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Cyanotype: Pictures Printed by the Sun

6th grade nonfiction passage about cyanotype sun prints: 225 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction cyanotype sun prints 225 words

Cyanotype: Pictures Printed by the Sun

In the 1840s, a new kind of picture appeared that needed no camera. It is called a cyanotype, and it makes pictures using sunlight and a special coating on paper. The result is a deep, rich blue with white shapes, a color that gave the engineer's blueprint its name.

Here is how the method works. A sheet of paper is brushed with chemicals that change when light touches them. The paper is dried in the dark. Then an object, such as a leaf, a feather, or a piece of lace, is laid on top of the paper. When the sheet sits in sunshine, the uncovered parts react to the light and turn blue. The covered parts stay pale because the object blocked the light.

Afterward the paper is rinsed in plain water, which washes away the chemicals that did not react. The blue deepens as it dries. What is left is a white outline of the object against a blue background, almost like a ghost made of light.

An English scientist and artist named Anna Atkins used the method to make careful pictures of seaweed and plants. Her work is remembered as one of the earliest uses of photographic images in a book. Today many art teachers use ready-made sun-print paper with students, because the steps are simple and the results look magical.

Questions

  1. What two things does a cyanotype use to make a picture? in the text

  2. What color is a cyanotype? in the text

  3. What happens to the parts of the paper covered by an object? in the text

  4. What did Anna Atkins photograph for her pictures? in the text

  5. Why is the paper rinsed in water? think about it

  6. Why do you think the blueprint got its name from this method? think about it

Words to know

cyanotype
a blue picture made on paper using sunlight
chemicals
substances that can change when mixed or exposed to light
react
to change when something touches or affects it
outline
a line that shows the edge of a shape
photographic
made by a camera or by light on a treated surface
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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 · 192 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9

In the 1840s, a new kind of picture appeared. It needed no camera. It is called a cyanotype. It uses sunlight and a special coat on paper. The picture is deep blue with white shapes. This blue gave the blueprint its name.

Here is how it works. Paper is brushed with chemicals that change in light. It dries in the dark. Then an object, like a leaf or a feather, is laid on top. The sheet sits in the sun. The uncovered parts turn blue. The covered parts stay pale, because the object blocked the light.

Next the paper is rinsed in plain water. This washes away the chemicals that did not change. The blue gets deeper as it dries. You see a white outline of the object on a blue background. It looks like a ghost made of light.

Anna Atkins was an English scientist and artist. She used this method to make careful pictures of seaweed and plants. Her work is one of the first uses of photo pictures in a book. Today art teachers use ready-made sun-print paper. The steps are simple, and the results look magical.

▲ This passage · 225 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.2

In the 1840s, a new kind of picture appeared that needed no camera. It is called a cyanotype, and it makes pictures using sunlight and a special coating on paper. The result is a deep, rich blue with white shapes, a color that gave the engineer's blueprint its name.

Here is how the method works. A sheet of paper is brushed with chemicals that change when light touches them. The paper is dried in the dark. Then an object, such as a leaf, a feather, or a piece of lace, is laid on top of the paper. When the sheet sits in sunshine, the uncovered parts react to the light and turn blue. The covered parts stay pale because the object blocked the light.

Afterward the paper is rinsed in plain water, which washes away the chemicals that did not react. The blue deepens as it dries. What is left is a white outline of the object against a blue background, almost like a ghost made of light.

An English scientist and artist named Anna Atkins used the method to make careful pictures of seaweed and plants. Her work is remembered as one of the earliest uses of photographic images in a book. Today many art teachers use ready-made sun-print paper with students, because the steps are simple and the results look magical.

■ Harder · 234 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.7

During the 1840s, a novel kind of picture emerged that required no camera whatsoever. It is known as a cyanotype, and it produces images using sunlight and a special coating applied to paper. The result is a deep, rich blue marked with white shapes, a color that lent the engineer's blueprint its name.

The method works in the following way. A sheet of paper is brushed with chemicals that change when light touches them, and it is then dried in the dark. Next, an object such as a leaf, a feather, or a piece of lace is laid on top of the paper. When the sheet is left in sunshine, the uncovered areas react to the light and turn blue, whereas the covered areas remain pale because the object has blocked the light.

Afterward the paper is rinsed in plain water, which washes away the chemicals that did not react. The blue deepens as the paper dries. What remains is a white outline of the object against a blue background, almost like a ghost made of light.

An English scientist and artist named Anna Atkins employed the method to make careful pictures of seaweed and plants, and her work is remembered as one of the earliest uses of photographic images in a book. Nowadays many art teachers give students ready-made sun-print paper, because the steps are simple and the results look magical.

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 cyanotype, chemicals, react, outline and photographic 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 "Cyanotype: Pictures Printed by the Sun"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 225 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.2. 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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