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Cold Water Rising Along a Windy Coast

8th grade nonfiction passage about coastal upwelling: 258 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade nonfiction coastal upwelling 258 words

Cold Water Rising Along a Windy Coast

Along some coasts, the surface of the sea is surprisingly cold, even in summer, and the water teems with fish, seabirds, and whales. The reason is a process called upwelling, in which deep water rises to replace water that has been pushed away.

Upwelling often begins with wind. When a steady wind blows along a coast, it drags the top layer of the ocean with it. Because of Earth's rotation, the moving water does not travel in the same direction as the wind. Along many coasts it drifts away from the shore instead. The water that left cannot simply vanish, so water from far below rises to fill the gap.

That deep water is cold, and it carries something valuable. Over time, tiny organisms and bits of dead matter sink from the sunlit surface, and bacteria break them down into nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. These nutrients pile up in the dark depths. Near the surface, plankton use them up quickly, so sunlit water is often poor in nutrients. When upwelling lifts the deep water into the light, the plankton have everything they need: sunshine from above and nutrients from below.

Plankton multiply rapidly, and small fish feed on them. Larger fish, seabirds, and marine mammals follow the small fish. Several of the richest fishing regions in the world lie off coasts with strong upwelling. The same process also explains why swimmers at some beaches find the water so chilly, and why fog often hangs over those coastlines, since the cold water cools the air above it.

Questions

  1. What is upwelling? in the text

  2. What starts upwelling along many coasts? in the text

  3. Which nutrients build up in the dark depths? in the text

  4. Why is sunlit surface water often poor in nutrients? think about it

  5. Why do fish, seabirds, and whales gather where upwelling happens? think about it

  6. Why might fog often hang over a coast with upwelling? think about it

Words to know

upwelling
deep water rising up toward the surface of the sea
nutrients
substances that living things need in order to grow
plankton
tiny living things that drift in the water
rotation
the spinning of Earth around its axis
marine
having to do with the sea
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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 · 198 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2

Some coasts have very cold water, even in summer. Many fish, seabirds, and whales live there. The cause is upwelling. In upwelling, deep water rises to take the place of water that has moved away.

Wind starts it. A steady wind blows along the coast and drags the top layer of the sea. Because Earth spins, the water does not move the same way as the wind. Along many coasts, it drifts away from the shore. Water from far below rises to fill the empty space.

The deep water is cold. It is also full of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Tiny living things and bits of dead matter sink down from the surface, and bacteria break them into nutrients. Near the surface, plankton use up nutrients fast, so sunny water often has few of them. Upwelling lifts the nutrients into the light. Then plankton have sunshine and food.

The plankton grow fast. Small fish eat them. Bigger fish, seabirds, and marine mammals follow the small fish. Some of the richest fishing places in the world are near coasts with strong upwelling. Cold water also cools the air above it, so fog often hangs over those coasts.

▲ This passage · 258 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.9

Along some coasts, the surface of the sea is surprisingly cold, even in summer, and the water teems with fish, seabirds, and whales. The reason is a process called upwelling, in which deep water rises to replace water that has been pushed away.

Upwelling often begins with wind. When a steady wind blows along a coast, it drags the top layer of the ocean with it. Because of Earth's rotation, the moving water does not travel in the same direction as the wind. Along many coasts it drifts away from the shore instead. The water that left cannot simply vanish, so water from far below rises to fill the gap.

That deep water is cold, and it carries something valuable. Over time, tiny organisms and bits of dead matter sink from the sunlit surface, and bacteria break them down into nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. These nutrients pile up in the dark depths. Near the surface, plankton use them up quickly, so sunlit water is often poor in nutrients. When upwelling lifts the deep water into the light, the plankton have everything they need: sunshine from above and nutrients from below.

Plankton multiply rapidly, and small fish feed on them. Larger fish, seabirds, and marine mammals follow the small fish. Several of the richest fishing regions in the world lie off coasts with strong upwelling. The same process also explains why swimmers at some beaches find the water so chilly, and why fog often hangs over those coastlines, since the cold water cools the air above it.

■ Harder · 284 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.3

Along certain coastlines, the surface of the sea remains surprisingly cold even in the middle of summer, and the water is crowded with fish, seabirds, and whales. The explanation is a process known as upwelling, in which deep water climbs toward the surface to replace water that has been driven away.

Upwelling frequently begins with the wind. When a steady wind blows parallel to a coast, it drags the uppermost layer of the ocean along with it. Because of the rotation of the Earth, the moving water does not follow the same direction as the wind. Along many coasts it drifts away from the shore instead. The water that departed cannot simply vanish, so cold water from far below rises to fill the gap it leaves behind.

That deep water is not only cold but also remarkably valuable. Over time, tiny organisms and fragments of dead matter sink from the sunlit surface, and bacteria gradually break them down into nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. These nutrients accumulate in the dark depths. Near the surface, plankton consume them so quickly that sunlit water is often poor in nutrients. When upwelling lifts the deep water into the light, the plankton finally have everything they require: sunshine from above and nutrients from below.

The plankton multiply rapidly, and small fish feed on them in enormous numbers. Larger fish, seabirds, and marine mammals then follow the small fish. Several of the richest fishing regions in the world lie off coasts with strong upwelling. The same process explains why swimmers at some beaches find the water so chilly, and why fog so often hangs over those coastlines, since the cold water cools the air that rests above it.

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 upwelling, nutrients, plankton, rotation and marine 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 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 "Cold Water Rising Along a Windy Coast"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 258 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.9. 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. 3 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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