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Aspen Groves: Many Trunks, One Root System

6th grade nonfiction passage about quaking aspen groves: 213 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction quaking aspen groves 213 words

Aspen Groves: Many Trunks, One Root System

Walk into a stand of quaking aspens and you will see hundreds of pale trunks and leaves that tremble in the slightest breeze. It looks like a crowd of separate trees. Often, though, it is closer to one big plant with many stems.

Aspens do not rely only on seeds. A mature aspen sends out long roots just under the soil, and those roots push up new shoots called suckers. Each sucker grows into a trunk. Because the new trunks come from the same roots, they are copies of the parent, with the same genes. Scientists call such a group a clone.

This habit has some surprising effects. In autumn, all the trunks of one clone may turn gold on the same day, while the clone next to it stays green for another week. In spring, the leaves of a single clone often open together. A whole hillside can look like a patchwork of colors, and each patch is a separate living network.

Cloning also helps aspens recover after a fire or a logging cut. The roots survive underground, so new shoots can rise quickly and fill the open space with young trees. A single trunk may live only a few decades, but the root system that feeds it can last far longer.

Questions

  1. What are suckers? in the text

  2. What do scientists call a group of trees that are copies of one parent? in the text

  3. What might happen to one clone in autumn? in the text

  4. How do aspens recover quickly after a fire or a cut? in the text

  5. Why do neighboring patches on a hillside show different colors at the same time? think about it

  6. Why might a root system outlive any single trunk? think about it

Words to know

stand
a group of trees growing close together
suckers
new shoots that grow up from a plant's roots
clone
a living thing that is an exact genetic copy of its parent
genes
the tiny instructions inside cells that shape how a living thing grows
network
a set of parts that are joined together
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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 · 179 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.6

Walk into a grove of quaking aspens. You will see many pale trunks. The leaves shake in the smallest breeze. It looks like a crowd of trees. But it is often one big plant with many stems.

An aspen does not use only seeds. Its long roots lie just under the soil. They send up new shoots called suckers. Each sucker grows into a trunk. The new trunks come from the same roots, so they are copies of the parent. They have the same genes. Scientists call this group a clone.

This has some odd results. In autumn, all the trunks of one clone may turn gold on the same day. The clone next to it may stay green for a week more. A hillside can look like a quilt of colors. Each patch is its own living network.

Cloning helps after a fire or a cut. The roots stay alive underground, so new shoots grow fast. They fill the open space with young trees. One trunk may live only a few decades. The roots can live far longer.

▲ This passage · 213 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.3

Walk into a stand of quaking aspens and you will see hundreds of pale trunks and leaves that tremble in the slightest breeze. It looks like a crowd of separate trees. Often, though, it is closer to one big plant with many stems.

Aspens do not rely only on seeds. A mature aspen sends out long roots just under the soil, and those roots push up new shoots called suckers. Each sucker grows into a trunk. Because the new trunks come from the same roots, they are copies of the parent, with the same genes. Scientists call such a group a clone.

This habit has some surprising effects. In autumn, all the trunks of one clone may turn gold on the same day, while the clone next to it stays green for another week. In spring, the leaves of a single clone often open together. A whole hillside can look like a patchwork of colors, and each patch is a separate living network.

Cloning also helps aspens recover after a fire or a logging cut. The roots survive underground, so new shoots can rise quickly and fill the open space with young trees. A single trunk may live only a few decades, but the root system that feeds it can last far longer.

■ Harder · 225 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.9

Venture into a stand of quaking aspens and you will find hundreds of pale trunks, with leaves that tremble in even the faintest breeze. The grove appears to be a crowd of separate trees, yet it is frequently much closer to a single enormous plant with countless stems.

Aspens do not depend solely on seeds for reproduction. A mature aspen extends long roots just beneath the surface of the soil, and those roots push up new shoots known as suckers. Every sucker develops into a trunk. Since the new trunks originate from the same roots, they are copies of the parent and carry identical genes. Scientists use the word clone for such a group.

This habit produces some surprising effects. In autumn, every trunk belonging to one clone may turn gold on the very same day, while the neighboring clone remains green for another week. In spring, the leaves of a single clone often unfurl together. An entire hillside can resemble a patchwork of colors, and each patch is a distinct living network.

Cloning also helps aspens recover after a fire or a logging cut. The roots survive underground, so fresh shoots can rise rapidly and fill the cleared space with young trees. An individual trunk may live for only a few decades, but the root system that nourishes it can endure for far longer.

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 stand, suckers, clone, genes and network 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 "Aspen Groves: Many Trunks, One Root System"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 213 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.3. 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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