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Forms of Energy — Reading Comprehension

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NGSS 4-PS3-1

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Energy Is Everywhere is an engaging science reading passage aligned with NGSS standard 4-PS3-1, designed for Grade 4-5 students at Lexile level 600-750. This comprehensive resource helps students understand that energy exists in many forms and is present whenever there is motion, sound, light, or heat. The passage explains how we cannot see energy itself but can observe what energy does and the changes it causes. Students explore real-world connections by recognizing energy in action when a ball bounces, music plays, lights shine, or food cooks. The resource includes audio-integrated features, a simplified differentiated version for struggling readers, Spanish translations, glossary terms, multiple-choice questions testing recall and comprehension, writing activities that connect science to everyday life, and graphic organizers for deeper understanding of energy concepts.

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Close view of fingers strumming an acoustic guitar, capturing the essence of music creation. — When you pluck a guitar string, it vibrates and creates sound waves that show sound energy in action. Image Credit Quốc Bảo / Pexels.

Energy is the ability to make things happen or cause changes. Energy is important because it makes everything in our world work, from our bodies moving to machines running to plants growing.

Energy comes in many different forms. Motion energy is the energy of moving objects. When you kick a soccer ball, the ball has motion energy as it flies through the air. When a ball bounces, it shows motion energy changing direction. The higher the bounce, the more motion energy the ball has.

Another form of energy is sound energy. Sound happens when objects vibrate, or move back and forth very quickly. When you pluck a guitar string, it vibrates and creates sound waves that travel through the air to your ears. Music playing from a speaker, a dog barking, or thunder rumbling all show sound energy in action. We cannot see the sound itself, but we can hear it and sometimes even feel it.

Light energy is the form of energy we can see. The sun produces light energy that brightens our day. Light bulbs, flashlights, and candles also produce light energy. When you flip a light switch and the room becomes bright, you are observing light energy at work. Light energy travels in waves and can pass through some materials like glass and water.

Heat energy, also called thermal energy, makes things warm or hot. When food cooks on a stove, heat energy from the burner transfers to the pot and then to the food inside. Your body produces heat energy to keep you warm. On a sunny day, you can feel heat energy from the sun warming your skin.

Energy is all around us, even though we cannot see energy itself. We know energy exists because we can observe what it does and the changes it causes. When we see motion, hear sounds, notice light, or feel heat, we are observing different forms of energy in action. Understanding these different types of energy helps us make sense of how our world works.

What is energy?

The ability to make things happenSomething we can always seeOnly found in batteriesA type of light

What happens when a guitar string vibrates?

It breaks into piecesIt creates sound energyIt produces light energyIt stops moving completely

Which form of energy can we see?

Sound energyMotion energyLight energyHeat energy

Why does food get hot on stove?

Light energy from the bulbSound energy from vibrationsHeat energy transfers to itMotion energy makes it warm

A bouncing ball is an example of what?

Sound energy in actionLight energy in actionMotion energy in actionHeat energy in action

How do we know energy exists?

We can see energy directlyWe observe changes it causesEnergy is always visibleWe can touch pure energy

We can see energy itself directly.

TrueFalse

What does thermal energy mean?

Energy from thunder and lightningEnergy that makes things warmEnergy from moving objectsEnergy that creates sound

Perfect For:

👩‍🏫 Teachers

• Reading comprehension practice
• Auto-graded assessments
• Literacy skill development

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Parents

• Reading practice at home
• Comprehension improvement
• Educational reading time

🏠 Homeschoolers

• Reading curriculum support
• Independent reading practice
• Progress monitoring

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Reading Passage

Engaging fiction or nonfiction text

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Comprehension Quiz

Auto-graded questions

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Instant Feedback

Immediate results and scoring

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Printable Version

Download for offline reading

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Read Aloud

Voice-over with word highlighting

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Forms of Energy — Reading Comprehension

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