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Mountain Staircases: Farming on Terraces

7th grade nonfiction passage about terrace farming: 241 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

7th grade nonfiction terrace farming 241 words

Mountain Staircases: Farming on Terraces

Farmers prefer flat land, but in many mountainous regions flat land is rare. Rather than give up, farmers in places such as the Andes in South America and the highlands of Southeast Asia have carved steep hillsides into steps. These flat strips, called terraces, look like giant green staircases climbing the slopes.

Building a terrace is hard work. Workers dig into the slope, level a strip of ground, and build a wall along the outer edge, often from stacked stone or packed earth. The flat part is filled with soil, sometimes brought from elsewhere, so the plants have plenty of depth for roots.

The steps solve two problems. On a steep, unplanted slope, heavy rain washes soil downhill, a process called erosion, and the richest topsoil goes first. A terrace slows the water so that it soaks in rather than rushing away. This keeps the soil in place and gives plants more moisture. The steps also make planting, weeding, and harvesting safer and easier than working on a slant.

Some terraces are designed to hold water. In rice farming, a level terrace can be flooded with a shallow layer of water, and the walls keep it from draining away. Water often flows from the highest terrace to the next one down through small channels, so a single stream can serve a whole mountainside. Many terraces have been farmed and repaired for hundreds of years, which shows how well the design works.

Questions

  1. What are terraces? in the text

  2. What is a terrace wall often made from? in the text

  3. What is erosion? in the text

  4. How does a terrace help keep the soil in place? in the text

  5. Why do farmers in the mountains need to build terraces? think about it

  6. What does it suggest that some terraces have been farmed for hundreds of years? think about it

Words to know

terraces
flat steps cut into a hillside for planting
erosion
the washing or blowing away of soil
topsoil
the rich top layer of soil where plants grow
slope
ground that tilts up or down
channels
narrow paths that carry water
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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 3.5

Farmers like flat land. But in many mountain places, flat land is rare. So farmers in places like the Andes in South America and the highlands of Southeast Asia cut steps into the hills. The flat strips are called terraces. They look like giant green stairs.

Building a terrace is hard work. Workers dig into the slope and level a strip of ground. They build a wall on the outer edge, often from stacked stone or packed earth. Then they fill the flat part with soil, so roots have room to grow.

Terraces solve two problems. On a steep hill, heavy rain washes soil downhill. This is called erosion, and the rich topsoil goes first. A terrace slows the water, so it soaks in. The soil stays, and the plants get more water. Terraces also make it safer and easier to plant and pick crops.

Some terraces hold water. A level terrace can be flooded with a thin layer of water for rice. The walls keep the water in. Water can flow from one terrace down to the next in small channels, so one stream can serve a whole mountainside. Some terraces have been farmed for hundreds of years.

▲ This passage · 241 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.8

Farmers prefer flat land, but in many mountainous regions flat land is rare. Rather than give up, farmers in places such as the Andes in South America and the highlands of Southeast Asia have carved steep hillsides into steps. These flat strips, called terraces, look like giant green staircases climbing the slopes.

Building a terrace is hard work. Workers dig into the slope, level a strip of ground, and build a wall along the outer edge, often from stacked stone or packed earth. The flat part is filled with soil, sometimes brought from elsewhere, so the plants have plenty of depth for roots.

The steps solve two problems. On a steep, unplanted slope, heavy rain washes soil downhill, a process called erosion, and the richest topsoil goes first. A terrace slows the water so that it soaks in rather than rushing away. This keeps the soil in place and gives plants more moisture. The steps also make planting, weeding, and harvesting safer and easier than working on a slant.

Some terraces are designed to hold water. In rice farming, a level terrace can be flooded with a shallow layer of water, and the walls keep it from draining away. Water often flows from the highest terrace to the next one down through small channels, so a single stream can serve a whole mountainside. Many terraces have been farmed and repaired for hundreds of years, which shows how well the design works.

■ Harder · 258 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.4

Farmers generally prefer level ground, but in many mountainous regions it is scarce. Rather than abandon agriculture, farmers in places such as the Andes of South America and the highlands of Southeast Asia have carved steep hillsides into a series of steps. These flat strips, known as terraces, resemble enormous green staircases ascending the slopes.

Constructing a terrace demands considerable labor. Workers excavate the slope, level a strip of ground, and build a retaining wall along its outer edge, frequently from stacked stone or packed earth. The flat portion is then filled with soil, which is sometimes carried in from elsewhere, so that plants have ample depth for their roots.

The steps resolve two difficulties at once. On a steep, unplanted slope, heavy rain washes soil downhill in a process called erosion, and the richest topsoil is the first to disappear. A terrace slows the water so that it soaks into the ground rather than rushing away, which preserves the soil and supplies the plants with more moisture. The steps also make planting, weeding, and harvesting far safer and easier than working on a slant.

Certain terraces are designed to hold water. In rice farming, a level terrace can be flooded with a shallow layer of water, and the walls prevent it from draining away. Water frequently passes from the highest terrace to the next one below through small channels, so that a single stream can serve an entire mountainside. Many terraces have been farmed and repaired for hundreds of years, which demonstrates how well the design works.

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 terraces, erosion, topsoil, slope and channels 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 "Mountain Staircases: Farming on Terraces"?

It was written for 7th grade. It has 241 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 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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