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The Milky Sap Behind Rubber Bands

6th grade nonfiction passage about natural rubber from trees: 213 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction natural rubber from trees 213 words

The Milky Sap Behind Rubber Bands

A rubber band seems like an ordinary object, but its story begins in a tree. Natural rubber comes from the rubber tree, which is native to the rainforests of South America and is now grown on farms across tropical Asia and Africa.

Under the bark of this tree is a network of tiny tubes holding a thick white liquid called latex. Workers collect it by a method called tapping. Early in the morning, a tapper shaves a very thin slice of bark in a slanting line. Latex slowly drips along the cut into a small cup tied to the trunk. A skilled tapper cuts just deep enough to reach the tubes without harming the tree, so the same trunk can be tapped again and again for many years.

Raw latex is full of tiny rubber particles floating in water. Workers add a mild acid, which makes the particles clump together into a soft solid. This is pressed into sheets and dried, then shipped to factories.

Early rubber had a problem. It turned sticky in heat and stiff in cold. In the 1800s, inventors found that heating rubber with sulfur made it tougher and more stable. This process is called vulcanizing. It made rubber practical for tires, boots, hoses and, of course, rubber bands.

Questions

  1. What is latex? in the text

  2. How does a tapper collect latex? in the text

  3. What do workers add to make rubber particles clump together? in the text

  4. What problem did early rubber have? in the text

  5. Why must a tapper be careful not to cut too deep? think about it

  6. Why did vulcanizing make rubber more useful? think about it

Words to know

latex
the milky liquid inside a rubber tree
tapping
collecting sap from a tree by making a shallow cut
particles
very small bits of something
stable
steady and not likely to change
tropical
from the hot, rainy parts of the world near the equator
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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 · 194 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.6

A rubber band seems plain. But its story starts in a tree. Natural rubber comes from the rubber tree. The tree is native to the rainforests of South America. Today it is also grown on farms in tropical Asia and Africa.

Under the bark is a net of tiny tubes. They hold a thick white liquid called latex. Workers collect it by tapping. Early in the morning, a tapper shaves a thin slice of bark in a slanting line. The latex drips along the cut into a small cup on the trunk. A skilled tapper cuts deep enough to reach the tubes but not hurt the tree. So the same tree can be tapped for many years.

Raw latex has tiny rubber bits floating in water. Workers add a mild acid. The bits clump into a soft solid. It is pressed into sheets and dried. Then it goes to factories.

Early rubber had a problem. It got sticky in heat and stiff in cold. In the 1800s, inventors heated rubber with sulfur. That made it tougher and steadier. This is called vulcanizing. Now rubber could be used for tires, boots, hoses and rubber bands.

▲ This passage · 213 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.6

A rubber band seems like an ordinary object, but its story begins in a tree. Natural rubber comes from the rubber tree, which is native to the rainforests of South America and is now grown on farms across tropical Asia and Africa.

Under the bark of this tree is a network of tiny tubes holding a thick white liquid called latex. Workers collect it by a method called tapping. Early in the morning, a tapper shaves a very thin slice of bark in a slanting line. Latex slowly drips along the cut into a small cup tied to the trunk. A skilled tapper cuts just deep enough to reach the tubes without harming the tree, so the same trunk can be tapped again and again for many years.

Raw latex is full of tiny rubber particles floating in water. Workers add a mild acid, which makes the particles clump together into a soft solid. This is pressed into sheets and dried, then shipped to factories.

Early rubber had a problem. It turned sticky in heat and stiff in cold. In the 1800s, inventors found that heating rubber with sulfur made it tougher and more stable. This process is called vulcanizing. It made rubber practical for tires, boots, hoses and, of course, rubber bands.

■ Harder · 217 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.9

A rubber band appears to be a thoroughly ordinary object, but its story begins in a tree. Natural rubber is harvested from the rubber tree, which is native to the rainforests of South America and is now cultivated on farms throughout tropical Asia and Africa.

Beneath the bark of this tree lies a network of minute tubes containing a thick white liquid called latex. Workers gather it through a method known as tapping. Early in the morning, a tapper shaves a very thin slice of bark in a slanting line. Latex slowly drips along the cut into a small cup fastened to the trunk. A skilled tapper cuts just deep enough to reach the tubes without damaging the tree, so the same trunk can be tapped repeatedly for many years.

Raw latex consists of tiny rubber particles suspended in water. Workers add a mild acid, which causes the particles to clump together into a soft solid. This is pressed into sheets and dried, then shipped to factories.

Early rubber suffered from a serious flaw. It turned sticky in heat and brittle in cold. In the 1800s, inventors discovered that heating rubber with sulfur made it tougher and far more stable. This process is called vulcanizing. It rendered rubber practical for tires, boots, hoses and, naturally, rubber bands.

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 latex, tapping, particles, stable and tropical 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 "The Milky Sap Behind Rubber Bands"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 213 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.6. 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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