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Batik: Drawing with Wax Before the Dye

6th grade nonfiction passage about batik wax resist cloth: 246 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction batik wax resist cloth 246 words

Batik: Drawing with Wax Before the Dye

Batik is a way of decorating cloth that begins with wax instead of color. It is closely linked with Indonesia, especially the island of Java, though cloth makers in other parts of the world use wax-resist methods too. The wax acts as a shield. Wherever it covers the cloth, dye cannot soak in.

A batik maker starts with plain cloth. Melted wax is carefully drawn onto the cloth in lines and dots. One traditional tool is a small copper cup with a thin spout, called a canting. It works like a pen that holds hot wax. Another tool is a copper stamp, which presses a repeating pattern in many spots quickly. Because the wax is hot, grown-up workers handle it with great care.

Next, the whole cloth is dipped into a bath of dye. The color soaks into every part that the wax does not cover. When the cloth dries, the maker adds more wax in new places and dips the cloth in a second color. Each round of waxing and dyeing adds another layer, so a cloth with many colors can take days or even weeks to finish.

At the end, the wax is removed with hot water. The hidden shapes appear in the original color of the cloth, with the dye all around them. Often the pattern has small cracks where the dye crept through the wax, and many people love those fine veins because no two cloths come out exactly alike.

Questions

  1. What does the wax do in the batik method? in the text

  2. What is a canting? in the text

  3. What is the stamp used for? in the text

  4. How is the wax finally removed? in the text

  5. Why can a many-colored batik take days or weeks to finish? think about it

  6. Why does no batik cloth come out exactly like another? think about it

Words to know

batik
a cloth art that uses wax to block dye
dye
a substance used to change the color of cloth
canting
a small tool with a spout used to draw hot wax
pattern
a design that repeats
layer
one coating or level on top of another
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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 · 187 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.8

Batik is a way to decorate cloth. It starts with wax, not color. It is linked with Indonesia, mostly the island of Java. People in other places use wax methods too. The wax is a shield. Dye cannot soak in where wax covers the cloth.

A maker starts with plain cloth. Hot wax is drawn on in lines and dots. One tool is a small copper cup with a thin spout. It is called a canting. It works like a pen for hot wax. Another tool is a copper stamp. It presses a pattern fast. The wax is hot, so grown-ups handle it with care.

Next, the cloth goes into a dye bath. Color soaks in where there is no wax. When the cloth dries, the maker adds more wax and dips it in a new color. Each round adds a layer. A cloth with many colors can take days or weeks.

At the end, hot water takes off the wax. The hidden shapes show the old color of the cloth. Often there are tiny cracks where dye crept through. No two cloths are the same.

▲ This passage · 246 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6

Batik is a way of decorating cloth that begins with wax instead of color. It is closely linked with Indonesia, especially the island of Java, though cloth makers in other parts of the world use wax-resist methods too. The wax acts as a shield. Wherever it covers the cloth, dye cannot soak in.

A batik maker starts with plain cloth. Melted wax is carefully drawn onto the cloth in lines and dots. One traditional tool is a small copper cup with a thin spout, called a canting. It works like a pen that holds hot wax. Another tool is a copper stamp, which presses a repeating pattern in many spots quickly. Because the wax is hot, grown-up workers handle it with great care.

Next, the whole cloth is dipped into a bath of dye. The color soaks into every part that the wax does not cover. When the cloth dries, the maker adds more wax in new places and dips the cloth in a second color. Each round of waxing and dyeing adds another layer, so a cloth with many colors can take days or even weeks to finish.

At the end, the wax is removed with hot water. The hidden shapes appear in the original color of the cloth, with the dye all around them. Often the pattern has small cracks where the dye crept through the wax, and many people love those fine veins because no two cloths come out exactly alike.

■ Harder · 256 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.2

Batik is a method of decorating cloth that begins with wax rather than with color. It is closely associated with Indonesia, particularly the island of Java, although cloth makers in other regions of the world also use wax-resist techniques. The wax functions as a shield, because dye cannot soak into any part of the cloth that the wax covers.

A batik maker begins with a length of plain cloth. Melted wax is then carefully drawn onto the surface in lines and dots. One traditional tool is a small copper cup with a thin spout, called a canting, which works somewhat like a pen that holds hot wax. Another tool is a copper stamp, which can press a repeating pattern in many places very quickly. Because the wax is hot, experienced adult workers handle it with great care.

Next, the entire cloth is dipped into a bath of dye, and the color soaks into every area that the wax does not protect. Once the cloth has dried, the maker applies more wax in new places and dips it into a second color. Each round of waxing and dyeing adds another layer, so a cloth with many colors can take days or even weeks to complete.

Finally, the wax is removed with hot water, and the hidden shapes appear in the original color of the cloth, surrounded by dye. The pattern often contains fine cracks where dye crept through the wax, and many admirers treasure these delicate veins because no two cloths ever turn out exactly alike.

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 batik, dye, canting, pattern and layer 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 "Batik: Drawing with Wax Before the Dye"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 246 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.0. 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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