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The Warship Vasa Comes Back Up

5th grade nonfiction passage about the swedish ship vasa: 198 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction the swedish ship vasa 198 words

The Warship Vasa Comes Back Up

In 1628, a grand new warship named Vasa was launched in Stockholm, Sweden. Crowds came to watch. The ship was covered in carved wooden figures and painted in bright colors. But Vasa sailed only a short way before a gust of wind tipped it over, and it sank in the harbor.

What went wrong? Experts have studied the ship and found that it was too narrow and too heavy near the top. It carried many cannons and tall decks, but it did not have enough weight low down to keep it steady. In those days, builders had no way to test such a ship before launching it.

Vasa then lay on the harbor floor for more than three hundred years. The cold Baltic Sea water has little salt, and the wood-eating worms that destroy ships in saltier seas do not do well there. Because of that, the wood stayed in good shape.

In 1961, divers and workers lifted the ship from the water with great care. Specialists treated the old wood so it would not crack as it dried. Today Vasa sits in a museum in Stockholm, where visitors can see a ship from nearly four hundred years ago.

Questions

  1. Where was the Vasa launched in 1628? in the text

  2. What happened to the ship soon after it set sail? in the text

  3. Why did Vasa tip over so easily? in the text

  4. When was the ship lifted from the water? in the text

  5. Why did the wood stay in good shape for so long? think about it

  6. Why did specialists treat the wood after the ship was raised? think about it

Words to know

launched
sent a new ship out onto the water
harbor
a sheltered place where ships can stay safely
cannons
large guns that fire heavy balls
specialists
people with expert training in one subject
museum
a place that keeps and shows important objects
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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 · 177 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

In 1628, a new warship named Vasa was launched in Stockholm, Sweden. Crowds came to watch. The ship had carved wooden figures and bright paint. But Vasa sailed only a short way. A gust of wind tipped it over, and it sank in the harbor.

What went wrong? Experts have studied the ship. It was too narrow and too heavy near the top. It had many cannons and tall decks. But it did not have enough weight low down to keep it steady. Back then, builders could not test such a ship before launching it.

Vasa lay on the harbor floor for more than three hundred years. The cold Baltic Sea has little salt. The wood-eating worms that ruin ships in saltier seas do not do well there. So the wood stayed in good shape.

In 1961, divers and workers lifted the ship with great care. Specialists treated the old wood so it would not crack as it dried. Today Vasa sits in a museum in Stockholm. Visitors can see a ship from nearly four hundred years ago.

▲ This passage · 198 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.8

In 1628, a grand new warship named Vasa was launched in Stockholm, Sweden. Crowds came to watch. The ship was covered in carved wooden figures and painted in bright colors. But Vasa sailed only a short way before a gust of wind tipped it over, and it sank in the harbor.

What went wrong? Experts have studied the ship and found that it was too narrow and too heavy near the top. It carried many cannons and tall decks, but it did not have enough weight low down to keep it steady. In those days, builders had no way to test such a ship before launching it.

Vasa then lay on the harbor floor for more than three hundred years. The cold Baltic Sea water has little salt, and the wood-eating worms that destroy ships in saltier seas do not do well there. Because of that, the wood stayed in good shape.

In 1961, divers and workers lifted the ship from the water with great care. Specialists treated the old wood so it would not crack as it dried. Today Vasa sits in a museum in Stockholm, where visitors can see a ship from nearly four hundred years ago.

■ Harder · 204 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.2

In 1628, a magnificent new warship named Vasa was launched in Stockholm, Sweden, while crowds gathered to watch. The vessel was decorated with carved wooden figures and painted in bright colors. Yet Vasa sailed only a short distance before a gust of wind tipped it over, and it sank in the harbor.

What had gone wrong? Experts who have studied the ship have discovered that it was too narrow and too heavy near the top. It carried numerous cannons and tall decks, but it lacked sufficient weight low down to keep it steady. In those days, builders had no way of testing such a ship before it was launched.

Vasa then rested on the harbor floor for more than three hundred years. The cold waters of the Baltic Sea contain little salt, and the wood-eating worms that devour ships in saltier seas do not thrive there. As a result, the wood remained in remarkably good condition.

In 1961, divers and workers raised the ship from the water with enormous care, and specialists treated the old wood so that it would not crack as it dried. Today Vasa sits inside a museum in Stockholm, where visitors can admire a ship built nearly four hundred years ago.

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 launched, harbor, cannons, specialists and museum 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 "The Warship Vasa Comes Back Up"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 198 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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