What Is Conduction?

Interactive passage with audio narration, comprehension questions, and printable PDF.

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Format: Interactive (Online), Printable (PDF)
Grades: 5678
Subjects: elareadingscience
Standards: MS-PS3HS-PS3RI.6.3RI.7.1
Languages: English, Spanish

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What's included

Reading passage

Reading comprehension

Audio narration

With word word highlighting

Comprehension quiz

Auto-graded

Writing activity

Open-ended response

Glossary & flashcards

Vocabulary practice

Differentiated version

Adapted for varied levels

Spanish translation

Bilingual support

About this reader

This middle school science passage explains the concept of conduction, focusing on how heat moves through solids. Aligned with NGSS standards for energy and matter (MS-PS3), the passage helps students understand real-world examples like touching a metal spoon or feeling a cold doorknob. Key vocabulary terms like 'conductors' and 'insulators' are introduced in a way that builds reading comprehension skills while reinforcing science concepts. Students learn how engineers use knowledge of conduction to design everyday objects and why materials like wood and metal behave differently. By exploring conduction in simple terms, this reading activity supports science literacy, critical thinking, and application of NGSS practices.

Written by Workybooks TeamPublished by Workybooks

Sample passage and quiz content

CONTENT PREVIEW

Have you ever touched a metal doorknob on a cold day and felt the chill? Or grabbed a metal spoon from a hot pot and uickly pulled your hand away? That feeling comes from conduction—the way heat moves through solids.

Conduction happens when heat passes from one particle to another. In solids, the particles are packed very close together. When one particle gets warmer, it starts to move faster. It bumps into the particles next to it, passing the heat along. This is how the heat moves through the material.

Metals are some of the best conductors of heat. That’s why pots and pans are made of metal—they heat up uickly and cook food evenly. Other materials, like wood or plastic, are poor conductors. They do not let heat move through them easily. These materials are called insulators.

Think about cooking. If you stir soup with a metal spoon, the spoon gets hot because heat from the soup travels through the spoon to your hand. But if you use a wooden spoon, it stays cool because wood doesn’t conduct heat well.

Conduction is important in many parts of our lives. Engineers think about conduction when they design buildings, cars, and even space rockets! They choose the right materials to either move heat around or stop it from moving.

Fun Fact: Some animals, like polar bears, have thick fur that acts like an insulator. This helps them keep their body heat from escaping into the cold air!

What is the main idea of the passage?

How to cook food using metal spoonsWhat conduction is and how it worksWhy polar bears are good swimmersHow to build a space rocket