Reading in Science: Potential and Kinetic Energy

Six short science passages that build energy step by step, each targeting a different reading-comprehension skill. The set moves from what potential energy is, through the three kinds the standard names - gravitational, elastic, and chemical - to kinetic energy, the potential-vs-kinetic contrast, the roller-coaster energy change, and finally classifying an object's energy. It is the reading anchor for a TEKS 6.8A unit.

What's Included

• 6 illustrated passage cards, each with a labeled reading skill and comprehension questions:
• 1 - What Is Potential Energy? (main idea) · 2 - Three Kinds of Potential Energy (supporting details) · 3 - What Is Kinetic Energy? (cause & effect) · 4 - Potential vs. Kinetic (compare & contrast) · 5 - Energy Changes: Potential to Kinetic (sequence) · 6 - Potential or Kinetic? (draw conclusions)
• Full answer key with explanations
• 4-page letter-size PDF, no prep

How It Helps You Teach

• Covers the standard's compare-and-contrast: all three types of potential energy (gravitational, elastic, chemical) versus kinetic energy
• Builds RI.6.1-6.4 reading skills at the same time: main idea, details, cause/effect, compare/contrast, sequence, and drawing conclusions
• Confronts the big misconceptions head-on: a still object can still store energy, and many objects have both potential and kinetic energy at once

Pair It With

The reading anchor of the Potential and Kinetic Energy set, alongside Context Clues, Inferences, the Potential or Kinetic sort, and Science in the News. Check out our library for the full set.

Perfect for 6th grade physical science, science reading and reading comprehension practice, science literacy, a unit review, and TEKS 6.8A support. Topics include: potential energy, kinetic energy, gravitational, elastic, and chemical potential energy, energy of motion, and energy transformation.

Standards: TEKS 6.8A (compare and contrast gravitational, elastic, and chemical potential energies with kinetic energy); NGSS DCI PS3.A (Definitions of Energy); CCSS RI.6.1-6.4. Part of the Daily Science series by Workybooks.