Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Plants That Catch Insects

8th grade nonfiction passage about carnivorous plants and bogs: 288 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade nonfiction carnivorous plants and bogs 288 words

Plants That Catch Insects

Plants usually get everything they need from sunlight, air, water, and soil. A few species, however, also trap and digest small animals, mostly insects. These are the carnivorous plants, and they include the Venus flytrap, the pitcher plants, and the sundews.

Why would a plant hunt? Most of these species grow in bogs, where the soil is soggy and poor in nitrogen and other nutrients. Insects supply what the soil lacks. The prey is not the plant's main source of energy, though. The plant still makes its sugar by photosynthesis, so the insects work more like a fertilizer.

Each kind uses a different trap. The Venus flytrap has hinged leaves lined with tiny trigger hairs. If an insect touches the hairs more than once in a short time, the leaf snaps shut. Needing more than one touch helps the plant avoid closing on a false alarm, such as a bit of drifting debris. Pitcher plants have deep, slippery tubes partly filled with liquid. An insect that lands on the rim may slip inside and be unable to climb out. Sundews have leaves covered in sticky droplets that glisten like dew and hold insects in place.

Scientists have found that carnivorous plants evolved in several separate branches of the plant family tree, which means that different plants arrived at the same solution on their own. Some, such as the bladderworts, live in water and trap tiny creatures in small bladders that work like suction traps, snapping up prey that swims too close.

After a trap closes, enzymes break down the soft parts of the prey, and the plant absorbs the nutrients. Because bogs have been drained in many places, some of these plants are now threatened in the wild.

Questions

  1. What are three kinds of carnivorous plants? in the text

  2. Why do most carnivorous plants grow in bogs? in the text

  3. Is an insect the plant's main source of energy? in the text

  4. What makes a Venus flytrap close its leaf? in the text

  5. Why is it useful for the flytrap to need more than one touch? think about it

  6. Why does the passage say the insects work like a fertilizer? think about it

Words to know

carnivorous
feeding on animals
bogs
wet, soggy places with soft, spongy ground
fertilizer
a material added to soil to help plants grow
debris
small pieces of rubbish or broken material
enzymes
natural substances that help break down food
Share

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 · 277 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3

Plants get what they need from sunlight, air, water, and soil. But a few plants also trap and eat small animals, mostly insects. They are called carnivorous plants. Some are the Venus flytrap, the pitcher plants, and the sundews.

Why would a plant hunt? Most of them grow in bogs. The soil in a bog is wet and poor in nitrogen and other food for plants. Insects give the plant what the soil lacks. But insects are not the plant's main source of energy. The plant still makes sugar from sunlight. So the insects act like fertilizer.

Each plant has its own trap. The Venus flytrap has two leaves with tiny trigger hairs. If an insect touches the hairs more than once in a short time, the leaf snaps shut. This keeps the plant from closing on a false alarm, like a bit of drifting trash. A pitcher plant is a deep, slippery tube with liquid inside. An insect that lands on the rim may slip in and not climb out. A sundew has leaves with sticky drops that shine like dew. The drops hold the insect.

Scientists have found that these plants came from several separate branches of the plant family tree. So different plants found the same answer on their own. Some, such as the bladderworts, live in water. They trap tiny creatures in small bladders that work like suction traps and snap up prey that swims too close.

When a trap closes, enzymes break down the soft parts of the insect. The plant takes in the food. Many bogs have been drained, so some of these plants are now in danger in the wild.

▲ This passage · 288 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.6

Plants usually get everything they need from sunlight, air, water, and soil. A few species, however, also trap and digest small animals, mostly insects. These are the carnivorous plants, and they include the Venus flytrap, the pitcher plants, and the sundews.

Why would a plant hunt? Most of these species grow in bogs, where the soil is soggy and poor in nitrogen and other nutrients. Insects supply what the soil lacks. The prey is not the plant's main source of energy, though. The plant still makes its sugar by photosynthesis, so the insects work more like a fertilizer.

Each kind uses a different trap. The Venus flytrap has hinged leaves lined with tiny trigger hairs. If an insect touches the hairs more than once in a short time, the leaf snaps shut. Needing more than one touch helps the plant avoid closing on a false alarm, such as a bit of drifting debris. Pitcher plants have deep, slippery tubes partly filled with liquid. An insect that lands on the rim may slip inside and be unable to climb out. Sundews have leaves covered in sticky droplets that glisten like dew and hold insects in place.

Scientists have found that carnivorous plants evolved in several separate branches of the plant family tree, which means that different plants arrived at the same solution on their own. Some, such as the bladderworts, live in water and trap tiny creatures in small bladders that work like suction traps, snapping up prey that swims too close.

After a trap closes, enzymes break down the soft parts of the prey, and the plant absorbs the nutrients. Because bogs have been drained in many places, some of these plants are now threatened in the wild.

■ Harder · 309 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.8

Plants ordinarily obtain everything they require from sunlight, air, water, and soil. A small number of species, however, have also evolved the ability to trap and digest small animals, chiefly insects. These are the carnivorous plants, a group that includes the Venus flytrap, the pitcher plants, and the sundews.

Why would a plant bother to hunt? Most of these species grow in bogs, where the soil is soggy and deficient in nitrogen and other nutrients. Insects supply precisely what the soil lacks. Nevertheless, the prey is not the plant's principal source of energy. The plant still produces its sugar through photosynthesis, so the insects function more like a fertilizer.

Each kind of plant uses a different kind of trap. The Venus flytrap has hinged leaves lined with tiny trigger hairs, and if an insect brushes the hairs more than once within a short time, the leaf snaps shut. Requiring more than one touch helps the plant avoid closing on a false alarm, such as a bit of drifting debris. Pitcher plants have deep, slippery tubes partly filled with liquid, and an insect that lands on the rim may slip inside and find it impossible to climb out. Sundews have leaves covered in sticky droplets that glisten like morning dew and hold insects firmly in place.

Scientists have discovered that carnivorous plants evolved in several separate branches of the plant family tree, which means that unrelated plants arrived at the same solution independently. Some, such as the bladderworts, live in water and trap tiny creatures in small bladders that work like suction traps, snapping up any prey that swims too close.

Once a trap has closed, enzymes break down the soft parts of the prey, and the plant absorbs the nutrients. Because bogs have been drained in many places, some of these remarkable plants are now threatened in the wild.

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 carnivorous, bogs, fertilizer, debris and enzymes 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 "Plants That Catch Insects"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 288 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.6. 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 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 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.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.