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What Tree Rings Tell Us

5th grade nonfiction passage about tree rings: 227 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction tree rings 227 words

What Tree Rings Tell Us

If you ever see a tree stump, look closely at the top. You will find a pattern of circles that grow bigger and bigger, like ripples around a pebble in water. These circles are called tree rings, and they hold a secret record of the tree's life.

A tree grows a new layer of wood each year, just beneath its bark. In spring and early summer, when the weather is warm and wet, the tree grows quickly and the wood is light in color. Later in the year, growth slows down and the wood becomes darker and denser. Together, one light band and one dark band make a single ring. By counting the rings, you can learn how many years the tree lived.

The rings also show what the weather was like. In a year with plenty of rain, the ring is wide because the tree grew a lot. In a dry year, the ring is thin. Scientists who study tree rings can read these patterns like a diary, and they can learn about droughts and fires that happened long before anyone wrote them down.

A scientist does not have to cut down a tree to study its rings. Instead, a special tool pulls out a thin core of wood about as wide as a drinking straw. The tree is not harmed, and it keeps on growing.

Questions

  1. What do tree rings look like? in the text

  2. What do one light band and one dark band make together? in the text

  3. What does a wide ring tell you about the weather that year? think about it

  4. How can scientists learn about the past from tree rings? think about it

  5. How do scientists study rings without cutting down the tree? in the text

Words to know

stump
the part of a tree left in the ground after it is cut
bark
the tough outer covering of a tree
denser
packed more tightly together
drought
a long time with very little rain
core
a thin round sample pulled out from the middle of something
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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 · 209 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3

Look at the top of a tree stump. You will see a pattern of circles. They grow bigger and bigger, like ripples around a pebble in water. These circles are called tree rings. They hold a secret record of the tree's life.

A tree grows a new layer of wood each year, just under its bark. In spring and early summer, the weather is warm and wet. The tree grows fast, and the wood is light in color. Later in the year, growth slows down. The wood is darker and denser. One light band and one dark band make a single ring. Count the rings, and you can learn how many years the tree lived.

The rings also show the weather. In a year with lots of rain, the ring is wide, because the tree grew a lot. In a dry year, the ring is thin. Scientists can read these patterns like a diary. They can learn about droughts and fires that happened long before anyone wrote them down.

A scientist does not have to cut down a tree to study its rings. A special tool pulls out a thin core of wood about as wide as a drinking straw. The tree is not harmed. It keeps on growing.

▲ This passage · 227 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.7

If you ever see a tree stump, look closely at the top. You will find a pattern of circles that grow bigger and bigger, like ripples around a pebble in water. These circles are called tree rings, and they hold a secret record of the tree's life.

A tree grows a new layer of wood each year, just beneath its bark. In spring and early summer, when the weather is warm and wet, the tree grows quickly and the wood is light in color. Later in the year, growth slows down and the wood becomes darker and denser. Together, one light band and one dark band make a single ring. By counting the rings, you can learn how many years the tree lived.

The rings also show what the weather was like. In a year with plenty of rain, the ring is wide because the tree grew a lot. In a dry year, the ring is thin. Scientists who study tree rings can read these patterns like a diary, and they can learn about droughts and fires that happened long before anyone wrote them down.

A scientist does not have to cut down a tree to study its rings. Instead, a special tool pulls out a thin core of wood about as wide as a drinking straw. The tree is not harmed, and it keeps on growing.

■ Harder · 230 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7

If you ever come across a tree stump, examine its top surface closely. You will discover a pattern of circles that grow larger and larger, like ripples spreading around a pebble dropped in water. These circles are called tree rings, and they preserve a hidden record of the tree's entire life.

A tree produces a new layer of wood every year, just beneath its bark. In spring and early summer, when the weather is warm and wet, the tree grows rapidly and the wood is light in color. Later in the year, growth slows and the wood becomes darker and denser. One light band and one dark band together form a single ring, so by counting the rings you can determine how many years the tree lived.

The rings also reveal what the weather was like. In a year with abundant rain, the ring is wide because the tree grew a great deal, whereas in a dry year the ring is thin. Scientists who study tree rings can interpret these patterns like a diary, learning about droughts and fires that occurred long before anyone wrote them down.

A scientist does not need to cut down a tree in order to study its rings. Instead, a specialized tool extracts a thin core of wood about as wide as a drinking straw. The tree is not harmed, and it continues to grow.

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 stump, bark, denser, drought and core 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 3 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 "What Tree Rings Tell Us"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 227 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.7. 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 five. 3 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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