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How Glow-in-the-Dark Stars Save Up Light

6th grade nonfiction passage about stored light energy: 236 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction stored light energy 236 words

How Glow-in-the-Dark Stars Save Up Light

Stick a few plastic stars on your bedroom ceiling and you may notice something odd. In a bright room they look pale and plain. Turn off the lights, and after a short wait they glow with a soft green light. Where does that light come from, since the stars have no battery or plug?

The stars are coated with a special material called a phosphor. A phosphor can absorb light energy and hold onto it for a while. When light shines on the stars, the phosphor takes in some of the energy. Then, instead of sending it out all at once, the material lets it go slowly as a faint glow. This kind of glow is called phosphorescence.

That explains several things you may have noticed. The glow is brightest right after the lights go out and slowly fades, because the stored energy is running down. A star that sat in a dark closet all day will hardly glow at all, since it had nothing to save. A few minutes under a bright lamp will charge it up again, so the same star can glow night after night.

The idea is used for more than decorations. Some exit signs and path markers glow without power so people can find their way in the dark. Remember that the stars are only giving back light they first received. They do not make any new energy of their own.

Questions

  1. What are the glow-in-the-dark stars coated with? in the text

  2. What does a phosphor do with light energy? in the text

  3. Why does the glow slowly fade after the lights go out? in the text

  4. How can you charge a star up again? in the text

  5. Why would a star that sat in a dark closet all day hardly glow? think about it

  6. What is one use for this idea besides decorations? in the text

Words to know

phosphor
a material that stores light and glows afterward
absorb
to soak up or take in
phosphorescence
a glow that lasts after the light has gone
fades
slowly gets weaker or dimmer
charge
to fill up with energy
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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 · 220 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.5

Stick a few plastic stars on your bedroom ceiling. You may see something odd. In a bright room, they look pale and plain. Turn off the lights. After a short wait, they glow with a soft green light. Where does the light come from? The stars have no battery or plug.

The stars are coated with a special material called a phosphor. A phosphor can take in light energy and hold it for a while. When light shines on the stars, the phosphor takes in some energy. Then it does not send it all out at once. It lets it go slowly as a faint glow. This kind of glow is called phosphorescence.

This explains what you may have seen. The glow is brightest right after the lights go out. Then it slowly fades, because the stored energy is running down. A star that sat in a dark closet all day will hardly glow. It had nothing to save. A few minutes under a bright lamp will charge it up again. So the same star can glow night after night.

The idea has other uses. Some exit signs and path markers glow without power. People can find their way in the dark. The stars only give back light they got first. They do not make new energy of their own.

▲ This passage · 236 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.1

Stick a few plastic stars on your bedroom ceiling and you may notice something odd. In a bright room they look pale and plain. Turn off the lights, and after a short wait they glow with a soft green light. Where does that light come from, since the stars have no battery or plug?

The stars are coated with a special material called a phosphor. A phosphor can absorb light energy and hold onto it for a while. When light shines on the stars, the phosphor takes in some of the energy. Then, instead of sending it out all at once, the material lets it go slowly as a faint glow. This kind of glow is called phosphorescence.

That explains several things you may have noticed. The glow is brightest right after the lights go out and slowly fades, because the stored energy is running down. A star that sat in a dark closet all day will hardly glow at all, since it had nothing to save. A few minutes under a bright lamp will charge it up again, so the same star can glow night after night.

The idea is used for more than decorations. Some exit signs and path markers glow without power so people can find their way in the dark. Remember that the stars are only giving back light they first received. They do not make any new energy of their own.

■ Harder · 250 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.2

Stick a few plastic stars onto your bedroom ceiling and you may notice something rather odd. In a brightly lit room, they look pale and unremarkable. Turn off the lights, and after a short wait they begin to glow with a soft green light. Where does that light come from, given that the stars have neither a battery nor a plug?

The stars are coated with a special material called a phosphor. A phosphor can absorb light energy and hold onto it for a while. When light shines on the stars, the phosphor takes in some of that energy. Then, instead of sending it out all at once, the material releases it gradually as a faint glow. This kind of glow is called phosphorescence.

That explains several things you may have observed. The glow is brightest right after the lights go out and slowly fades, because the stored energy is gradually running down. A star that sat in a dark closet all day will hardly glow at all, since it never had anything to save. A few minutes under a bright lamp will charge it up again, so the same star can glow night after night.

The idea is used for far more than decorations. Some exit signs and path markers glow without any power so that people can find their way in the dark. It is worth remembering that the stars are only giving back light they first received. They do not create any new energy of their own.

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 phosphor, absorb, phosphorescence, fades and charge 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 "How Glow-in-the-Dark Stars Save Up Light"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 236 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.1. 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. 5 ask for something the text says directly and 1 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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