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Venus Changed Shape Through Galileo's Telescope

6th grade nonfiction passage about the phases of venus: 246 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction the phases of venus 246 words

Venus Changed Shape Through Galileo's Telescope

In 1610, the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei pointed a new telescope at Venus and noticed something puzzling. Over several months, Venus changed its shape. Sometimes it looked like a small, round disk. At other times it looked like a thin, large crescent. These changes, called phases, are the same kind we see on the Moon each month.

Galileo realized that the phases held an important clue. Venus makes no light of its own. It shines because the sun lights up one side of it, just as the sun lights up half of the Moon. As Venus travels in its orbit, we see different amounts of the lit side.

In those days, many people believed that the sun and all the planets circled Earth. According to that idea, Venus moved on a small path between Earth and the sun. Seen from Earth, it would always show only a crescent or a thin sliver. It could never look like a full, round disk.

Galileo saw a nearly full Venus, and that did not fit the old idea. It made sense only if Venus travels around the sun. When Venus is on the far side of the sun, we see its whole lit face, but it looks small because it is far away. When it swings closer to Earth, it looks bigger, but most of the lit side points away from us.

A small telescope and careful drawings were enough to give astronomers strong evidence about how the planets move.

Questions

  1. What did Galileo notice about Venus in 1610? in the text

  2. What are these changes in shape called? in the text

  3. Why does Venus shine? in the text

  4. What did many people believe about the planets in those days? in the text

  5. Why did a nearly full Venus not fit the old idea? think about it

  6. Why does Venus look small when it shows its whole lit face? think about it

Words to know

crescent
a thin curved shape, like a new moon
phases
the different shapes the lit part of a moon or planet seems to have
orbit
the path a planet takes around the sun
evidence
facts that help show something is true
sliver
a very thin piece
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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 · 219 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1

In 1610, a scientist named Galileo pointed a new telescope at Venus. He saw something odd. Over some months, Venus changed shape. Sometimes it looked like a small, round disk. Other times it looked like a big, thin crescent. These changes are called phases. The Moon has phases too.

Galileo saw that the phases were a clue. Venus makes no light of its own. It shines because the sun lights up one side of it. The sun does this for the Moon too. As Venus moves in its orbit, we see more or less of the lit side.

In those days, many people thought the sun and planets circled Earth. In that idea, Venus moved on a small path between Earth and the sun. From Earth, it would only look like a crescent. It could never look full and round.

But Galileo saw a nearly full Venus. That did not fit the old idea. It made sense only if Venus goes around the sun. When Venus is on the far side of the sun, we see its whole lit face. It looks small because it is far away. When it comes closer to Earth, it looks bigger. But most of the lit side points away from us.

A small telescope and careful drawings gave strong evidence about how planets move.

▲ This passage · 246 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.7

In 1610, the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei pointed a new telescope at Venus and noticed something puzzling. Over several months, Venus changed its shape. Sometimes it looked like a small, round disk. At other times it looked like a thin, large crescent. These changes, called phases, are the same kind we see on the Moon each month.

Galileo realized that the phases held an important clue. Venus makes no light of its own. It shines because the sun lights up one side of it, just as the sun lights up half of the Moon. As Venus travels in its orbit, we see different amounts of the lit side.

In those days, many people believed that the sun and all the planets circled Earth. According to that idea, Venus moved on a small path between Earth and the sun. Seen from Earth, it would always show only a crescent or a thin sliver. It could never look like a full, round disk.

Galileo saw a nearly full Venus, and that did not fit the old idea. It made sense only if Venus travels around the sun. When Venus is on the far side of the sun, we see its whole lit face, but it looks small because it is far away. When it swings closer to Earth, it looks bigger, but most of the lit side points away from us.

A small telescope and careful drawings were enough to give astronomers strong evidence about how the planets move.

■ Harder · 254 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.6

In 1610, the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei aimed a newly made telescope at Venus and observed something genuinely puzzling. Over the course of several months, the planet's appearance kept changing. At certain times it resembled a small, round disk, while at others it looked like a large, slender crescent. These changes, known as phases, are the same kind that the Moon displays every month.

Galileo recognized that the phases supplied an important clue. Venus produces no light of its own. It shines because the sun illuminates one side of it, exactly as the sun illuminates half of the Moon. As Venus travels along its orbit, we are able to see varying amounts of the lit side.

In those days, many people believed that the sun and every planet revolved around Earth. According to that notion, Venus followed a small path between Earth and the sun. Viewed from Earth, it would always display only a crescent or a thin sliver, and it could never appear as a full, round disk.

Galileo, however, observed a nearly full Venus, and that observation contradicted the old idea. It made sense only if Venus circles the sun. When Venus lies on the far side of the sun, we see its entire lit face, although it looks small because it is so distant. When it swings nearer to Earth, it appears much larger, yet most of its lit side faces away from us.

A modest telescope and careful drawings were sufficient to give astronomers powerful evidence about how the planets move.

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 crescent, phases, orbit, evidence and sliver 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 "Venus Changed Shape Through Galileo's Telescope"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 246 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.7. 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 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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