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Directions: Read the passage “Soil: Nature's Recipe.” Then answer the questions.
Soil: Nature's Recipe
1 Have you ever thought about what the ground is made of? The dirt under our feet is called "soil," and it's made in a special way. Let's discover how soil, like sand and clay, is created by mixing rocks and the remains of plants and animals.
The Soil Story
2 Imagine that Earth has a skin. That's what soil is. It covers the land and gives plants a place to grow and animals a home. Soil is nature's recipe with two main ingredients: rocks and life. Breaking Down Rocks
3 Rocks are like the hard bones of our planet. But over time, they start to change. This happens because of something called "weathering." Weathering is when rocks break into tiny pieces because of wind, rain, and temperature changes.
The Role of Weathering
4 Weathering is critical to the soil-making process. As rocks break down into smaller particles, they become the foundation for soil. This process takes a long time.
Rotting and Decomposing
5 Soil isn't only made of rocks. It's also made of tiny bits of things that once lived, like plants and animals. When these things die, they don't just disappear. They slowly rot and break down. This process is called "decomposition."
Nature's Cleanup Crew
6 Leaves that fall from trees turn into a part of the soil as they break down. Worms, insects, and tiny living things help with this process by breaking down plant and animal remains into even tinier pieces.
Mixing Everything Together
7 Take the bits of rocks and the tiny pieces of once-living things, and mix them with air and water, and you have the recipe for soil. Each type of soil, like sandy soil or clay soil, has its own special mix of these ingredients.’
Different Soil Types: Sand and Clay
8 There are several different types of soil. Sand is a type of soil that has bigger particles, and it feels gritty when you touch it. Water flows through it quickly, which is great, but it can dry out fast. On the other hand, clay has tiny particles that stick together. It feels smooth when you touch it and is excellent at holding water.
Why Soil Matters
9 Soil is important for life on Earth. It gives plants a place to grow and animals make their homes in it. Soil also helps clean and filter water. We use soil to grow our food and the trees that give us wood. Without soil, our world would be very different.
The Importance of Taking Care of Soil
10 Learning about how soil is made helps us understand why it's so important to look after it. Taking care of soil, also known as soil conservation, is very important to keep our environment healthy. If the soil gets washed away, it takes away the food that plants need to grow. To conserve soil we can plant trees and special crops, use mulch around the plants, and make terraces to stop the soil from washing away. These things help keep the soil healthy, so it can keep helping plants and animals live.
Soil in Our Everyday Lives
11 Soil isn't just the ground we walk on. The food we eat, like vegetables and grains, needs soil to grow healthy and tasty. Even the clothes we wear have a connection to soil because cotton, a material used for clothes, comes from plants that grow in soil.
In a Nutshell
12 In a nutshell, soil is a mix of weathered rocks and decomposed plant and animal remains. This mix creates different types of soil, like sandy soil and clay soil. Soil is more than just dirt; it's Earth's special ingredient for making everything grow.
What is the purpose of paragraphs 4-7?
Directions: Read the passage “Soil: Nature's Recipe.” Then answer the questions.
Soil: Nature's Recipe
1 Have you ever thought about what the ground is made of? The dirt under our feet is called "soil," and it's made in a special way. Let's discover how soil, like sand and clay, is created by mixing rocks and the remains of plants and animals.
The Soil Story
2 Imagine that Earth has a skin. That's what soil is. It covers the land and gives plants a place to grow and animals a home. Soil is nature's recipe with two main ingredients: rocks and life. Breaking Down Rocks
3 Rocks are like the hard bones of our planet. But over time, they start to change. This happens because of something called "weathering." Weathering is when rocks break into tiny pieces because of wind, rain, and temperature changes.
The Role of Weathering
4 Weathering is critical to the soil-making process. As rocks break down into smaller particles, they become the foundation for soil. This process takes a long time.
Rotting and Decomposing
5 Soil isn't only made of rocks. It's also made of tiny bits of things that once lived, like plants and animals. When these things die, they don't just disappear. They slowly rot and break down. This process is called "decomposition."
Nature's Cleanup Crew
6 Leaves that fall from trees turn into a part of the soil as they break down. Worms, insects, and tiny living things help with this process by breaking down plant and animal remains into even tinier pieces.
Mixing Everything Together
7 Take the bits of rocks and the tiny pieces of once-living things, and mix them with air and water, and you have the recipe for soil. Each type of soil, like sandy soil or clay soil, has its own special mix of these ingredients.’
