded paper, and small twigs are brown. A good pile has more brown than green. Mix them together.

The pile needs air and water. Each week, an adult can stir it with a fork to let air in. The pile should feel as damp as a squeezed sponge. If it is too dry, add a little water. If it is too wet and smelly, add dry leaves.

Do not put in meat, fish, or dairy foods. They bring rats and flies. They make the pile smell bad.

After a few months, the bottom of the pile turns to dark compost. It smells like a forest. Mix it into a garden bed, and plants will grow well.

▲ This passage · 223 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.9

Instead of throwing away apple cores and banana peels, a gardener can turn them into rich, dark soil. This is called composting. It works because tiny living things, along with worms and bugs, eat dead plant material and break it into crumbly food for new plants.

To start a compost pile, you need two kinds of material. The first kind is green material, which is wet and full of nutrients. Fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, and fresh grass clippings are examples. The second kind is brown material, which is dry and woody. Dead leaves, shredded paper, and small twigs belong here. A good pile has more brown material than green, and the layers should be mixed together.

The pile also needs air and water. Every week or so, an adult can help stir it with a fork so that air gets inside. The pile should feel as damp as a squeezed sponge. If it is too dry, add a little water. If it is too wet and smelly, add more dry leaves.

Leave out meat, fish, and dairy foods. They can attract rats and flies and make the pile smell bad.

After a few months, the bottom of the pile turns into dark compost that smells like a forest floor. Mix it into a garden bed, and the plants will thank you.

■ Harder · 230 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.5

Rather than throwing away apple cores and banana peels, a gardener can transform them into rich, dark soil through a process called composting. It works because microscopic organisms, together with worms and insects, consume dead plant material and reduce it to a crumbly food supply for new plants.

Starting a compost pile requires two types of material. The first is green material, which is moist and loaded with nutrients, and examples include fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, and fresh grass clippings. The second is brown material, which is dry and woody, such as fallen leaves, shredded paper, and small twigs. An effective pile contains more brown material than green, and the layers should be thoroughly mixed.

The pile also requires air and moisture. About once a week, an adult can assist by turning it with a fork so that air reaches the center. The pile ought to feel about as damp as a squeezed sponge. If it becomes too dry, a little water will help, but if it turns soggy and smelly, adding dry leaves will correct the problem.

Meat, fish, and dairy foods should be left out entirely, because they can attract rats and flies and make the pile smell unpleasant.

After several months, the bottom layer becomes dark compost that smells like a forest floor. Work it into a garden bed, and the plants will reward you.

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 compost, nutrients, shredded, damp and attract 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 "Turning Kitchen Scraps into Soil"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 223 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.8. 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.

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