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The Red Glow Inside Your Eyes in Flash Photos

6th grade nonfiction passage about red eye in photographs: 269 words, seven questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction red eye in photographs 269 words

The Red Glow Inside Your Eyes in Flash Photos

Have you ever looked at a photo taken at a party and seen a person whose eyes glow bright red? It looks a little spooky, but the cause is plain and has nothing to do with the person at all.

Look at your eyes in a mirror. The black circle in the middle is the pupil, an opening that lets light in. In a bright room the pupil is small, and in a dim room it opens wide to gather as much light as it can. Behind the pupil, the inside of the eye is lined with the retina. Underneath the retina is a layer packed with tiny blood vessels, and the blood gives that layer a reddish color.

Now picture a dim room and a camera with a flash. The flash goes off in a split second, much faster than the pupil can react. The light shoots into the wide-open pupil, strikes the back of the eye, and bounces straight back toward the lens. The camera records the red color of the blood-rich layer, and the eyes seem to glow.

Camera makers have found ways to reduce the problem. Many cameras fire a few quick, soft flashes before the real one, which makes the pupils shrink. Others place the flash farther from the lens, so the light bounces back at a different angle. Turning on more lights in the room also helps, because a smaller pupil lets less light reach the back of the eye.

Many animals show a similar glow, though it is often green or yellow, because their eyes are built a little differently.

Questions

  1. What is the pupil? in the text

  2. What happens to the pupil in a dim room? in the text

  3. What gives the layer under the retina its reddish color? in the text

  4. How do many cameras reduce red eyes? in the text

  5. Why does a flash photo taken in a dim room often show red eyes? think about it

  6. Why does turning on more room lights help? think about it

  7. Why does the red glow have nothing to do with the person? think about it

Words to know

pupil
the dark opening in the middle of the eye
retina
the layer at the back of the eye that senses light
blood vessels
tiny tubes that carry blood around the body
flash
a short, very bright burst of light
reduce
to make something smaller or less
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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 · 239 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

Have you seen a party photo where a person has glowing red eyes? It looks a bit spooky. But the cause is simple. It has nothing to do with the person.

Look at your eyes in a mirror. The black circle in the middle is the pupil. It lets light in. In a bright room the pupil is small. In a dim room it opens wide to get all the light it can. Behind the pupil, the inside of the eye is lined with the retina. Under the retina is a layer full of tiny blood vessels. The blood makes that layer look red.

Now think of a dim room and a camera with a flash. The flash goes off very fast. The pupil cannot change in time. The light goes into the wide pupil. It hits the back of the eye. Then it bounces back to the camera lens. The camera records the red color. The eyes look like they glow.

Camera makers have ways to fix this. Many cameras give a few soft flashes first. This makes the pupils shrink. Some cameras put the flash far from the lens. Then the light bounces back at a different angle. Turning on more room lights helps too. A smaller pupil lets less light reach the back of the eye.

Many animals have a glow too. It is often green or yellow, because their eyes are built a bit differently.

▲ This passage · 269 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.3

Have you ever looked at a photo taken at a party and seen a person whose eyes glow bright red? It looks a little spooky, but the cause is plain and has nothing to do with the person at all.

Look at your eyes in a mirror. The black circle in the middle is the pupil, an opening that lets light in. In a bright room the pupil is small, and in a dim room it opens wide to gather as much light as it can. Behind the pupil, the inside of the eye is lined with the retina. Underneath the retina is a layer packed with tiny blood vessels, and the blood gives that layer a reddish color.

Now picture a dim room and a camera with a flash. The flash goes off in a split second, much faster than the pupil can react. The light shoots into the wide-open pupil, strikes the back of the eye, and bounces straight back toward the lens. The camera records the red color of the blood-rich layer, and the eyes seem to glow.

Camera makers have found ways to reduce the problem. Many cameras fire a few quick, soft flashes before the real one, which makes the pupils shrink. Others place the flash farther from the lens, so the light bounces back at a different angle. Turning on more lights in the room also helps, because a smaller pupil lets less light reach the back of the eye.

Many animals show a similar glow, though it is often green or yellow, because their eyes are built a little differently.

■ Harder · 278 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.6

Have you ever examined a photograph taken at a party and noticed a person whose eyes seem to glow a vivid red? The effect can look faintly eerie, but its cause is perfectly ordinary and has nothing whatsoever to do with the person pictured.

Look at your own eyes in a mirror. The black circle at the center is the pupil, an opening that admits light. In a bright room the pupil is small, whereas in a dim room it opens wide in order to gather as much light as possible. Behind the pupil, the interior of the eye is lined with the retina. Beneath the retina lies a layer crowded with minuscule blood vessels, and the blood gives that layer a distinctly reddish color.

Now imagine a dim room and a camera equipped with a flash. The flash fires in a split second, far faster than the pupil is able to respond. The light streams into the wide-open pupil, strikes the back of the eye, and rebounds directly toward the camera lens. The camera records the red color of that blood-rich layer, and the eyes appear to glow.

Camera designers have devised several ways of reducing the problem. Many cameras emit a few quick, gentle flashes before the real one, which causes the pupils to shrink. Others position the flash farther from the lens, so that the light returns at a different angle. Switching on additional lights in the room also helps, since a smaller pupil admits less light to the back of the eye.

Many animals display a similar glow, although it is often green or yellow, because their eyes are constructed somewhat differently.

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 pupil, retina, blood vessels, flash and reduce 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 3 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 Red Glow Inside Your Eyes in Flash Photos"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 269 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.3. 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 seven. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 3 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 3 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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