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What Happens When You Sleep

6th grade nonfiction passage about sleep and the brain: 229 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction sleep and the brain 229 words

What Happens When You Sleep

It might seem that your body simply switches off when you fall asleep, but a lot is going on. Your brain stays busy all night. Your heart keeps beating and you keep breathing, although both slow down a little. Sleep is a time when the body does important repair work.

Sleep comes in cycles that last about an hour and a half each. A cycle begins with light sleep, in which it is easy to wake up. Next comes deep sleep, when your breathing is slow and steady and it is hard to wake you. Much of the body's growth hormone is released during deep sleep, which helps children grow and helps muscles recover. Later in the cycle comes a stage called REM sleep, when the eyes move quickly beneath the eyelids and most vivid dreams happen. Over a night, you pass through several cycles.

Scientists have found that sleep helps the brain store what you learned during the day. Facts and skills practiced before bed are often easier to remember the next morning. A tired brain has more trouble paying attention, and tired people also tend to feel grumpy.

Children between six and twelve years old need about nine to twelve hours of sleep each night. A regular bedtime, a dark and quiet room, and putting screens away before bed can help you fall asleep and stay asleep.

Questions

  1. Does the brain switch off during sleep? in the text

  2. About how long does one sleep cycle last? in the text

  3. How many hours of sleep do children between six and twelve need? in the text

  4. Why might a student do worse on a test after staying up very late? think about it

  5. Why is deep sleep important for children? think about it

Words to know

cycles
sets of stages that repeat in the same order
hormone
a chemical made in the body that sends messages
recover
to get back strength after being tired or hurt
vivid
very clear and full of detail
regular
happening at the same time every day
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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 · 199 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.2

You might think your body just switches off when you sleep. But a lot is going on. Your brain stays busy all night. Your heart keeps beating. You keep breathing, but both slow down a little. Sleep is when the body does important repair work.

Sleep comes in cycles. Each lasts about an hour and a half. A cycle starts with light sleep. It is easy to wake up then. Next comes deep sleep. Your breathing is slow and steady. It is hard to wake you. Much of the body's growth hormone comes out in deep sleep. That helps children grow and helps muscles recover. Later comes REM sleep. Your eyes move fast under your eyelids. Most vivid dreams happen then. You go through several cycles in a night.

Scientists have found that sleep helps the brain store what you learned. Things you practice before bed are often easier to remember in the morning. A tired brain has more trouble paying attention. Tired people also tend to feel grumpy.

Kids from six to twelve need about nine to twelve hours of sleep each night. A regular bedtime helps. So does a dark, quiet room. Put screens away before bed.

▲ This passage · 229 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.6

It might seem that your body simply switches off when you fall asleep, but a lot is going on. Your brain stays busy all night. Your heart keeps beating and you keep breathing, although both slow down a little. Sleep is a time when the body does important repair work.

Sleep comes in cycles that last about an hour and a half each. A cycle begins with light sleep, in which it is easy to wake up. Next comes deep sleep, when your breathing is slow and steady and it is hard to wake you. Much of the body's growth hormone is released during deep sleep, which helps children grow and helps muscles recover. Later in the cycle comes a stage called REM sleep, when the eyes move quickly beneath the eyelids and most vivid dreams happen. Over a night, you pass through several cycles.

Scientists have found that sleep helps the brain store what you learned during the day. Facts and skills practiced before bed are often easier to remember the next morning. A tired brain has more trouble paying attention, and tired people also tend to feel grumpy.

Children between six and twelve years old need about nine to twelve hours of sleep each night. A regular bedtime, a dark and quiet room, and putting screens away before bed can help you fall asleep and stay asleep.

■ Harder · 246 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.9

It might appear that your body simply switches off when you fall asleep, but an astonishing amount of activity continues. Your brain remains busy throughout the night, and your heart keeps beating and your lungs keep breathing, although both slow down somewhat. Sleep is a period when the body carries out essential repair work.

Sleep arrives in cycles that last roughly an hour and a half apiece. A cycle begins with light sleep, during which it is easy to wake up. Next comes deep sleep, when your breathing is slow and steady and it is quite difficult to rouse you. Much of the body's growth hormone is released during deep sleep, which helps children grow and helps their muscles recover. Later in the cycle comes a stage called REM sleep, when the eyes dart rapidly beneath the eyelids and most vivid dreams take place. Over the course of a night, you pass through several of these cycles.

Scientists have discovered that sleep helps the brain store what you learned during the day. Facts and skills that you practiced before bedtime are frequently easier to remember the following morning. A tired brain struggles to pay attention, and tired people also tend to feel irritable.

Children between six and twelve years old need about nine to twelve hours of sleep every night. Keeping a regular bedtime, sleeping in a dark and quiet room, and putting screens away before bed can all help you fall asleep and stay asleep.

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 cycles, hormone, recover, vivid and regular 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 "What Happens When You Sleep"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 229 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.6. 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 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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