Different Soil Types: Sand and Clay
8 There are several different types of soil. Sand is a type of soil that has bigger particles, and it feels gritty when you touch it. Water flows through it quickly, which is great, but it can dry out fast. On the other hand, clay has tiny particles that stick together. It feels smooth when you touch it and is excellent at holding water.
Why Soil Matters
9 Soil is important for life on Earth. It gives plants a place to grow and animals make their homes in it. Soil also helps clean and filter water. We use soil to grow our food and the trees that give us wood. Without soil, our world would be very different.
The Importance of Taking Care of Soil
10 Learning about how soil is made helps us understand why it's so important to look after it. Taking care of soil, also known as soil conservation, is very important to keep our environment healthy. If the soil gets washed away, it takes away the food that plants need to grow. To conserve soil we can plant trees and special crops, use mulch around the plants, and make terraces to stop the soil from washing away. These things help keep the soil healthy, so it can keep helping plants and animals live.
Soil in Our Everyday Lives
11 Soil isn't just the ground we walk on. The food we eat, like vegetables and grains, needs soil to grow healthy and tasty. Even the clothes we wear have a connection to soil because cotton, a material used for clothes, comes from plants that grow in soil.
In a Nutshell
12 In a nutshell, soil is a mix of weathered rocks and decomposed plant and animal remains. This mix creates different types of soil, like sandy soil and clay soil. Soil is more than just dirt; it's Earth's special ingredient for making everything grow.
In paragraph 2, what is the most likely reason the author uses the phrase “Earth’s skin”?
Select two correct answers.
Directions: Read the passage “Soil: Nature's Recipe.” Then answer the questions.
Soil: Nature's Recipe
1 Have you ever thought about what the ground is made of? The dirt under our feet is called "soil," and it's made in a special way. Let's discover how soil, like sand and clay, is created by mixing rocks and the remains of plants and animals.
The Soil Story
2 Imagine that Earth has a skin. That's what soil is. It covers the land and gives plants a place to grow and animals a home. Soil is nature's recipe with two main ingredients: rocks and life. Breaking Down Rocks
3 Rocks are like the hard bones of our planet. But over time, they start to change. This happens because of something called "weathering." Weathering is when rocks break into tiny pieces because of wind, rain, and temperature changes.
The Role of Weathering
4 Weathering is critical to the soil-making process. As rocks break down into smaller particles, they become the foundation for soil. This process takes a long time.
Rotting and Decomposing
5 Soil isn't only made of rocks. It's also made of tiny bits of things that once lived, like plants and animals. When these things die, they don't just disappear. They slowly rot and break down. This process is called "decomposition."
Nature's Cleanup Crew
6 Leaves that fall from trees turn into a part of the soil as they break down. Worms, insects, and tiny living things help with this process by breaking down plant and animal remains into even tinier pieces.
Mixing Everything Together
7 Take the bits of rocks and the tiny pieces of once-living things, and mix them with air and water, and you have the recipe for soil. Each type of soil, like sandy soil or clay soil, has its own special mix of these ingredients.’
Different Soil Types: Sand and Clay
8 There are several different types of soil. Sand is a type of soil that has bigger particles, and it feels gritty when you touch it. Water flows through it quickly, which is great, but it can dry out fast. On the other hand, clay has tiny particles that stick together. It feels smooth when you touch it and is excellent at holding water.
Why Soil Matters
9 Soil is important for life on Earth. It gives plants a place to grow and animals make their homes in it. Soil also helps clean and filter water. We use soil to grow our food and the trees that give us wood. Without soil, our world would be very different.
The Importance of Taking Care of Soil
10 Learning about how soil is made helps us understand why it's so important to look after it. Taking care of soil, also known as soil conservation, is very important to keep our environment healthy. If the soil gets washed away, it takes away the food that plants need to grow. To conserve soil we can plant trees and special crops, use mulch around the plants, and make terraces to stop the soil from washing away. These things help keep the soil healthy, so it can keep helping plants and animals live.
Soil in Our Everyday Lives
11 Soil isn't just the ground we walk on. The food we eat, like vegetables and grains, needs soil to grow healthy and tasty. Even the clothes we wear have a connection to soil because cotton, a material used for clothes, comes from plants that grow in soil.
In a Nutshell
12 In a nutshell, soil is a mix of weathered rocks and decomposed plant and animal remains. This mix creates different types of soil, like sandy soil and clay soil. Soil is more than just dirt; it's Earth's special ingredient for making everything grow.
What detail in paragraph 6 best helps the reader understand the phrase “Nature's Cleanup Crew”?
Reading: Informational Text (RI.3.5)
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