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How Temperature Cracks Rocks — Reading Comprehension

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NGSS 4-ESS2-1

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This engaging 350-word science passage introduces Grade 4-5 students to the concept of temperature weathering and how rocks crack through repeated heating and cooling cycles. Aligned with NGSS standard 4-ESS2-1, the passage explains how rocks expand when heated and contract when cooled, eventually causing cracks to form. Students explore real-world examples including desert rocks that experience extreme temperature changes between day and night, and campfire rocks that crack from rapid heating. The passage uses age-appropriate analogies and clear explanations to help students understand expanding, contracting, and temperature weathering. Audio-integrated features support diverse learners, while differentiated versions ensure accessibility for all reading levels. Comprehensive activities including multiple-choice questions, writing prompts, and graphic organizers reinforce understanding of this important Earth science concept. Students learn how this natural process shapes landscapes and contributes to soil formation over thousands of years.

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Close-up of a gray stone surface showing natural cracks and textures. — Temperature weathering happens because rocks **expand** when they get hot. Image credit Karen Laårk Boshoff / Pexels.

Weathering is the process that breaks rocks into smaller pieces. One important type of weathering happens when temperature changes cause rocks to crack. This process helps shape Earth's surface over long periods of time.

When the sun heats a rock during the day, the rock gets warmer. As it warms up, the outer layer (the outside part of the rock) begins to expand, which means it gets slightly bigger. Think of how a balloon gets bigger when you blow air into it. The rock's outer layer expands in a similar way when heat makes the tiny particles inside move farther apart.

At night, the rock cools down. When this happens, the outer layer contracts, which means it gets smaller again. The particles move closer together, like when a balloon shrinks when air is let out. This expanding and contracting happens over and over again, day after day, year after year.

After many years of expanding and contracting, the outer layer of the rock becomes weak. Eventually, it begins to peel off or crack. In deserts, where days are very hot and nights are very cold, this type of weathering is especially common. The bigger the temperature change, the more the rock expands and contracts, and the faster it breaks apart.

Temperature alone can break rocks without any help from water, ice, or plants. This shows that even in dry places, rocks are constantly changing.

Interesting Fact: Half Dome in Yosemite National Park has smooth, curved sheets of granite that peeled off due to temperature changes over thousands of years!

What is weathering?

The process that breaks rocks apartWhen rocks get very hotWhen it rains on rocksThe color of rocks

What happens to rocks during the day?

They contract and get smallerThey expand and get biggerThey turn into sandThey sink into the ground

Where is temperature weathering especially common?

In forests with many treesIn oceans with lots of waterIn deserts with extreme temperaturesIn cities with many buildings

Why do rocks crack over time?

Because people step on themBecause they get wet oftenBecause they expand and contract repeatedlyBecause wind blows them away

What makes rocks break faster?

Small temperature changesBig temperature changesStaying the same temperatureBeing in the shade

Can temperature alone break rocks?

No, water is always neededNo, plants are always neededYes, temperature alone can break rocksOnly if ice is present

Temperature weathering needs water to work.

TrueFalse

What does 'contract' mean?

To get biggerTo get smallerTo change colorTo become harder

Perfect For:

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• Reading comprehension practice
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• Literacy skill development

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

🏠 Homeschoolers

• Reading curriculum support
• Independent reading practice
• Progress monitoring

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NGSS 4-ESS2-1

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