Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Qanats: Rivers That Flow Underground

6th grade nonfiction passage about persian underground channels: 230 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction persian underground channels 230 words

Qanats: Rivers That Flow Underground

In the dry lands of Iran and nearby countries, rain is scarce and the summer sun is fierce. Water that sits in an open ditch soon vanishes into the air. Thousands of years ago, farmers in this region found a clever way to bring water to their fields. The invention is called the qanat.

A qanat is a long, gently sloping tunnel dug by hand. Builders began at the foot of a mountain, where rain and snowmelt soak into the ground and collect below the surface. From there they dug a tunnel that sloped a little less steeply than the land above it. The water ran downhill through the tunnel until it came out into the open, sometimes many miles away, beside a village. No pumps were needed, because gravity did all of the work.

Digging a qanat took skilled crews. At regular spaces along the route, they also dug vertical shafts. Workers hauled the soil up through the shafts, and the openings let in fresh air and helped the crew keep the tunnel pointed in the right direction. Later, the shafts gave people a way to climb down and make repairs.

Because the water traveled underground, very little of it evaporated in the heat. A well-kept qanat could deliver a steady flow all year long. Some qanats are still in use, giving water to farms and villages today.

Questions

  1. Why did water in open ditches quickly disappear in this region? in the text

  2. Where did qanat builders begin their tunnels? in the text

  3. What made the water move through the tunnel? in the text

  4. What were the vertical shafts used for? in the text

  5. Why did a qanat lose very little water? in the text

  6. Why might some qanats still be in use today? think about it

Words to know

scarce
hard to find, with very little available
qanat
an underground tunnel that carries water downhill
gravity
the force that pulls things toward the ground
shafts
narrow openings dug straight down into the ground
evaporated
turned from liquid water into a gas in the air
Share

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 · 172 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.7

Iran and the lands near it are very dry. Rain is rare, and the summer sun is hot. Water in an open ditch dries up fast. Long ago, farmers there found a smart way to bring water to their fields. It is called a qanat.

A qanat is a long tunnel that slopes a little. People dug it by hand. They began at the foot of a mountain, where rain and snow soak into the ground. The tunnel sloped less than the land above it. The water ran downhill through the tunnel. It came out near a village, sometimes many miles away. No pumps were needed. Gravity did the work.

The crews dug shafts straight down along the way. They pulled up soil through the shafts. The shafts also let in fresh air and helped the crew keep the tunnel on course. People could climb down to fix the tunnel later.

The water stayed underground, so very little dried up. A good qanat gave water all year. Some are still used today.

▲ This passage · 230 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.5

In the dry lands of Iran and nearby countries, rain is scarce and the summer sun is fierce. Water that sits in an open ditch soon vanishes into the air. Thousands of years ago, farmers in this region found a clever way to bring water to their fields. The invention is called the qanat.

A qanat is a long, gently sloping tunnel dug by hand. Builders began at the foot of a mountain, where rain and snowmelt soak into the ground and collect below the surface. From there they dug a tunnel that sloped a little less steeply than the land above it. The water ran downhill through the tunnel until it came out into the open, sometimes many miles away, beside a village. No pumps were needed, because gravity did all of the work.

Digging a qanat took skilled crews. At regular spaces along the route, they also dug vertical shafts. Workers hauled the soil up through the shafts, and the openings let in fresh air and helped the crew keep the tunnel pointed in the right direction. Later, the shafts gave people a way to climb down and make repairs.

Because the water traveled underground, very little of it evaporated in the heat. A well-kept qanat could deliver a steady flow all year long. Some qanats are still in use, giving water to farms and villages today.

■ Harder · 236 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.4

Throughout the arid lands of Iran and the neighboring countries, rainfall is scarce and the summer sun is relentless. Water standing in an open ditch quickly vanishes into the air. Thousands of years ago, farmers in this region devised an ingenious method of delivering water to their fields. The invention is known as the qanat.

A qanat is a long, gently sloping tunnel excavated entirely by hand. Builders began at the base of a mountain, where rain and melting snow seep into the ground and gather beneath the surface. From that point they dug a tunnel whose slope was slightly shallower than the slope of the land above it. The water flowed downhill through the passage until it emerged into the open, sometimes many miles away, beside a village. No pumps were required, because gravity performed all of the work.

Constructing a qanat demanded skilled crews. At regular intervals along the route, they also dug vertical shafts. Workers hauled the soil upward through these openings, and the shafts admitted fresh air and helped the crew keep the tunnel aimed in the proper direction. In later years, the shafts gave people a way to descend and carry out repairs.

Since the water traveled underground, very little of it evaporated in the heat. A carefully maintained qanat could provide a steady flow throughout the year. Some qanats remain in use, supplying water to farms and villages even today.

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 scarce, qanat, gravity, shafts and evaporated 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 6 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 "Qanats: Rivers That Flow Underground"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 230 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.5. 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. 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.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.