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Iceland: Homes Warmed From Below the Ground

6th grade nonfiction passage about geothermal heat in Iceland: 226 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction geothermal heat in Iceland 226 words

Iceland: Homes Warmed From Below the Ground

Iceland sits in the North Atlantic, close to the Arctic Circle, and winters there are long and cold. Even so, many Icelandic homes stay warm without burning oil or gas. They are heated with hot water that comes straight out of the ground.

The reason lies deep below the island. Iceland sits on a place where two of the great plates of the Earth's crust slowly pull apart. Hot rock lies close to the surface, and it heats water that has soaked down into the ground. In some places this water rises as steam or as hot springs. Heat from inside the Earth is called geothermal energy.

Engineers drill wells to reach the hot water. It is pumped to the surface, then travels through insulated pipes, sometimes for many kilometers, to towns and cities. In the capital, Reykjavik, hot water runs through radiators in homes and under some sidewalks to keep them free of ice. After the water has given up its heat, it returns to the ground or goes on to other uses.

Hot water also fills outdoor swimming pools, which are popular places to meet friends, even in winter. Greenhouses use the heat to grow vegetables that would not normally survive such cold weather. Geothermal energy produces some of the electricity as well, which makes the country less dependent on fuel from other places.

Questions

  1. Where is Iceland located? in the text

  2. What is geothermal energy? in the text

  3. How does hot water get from the wells to the towns? in the text

  4. What do greenhouses in Iceland use the heat for? in the text

  5. Why is hot rock found close to the surface in Iceland? think about it

  6. Why do pipes need to be insulated? think about it

Words to know

geothermal
having to do with heat from inside the Earth
crust
the hard outer layer of the Earth
insulated
covered to keep heat from escaping
radiators
metal heaters that warm a room with hot water
greenhouses
glass buildings where plants are grown
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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 · 213 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5

Iceland is in the North Atlantic, close to the Arctic Circle. Winters there are long and cold. Yet many homes stay warm without burning oil or gas. They are heated with hot water that comes right out of the ground.

The reason is deep under the island. Iceland sits where two of the great plates of the Earth's crust slowly pull apart. Hot rock lies close to the top. It heats water that has soaked down into the ground. In some places the water rises as steam or as hot springs. Heat from inside the Earth is called geothermal energy.

Engineers drill wells to reach the hot water. They pump it up. It travels through insulated pipes, sometimes for many kilometers, to towns and cities. In the capital, Reykjavik, hot water runs through radiators in homes. It also runs under some sidewalks to keep them free of ice. After the water gives up its heat, it goes back into the ground or is used again.

Hot water also fills outdoor swimming pools. People like to meet friends there, even in winter. Greenhouses use the heat to grow vegetables that could not live in the cold. Geothermal energy also makes some of the electricity. That means the country needs less fuel from other places.

▲ This passage · 226 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.5

Iceland sits in the North Atlantic, close to the Arctic Circle, and winters there are long and cold. Even so, many Icelandic homes stay warm without burning oil or gas. They are heated with hot water that comes straight out of the ground.

The reason lies deep below the island. Iceland sits on a place where two of the great plates of the Earth's crust slowly pull apart. Hot rock lies close to the surface, and it heats water that has soaked down into the ground. In some places this water rises as steam or as hot springs. Heat from inside the Earth is called geothermal energy.

Engineers drill wells to reach the hot water. It is pumped to the surface, then travels through insulated pipes, sometimes for many kilometers, to towns and cities. In the capital, Reykjavik, hot water runs through radiators in homes and under some sidewalks to keep them free of ice. After the water has given up its heat, it returns to the ground or goes on to other uses.

Hot water also fills outdoor swimming pools, which are popular places to meet friends, even in winter. Greenhouses use the heat to grow vegetables that would not normally survive such cold weather. Geothermal energy produces some of the electricity as well, which makes the country less dependent on fuel from other places.

■ Harder · 241 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 10.1

Iceland lies in the North Atlantic, not far from the Arctic Circle, and its winters are long and bitterly cold. Even so, a great many Icelandic homes remain comfortably warm without burning oil or gas, because they are heated with hot water that flows directly out of the ground.

The explanation lies deep beneath the island. Iceland sits at a location where two of the enormous plates of the Earth's crust are slowly drifting apart. Hot rock lies close to the surface and warms water that has soaked down into the ground. In certain places this water rises as steam or as natural hot springs. Heat that originates from inside the Earth is called geothermal energy.

Engineers drill wells to reach the hot water and pump it to the surface, from where it travels through insulated pipes, sometimes across many kilometers, to towns and cities. In the capital, Reykjavik, the hot water circulates through radiators in homes and beneath some sidewalks to keep them free of ice. Once the water has surrendered its heat, it either returns to the ground or is put to other uses.

Hot water also fills outdoor swimming pools, which remain popular gathering places for friends even in the depths of winter. Greenhouses use the warmth to grow vegetables that could not ordinarily survive such cold weather. Geothermal energy generates some of the nation's electricity as well, making the country less dependent on fuel from other places.

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 geothermal, crust, insulated, radiators and greenhouses 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 "Iceland: Homes Warmed From Below the Ground"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 226 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.5. 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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