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The Pinhole Camera

6th grade nonfiction passage about light and cameras: 237 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction light and cameras 237 words

The Pinhole Camera

You can make a camera from a shoebox, a sheet of thin paper, and a pin. Cut a small square out of one end of the box and tape the paper over it to make a screen. Then poke a tiny hole in the opposite end. When you point the hole at a bright window and look at the screen from inside a dim room, you will see a small picture of the scene outside.

The picture appears because light travels in straight lines. Light bounces off every part of an object in all directions, but only a few thin rays from each spot can squeeze through the tiny hole. Rays from the top of the object travel downward after they pass through, and rays from the bottom travel upward. The rays cross at the hole, so the picture on the screen is upside down.

The size of the hole matters. A very small hole lets in only a narrow beam from each spot, so the picture is sharp but dim. A larger hole lets in more light, which makes the picture brighter, but the beams spread across a wider patch of the screen, so the picture turns blurry.

Long before modern cameras, people used dark rooms with a small hole in one wall to watch the outdoors and to help them draw. Today's cameras use glass lenses to gather more light while keeping the picture sharp.

Questions

  1. What three things do you need to build the pinhole camera described here? in the text

  2. Why is the picture on the screen upside down? in the text

  3. What happens to the picture when the hole is very small? in the text

  4. Why does a larger hole make the picture blurry? think about it

  5. Why do modern cameras use glass lenses? think about it

Words to know

screen
a flat surface where a picture shows up
rays
thin beams of light
sharp
clear, with the details easy to see
blurry
not clear, with fuzzy edges
lenses
curved pieces of glass that bend light
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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 · 225 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.8

You can make a camera from a shoebox, a sheet of thin paper, and a pin. Cut a small square out of one end of the box. Tape the paper over it to make a screen. Then poke a tiny hole in the other end. Point the hole at a bright window. Look at the screen from inside a dim room. You will see a small picture of the scene outside.

The picture shows up because light travels in straight lines. Light bounces off every part of an object in all directions. Only a few thin rays from each spot fit through the tiny hole. Rays from the top go down after they pass through. Rays from the bottom go up. They cross at the hole. So the picture on the screen is upside down.

The size of the hole matters. A very small hole lets in only a narrow beam from each spot. The picture is sharp but dim. A bigger hole lets in more light. The picture is brighter. But the beams spread over a wider patch of the screen. So the picture is blurry.

Long ago, people used dark rooms with a small hole in one wall. They watched the outdoors and used it to help them draw. Today's cameras use glass lenses. Lenses gather more light and keep the picture sharp.

▲ This passage · 237 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.8

You can make a camera from a shoebox, a sheet of thin paper, and a pin. Cut a small square out of one end of the box and tape the paper over it to make a screen. Then poke a tiny hole in the opposite end. When you point the hole at a bright window and look at the screen from inside a dim room, you will see a small picture of the scene outside.

The picture appears because light travels in straight lines. Light bounces off every part of an object in all directions, but only a few thin rays from each spot can squeeze through the tiny hole. Rays from the top of the object travel downward after they pass through, and rays from the bottom travel upward. The rays cross at the hole, so the picture on the screen is upside down.

The size of the hole matters. A very small hole lets in only a narrow beam from each spot, so the picture is sharp but dim. A larger hole lets in more light, which makes the picture brighter, but the beams spread across a wider patch of the screen, so the picture turns blurry.

Long before modern cameras, people used dark rooms with a small hole in one wall to watch the outdoors and to help them draw. Today's cameras use glass lenses to gather more light while keeping the picture sharp.

■ Harder · 248 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.4

You can construct a working camera from a shoebox, a sheet of thin paper, and an ordinary pin. Cut a small square out of one end of the box and tape the paper across the opening to form a screen. Then poke a tiny hole through the opposite end. When you aim the hole at a bright window and study the screen from inside a dimly lit room, you will see a small picture of the scene outside.

The picture appears because light travels in straight lines. Light bounces off every part of an object in all directions, but only a few slender rays from each spot are able to squeeze through the tiny hole. Rays from the top of the object continue downward after they pass through, and rays from the bottom continue upward. Since the rays cross at the hole, the picture projected on the screen is upside down.

The size of the hole is important. A very small hole admits only a narrow beam from each spot, so the picture is sharp but rather dim. A larger hole lets in considerably more light, which makes the picture brighter, but the beams spread across a wider patch of the screen, and the picture turns blurry.

Long before modern cameras existed, people used darkened rooms with a small opening in one wall to observe the outdoors and to assist them with drawing. Today's cameras use glass lenses to gather more light while still keeping the picture sharp.

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 screen, rays, sharp, blurry and lenses 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 4 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 Pinhole Camera"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 237 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.8. 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 five. 3 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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